The Zimbabwe Situation

Associated Press

By GILLIAN GOTORA, Associated Press – 7 hours ago

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwe court on Sunday freed a minister in the
prime minister's party who was arrested after he allegedly called President
Robert Mugabe a liar.

Jameson Timba, a minister of state in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
office, was detained Friday. The special hearing Sunday of the Harare High
Court ordered Timba's release, but police held him two more hours after the
hearing.

Judge Joseph Musakwa ruled that the police had "no justification" for his
arrest.

Police officials at the court said they needed time to complete release
formalities, a claim attorneys dismissed as unnecessary and further
harassment of Timba.

Timba's lawyers said he was denied food and access to attorneys in jail
since Friday.

Mugabe's party accused Timba of insulting Mugabe, an offense under sweeping
security laws, when he said Mugabe lied over the outcome of a recent
regional summit on Zimbabwe.

Despite protests from his lawyers, police escorted Timba from Sunday's court
hearing to the main Harare police station, where he was released two hours
after the verdict. Police reinforcements had been called to the court.

After his release, Timba said: "The police must learn how to do their job
properly."

Timba was not asked to post bail, defense attorney Selby Hwacha told
reporters. The minister denied using the word "liar" but stood by his
party's position on what happened at the summit, he said.

Timba attended the June 12 summit in neighboring South Africa and
contradicted Mugabe's account that regional leaders withdrew a damning
report on the slow pace of reforms and continuing political violence blamed
on Mugabe's party.

Mugabe insisted the Southern African Development Community, a regional
economic and political bloc, clear his party's name over allegations
reported to the grouping by the chief Zimbabwe mediator, President Jacob
Zuma of South Africa.

Timba gave his account of the summit at the same time that Tsvangirai also
told a rally in central Zimbabwe that Mugabe and his party leaders were not
truthful over the summit findings.

Mugabe's party has also called for Tsvangirai's arrest for insulting Mugabe,
accusations usually applied to remarks made by political hecklers or those
who curse Mugabe in bars or on buses. Those convicted have been fined or
briefly jailed.

Tsvangirai's party described it as "strange" that Timba was arrested before
the weekend — a reference to a common police practice of jailing suspects
over the weekend in filthy, overcrowded cells in frigid winter conditions
until courts and judicial offices reopen on Monday.

His arrest signaled another rift in the 28-month coalition formed by
regional mediators after violent, disputed elections in 2008.

Tsvangirai's party said on Sunday Timba was traced to a police jail in the
southern dormitory township of Chitungwiza, 15 miles (25 kilometers) south
of the capital, after lawyers visited several police stations around Harare
where officers denied holding him over the weekend.

Uniformed officers said they were unaware of the minister's arrest.

In the past, security agents loyal to Mugabe who often don't answer to the
central police command have been accused of abducting Mugabe party opponents
and human rights activists.

Minister detained immediately after his release

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Jun 26, 2011, 13:00 GMT

Harare - A Zimbabwean government minister, who was arrested for allegedly
calling President Robert Mugabe a liar, was apprehended again by police
Sunday, shortly after a judge ordered his release.

Jameson Timba, a minister in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's government,
disappeared on Friday. It later emerged he had been arrested over an article
in which he was quoted as saying that Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party had lied
about the outcome of a recent summit held by the Southern African
Development Community (SADC).

Judge Joseph Musakwa ruled that Timba's rights had been violated, since he
was denied food and access to his lawyers.

'There was a violation of his rights. He was not informed of the charges he
was facing,' said Musakwa. 'Therefore, there is no justification for his
continued detention.'

Timba said he was 'moved from one police station to another' and had never
been made aware of any charges brought against him.

But immediately after his release, three plainclothes policemen prevented
him from getting into his vehicle and ordered him into the back of an open
truck, leaving his wife in tears.

Timba's arrest is likely to further strain relations within the country's
fragile coalition government, which was formed by Mugabe and Tsvangirai more
than two years ago.

The two leaders have clashed on a number of issues, including on the removal
of sanctions and the full implementation of the coalition deal.

Mugabe wants elections held this year to end the coalition government, while
Tsvangirai insists that key political reforms must be implemented first.

Zim plunges into crisis

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Sunday, 26 June 2011 15:24

HARARE - Zimbabwe has been thrown into a deep crisis following last week’s
treasonous threats by army chiefs and Friday evening’s “abduction” of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s aide, Jameson Timba.

As a result, there are now real fears that the country could plunge into the
kind of political and economic calamity that followed the violent 2008
presidential elections in which more than 200 MDC officials and supporters
were murdered in cold blood after President Robert Mugabe was trounced by
Tsvangirai.

And so worried and angry is Sadc about developments in Zimbabwe that an
emergency meeting could be held soon to see how they can mitigate the
anarchy.

The Daily News on Sunday was reliably told yesterday that
facilitator-in-chief to the Zimbabwe crisis, President Jacob Zuma, was
“staggered” by the turn of events in the country.

A source in Pretoria said the SA president had been especially turned aback
by the arrest of Timba and the threat by military generals to subvert the
democratic process that is underway in the country, amid fears that this
could lead to the collapse of the inclusive government.

“I know that we have asked this question before, but we will ask it again:
Who is benefitting from this anarchy and how do the engineers of this
madness hope to get away with it?

“President Zuma is staggered by the pace at which the political climate is
deteriorating in Zimbabwe.

“But let everybody be warned lest they cry foul later: South Africa has had
enough of this and there will be consequences if it does not stop, and
soon,” the source said without elaborating.

Timba was apparently arrested or, as it now appears, abducted at the
instigation of Zanu PF politburo member and serial political flip-flopper
Jonathan Moyo, who claimed that the MDC international relations head had
undermined Mugabe’s authority by writing an opinion that implied that Zanu
PF had misled the world on the outcome of the recent Sadc summit that was
held in Sandton, Johannesburg.

This has worsened perceptions that partisan law enforcement agencies are
getting direct instructions to act on Mugabe’s opponents from Zanu PF
politburo members.

But Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo yesterday dismissed both this notion,
and Moyo’s apparent newly-found power in Zanu PF and government — adding
that the former ruling party had no hand in Timba’s misfortunes.

“The politburo doesn’t give instructions to the police. It is fictional and
illogic,” Gumbo said.

But other Zanu PF sources said Moyo had become very powerful again within
the party — largely because he allegedly enjoyed “the ear” of some security
chiefs who wanted him to run the party’s propaganda machinery.

Political commentators and members of the public who spoke to the Daily News
on Sunday yesterday expressed fear that the country was now sliding fast
towards “total anarchy” and that meanwhile, Mugabe did not seem to care.

Prominent academic, publisher and analyst Ibbo Mandaza expressed shock at
recent developments saying the arrest of Timba was linked to the threats by
top military personnel.

“What are they trying to do? This is unprecedented and it’s creating an
unnecessary crisis. It is not an attack on Timba alone, but also on the GPA
and the people of Zimbabwe.

“Unless these people are stopped we are going to have a major crisis.

“I’m really shocked by this behaviour. It is shameful and Sadc must do
something urgently to end this nonsense,” Mandaza said.

Another analyst, Charles Mangongera said the fact that a senior member in
Tsvangirai’s office was arrested in the same week that Brigadier General
Douglas Nyikayaramba had called Tsvangirai a threat to national security had
a negative effect on the inclusive government.

“There seems to be a connection between the threatening statements that the
general has been making and the actions of the police. This seems to confirm
the suspicion that there is connivance between a small clique involving
state security agents and hardliners within Zanu PF,” Mangongera said.

“These are the people that are driving (negative) processes in this country.
We have become a de facto military state and this poses great danger to the
existence of the unity government and Zimbabwe in general,’ Mangongera said.

He said the situation could explode if regional leaders did not stop it.

Zim army takes charge

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sunday Times | 26 June, 2011 02:0510

Zimbabwe's unstable inclusive government has been thrown into a fresh crisis
after Jameson Timba, the Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's office, was arrested on Friday for saying President Robert
Mugabe lied about the SADC summit in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Timba has not been heard from since, a lawyer from his party said yesterday.

An official at Harare central police station on Friday confirmed to the
German Press Agency dpa that Timba was being held there.

"We have been holding Jameson Timba since Friday afternoon. He might appear
in court on Monday," the police official was quoted as saying yesterday.

The arrest came two days after a top army general sensationally claimed that
the military would not allow anyone except Mugabe to be president of the
country.

And amid all of this comes a report that Mugabe and his Zanu-PF ruling party
are unrolling a paramilitary strategy and openly using the army to campaign
for them ahead of the next crucial elections.

Civil society organisations grouped under Crisis Coalition said in a report,
titled "The Military Factor in Zimbabwe's Political and Electoral Affairs",
that there is need for urgent security-sector reforms to restrict the
military to their barracks.

The report also says Zimbabwe's military interference in political and
electoral affairs has become the biggest threat to democracy in the country
ahead of the elections.

The comprehensive report covers topics which include the gradual
militarisation and politicisation of electoral institutions, direct military
interference in electoral affairs, political violence and intimidation, the
military's toxic role during the 2008 elections, patronage and military
entrenchment in the economy, and the power-sharing government's failure to
subject the military to civilian control.

The report also states that, as part of this broad strategy, state
institutions have been militarised. It says that, through Mugabe's patronage
system, the military is now bene-fiting from lucrative mining deals and
other money-spinning ventures.

Events since the beginning of this year have shown that Mugabe and Zanu-PF
have a clear strategy to use the military as a weapon to win the next
elections, the report adds.

"Earlier this year, various civic groups reported deployment of soldiers
across the country to direct election campaigns for Zanu-PF and to spearhead
violence and intimidation."

The report says the situation will get worse, with plans by Zanu-PF to
deploy tens of thousands of youth militias across the country before the
elections.

Meanwhile, Timba's arrest signals the beginning of a renewed crackdown on
Mugabe's opponents.

It also comes as the row intensifies between Mugabe and Tsvangirai following
the recent SADC summit in Sandton, where the veteran Zimbabwean ruler was
routed by his impatient colleagues.

Zimbabwe has a long history of fierce political repression, manifested in
intimidation, harassment, arrests, detentions, disappearances and killings
with impunity.

Tsvangirai and senior MDC-T officials this week said they feared for their
lives after an outbreak of a war of words between them and the agi-tated
military.

Zanu-PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo, reportedly close to the military,
publicly lobbied attorney-general Johannes Tomana to investigate Timba and
to have him arrested.

Timba was picked up soon after his arrival from Barcelona, Spain, where he
had accompanied Tsvangirai to the World Justice Forum.

His comments were published in the Sunday Times and he had also written an
opinion piece on the same issue in the Standard Newspaper.

Moyo, who of late has been complaining about "national security issues", has
also demanded that Tsvangirai be probed for calling Mugabe a "liar" over the
outcome of the SADC summit at a rally last weekend.

At the same rally in the Midlands city of Gweru, Tsvangirai challenged army
commanders dabbling in politics to remove their uniforms and join the
political fray as civilians.

Addressing the World Justice Forum this week, Tsvangirai said: "Every day
they (state security service chiefs) are dabbling in politics, even seeking
to influence the date of elections and the conditions under which those
elections will be held."

His hard-hitting remarks came in the wake of recent statements by
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, saying the army wanted Mugabe to die
in office.

The military has also said Tsvangirai would not be allowed to rule even if
he won the elections.

Tsvangirai has said Mugabe told him he wanted to retire, but suspicions are
that he is being held hostage by the army.

After the publication of the articles in the Sunday Times and the Standard,
Moyo, a former information minister and now Zanu-PF's chief propagandist,
launched a campaign on state television, radio and in newspapers calling on
authorities to arrest Timba and to question journalists from the independent
media, saying they were working to undermine Mugabe.

Moyo is said to be close to hardline securocrats who are blamed for gross
human rights abuses and for keeping Mugabe in power.

Journalists in Zimbabwe are now living in fear, as Moyo seems to have
relaunched a crackdown on the country's private media.

During his reign, newspapers were closed while journalists were being
arrested.

Diamond looting sucks in minister

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Reagan Mashavave, Senior Writer
Sunday, 26 June 2011 15:40

HARARE - In a case that could suck in the Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu,
procedures for cutting and polishing of diamonds was suspended resulting in
a systematic free for all looting of the precious gems worth tens of
millions of dollars.

So serious is the case that cabinet is said to be considering investigating
the rampant looting of diamonds from the Minerals Marketing Corporation of
Zimbabwe (MMCZ) with dubious dealers getting state diamonds for a song and
selling them for huge sums of money.

This is now a subject of investigations by the police.

Investigations by the Daily News on Sunday have discovered that while there
used to be strict measures at MMCZ, these were relaxed by Mpofu who awarded
at least 28 companies, diamond cutting and polishing licences, most of whom
did not have the equipment.

Some did not even have offices while some companies were registered for the
purpose of looting state diamonds.

When the scam was discovered, Mpofu rushed to cancel the same licences he
had issued after investigations had revealed that the companies would in
connivance with MMCZ employees, grab diamonds cheaply either claiming that
they were industrial diamonds or buying grossly undervalued gems.

The diamonds would be sold at market price and smuggled to Dubai, India,
Lebanon and other diamond-dealing cities and countries.

A source at the Attorney General’s office said: “It was a free for all
looting which was obviously created at the Ministry of Mines when they
allowed diamonds to be grabbed by dubious companies, some of which do not
even have physical addresses. They did not even have any knowledge in
dealing with diamonds.

“A stone would be bought from MMCZ at say $2 000, claiming it was a rough
diamond and it would go out and fetch even more than $200 000. It was a big
scam and the MMCZ employees who were arrested over the issue are threatening
to bring out the big names involved."

“That is why we quickly consented to bail because they were threatening to
spill the beans. They are saying top officials at the Ministry of Mines are
involved, and they are ready to testify in court. Police wanted to move in
to arrest the top officials at the Ministry just before the Sadc summit two
weeks ago but politicians interfered because they did not want to embarrass
Zanu PF at the summit.

“But the point is that there was a major scandal at MMCZ and the big guns
will be implicated. The procedure was water tight until the Ministry of
Mines for some strange reasons, decided to allow the diamonds to be looted.
It was deliberate and heads will roll,” said a senior official at the AGs
office.

Sources privy to the investigations said the MMCZ the Ministry of Mines are
culpable of not following proper due diligence exercises to avoid illicit
gems trading.

The DCSC was used to regulate diamond sales.

A document titled, Procedures for Diamond Sales For Export, obtained from
investigators reveals that MMCZ used a variety of sales methods in
conducting exports of diamonds which were tight but Mpofu and his senior
officials suddenly changed them and followed a highly porous system called
Referred Negotiated Sales System.

The system which was used resulting in the high leakages of diamonds
shockingly states: “The DCSC was suspended. No vetting of clients is done —
no licence, no police clearance and director details required. Most of the
clients who are able to pay for the diamonds are not vetted and are not
prepared to be vetted.

“No details about them or line of businesses are submitted but diamonds are
still sold to them. The producer refers customer to MMCZ for diamond
purchases, the customer is invited to view the parcels and make an offer.
The offer is then compared to the reserve price and if acceptable, the sale
is concluded.”

The Daily News on Sunday has also been told by MMCZ officials that some
buyers were referred to them by senior government officials.

Previously the producers of diamonds wrote to the MMCZ stipulating the
‘‘quantity, type, grade and location of diamonds’’ that they wanted to sale,
reads the document.

“The MMCZ evaluates the parcels up for sale and conclude valuations with the
producer and they recommend customers which would have been referred by the
DCSC.”

The selection of customers, the document says depended on the ability to
hold large stocks without “stress”, ability to pay for the “goods” within
agreed periods and a commendation from the bankers.

The document says the customer must also be recognised by the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and that they must adhere to United
Nations protocol on anti-money laundering. The customer must also have
history in buying and selling diamonds.

But most of the “clients” were not vetted” while the details of the
companies were never submitted to the authorities.

Zimbabwe which has been battling to sale its diamonds from Marange area was
given the green light by the KP meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of
Congo last week but the decision was heavily contested by the United States.

Reports indicated yesterday that KP was under pressure to ensure that
stockpiles of diamonds smuggled to Dubai and India be sold while the MDC
urged the Kimberly Process to allow diamond sales as they want the money to
go through treasury where they can be handled by Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.

At the moment diamonds are being smuggled by top government officials
aligned to Zanu PF for personal benefit.

Before the KP Kinshasa meeting, President Robert Mugabe had vowed that the
country would sell its diamonds with or without sanctions from Western
powers.

Minister Mpofu refused to comment.

U.S. Expresses 'Deep Disappointment' At KP Intersessional's Outcome

http://www.diamondintelligence.com

26 June 2011

Following the conclusion of last week's Kimberley Process (KP)
intersessional meeting in Kinshasa, DRC, U.S. State Department Spokesperson
Victoria Nuland issued a statement on Friday, June 24, expressing America's
"deep disappointment" with the lack of consensus reached regarding
Zimbabwe's Marange exports. Below are excerpts from the statement:

"The United States is deeply disappointed with the Kinshasa Intersessional
as it related to Zimbabwe...The United States believes that progress with
respect to exports from the Marange area of Zimbabwe can occur solely
through a mechanism agreed to by consensus among KP participants.

"Contrary to some reporting, the Kinshasa Intersessional did not reach a
consensus text. The Chair has circulated a text to participants which did
not attract consensus," Nuland emphasizes.

"We believe that work toward a solution must continue, and that until
consensus is reached, exports from Marange should not proceed," she
declares.

"We remain ready to work with the Kimberley Process Chair and others to find
a solution. The Kimberley Process works best when producers and consumers
are collaborating, and when civil society is an active participant. The U.S.
would like to ensure the Kimberley Process's future and enable diamond
exports to contribute positively to the region's people and economy.

"Despite the continued challenges surrounding Marange, the United States
welcomes the collaborative efforts toward effective diamond sector
governance demonstrated during the intersessional by a number of producing
countries, such as the Central African Republic, Ghana, Guinea, and
Liberia," concludes Nuland.

US-Zim trade increases

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Despite the frosty relations between the USA and Zimbabwe, trade relations
continue to improve.
25.06.1101:21pm
Ngoni Chanakira Harare

Sharon Hudson-Dean, Counsellor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy in
Harare said in a recent interview the US was also very actively involved in
many programmes and outreach opportunities to "continuously improve and
expand US/Zimbabwe relations".

Relations soured when the US slapped President Robert Mugabe and his former
ruling Zanu (PF) party colleagues with targeted economic and travel
sanctions in an attempt to pressurise for human rights reforms.

The political and economic goons cannot trade with the US and their firms
are also not allowed to export their products there.

"Through the first four months of 2011, the US exported $17,7 million in
goods to Zimbabwe and imported $6,9 million in goods from here.

"In 2010 total US goods exported to Zimbabwe were valued at $67,6 million
and total imports were worth $58,9 million, which meant that there was a
total annual bilateral trade volume of $126,5 million."

Total trade volume in 2009 stood at $107,6 million.

Current US First lady, Michelle Obama is visiting neighbouring Botswana and
South Africa where she is addressing Young African Female Leaders.

Mrs Obama is not visiting Zimbabwe but will have the opportunity to address
two female young leaders from the struggling nation, once the breadbasket of
southern Africa.

The US recently praised diamond-rich Botswana and South Africa, saying they
are very "democratic", very open and with an economic future unrivalled by
none regionally.

Zanu (PF), CIO in constitution witch-hunt

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Zanu (PF) officials and CIO agents gathered villagers here last Tuesday,
probing about views made by individuals at a constitution outreach meeting.
23.06.1102:58pm
Staff Reporter

“Zanu (PF) and CIO officials gathered villagers at premises where a lower
six block is under construction at Dhirihori Secondary School. They set up a
makeshift base in a nearby bush, where they interrogated individuals about
proceedings at a recent constitution outreach meeting. They recorded names
and views made by individuals at the constitution meeting. We think the
interrogations were meant to intimidate villagers ahead of other outreach
meetings which are scheduled for Muchemwa, Saint Martins, Bopoma School,
Saint Ludgers Secondary and Muchakata Schools on June 30,” said a villager
who declined to be identified.

Interrogations were spearheaded by Shepard Kaserere, Zanu (PF) losing
councilor for ward four and secretary to Zanu (PF) Member of Parliament for
Marondera East, Tracy Mutinhiri. Zanu (PF) district chairperson, Hebert
Hwenjere, also took part in the interrogations.

Villagers continue to live in fear as members of the CIO maintain a heavy
presence at constitution outreach meetings held in rural areas. A senior and
notorious woman CIO agent, known only as Gumbo, is attending the meetings,
instilling fear in people.

Last week MDC-T activists, Themba Masimura, Rhodrick Shamu and Gibson
Masimura of wards 17 and 18, were abducted by CIO and CID operatives at Two
Boy Shopping Center. They were later handed over to police on trumped-up
attempted assault charges, after villagers had raised the alarm. Magistrate
Courts granted them $20 bail each and they will appear again in court on
August 2.

War Vets ,Zanu (PF) Clash Over Sibanda Expulsion

http://www.radiovop.com

10 hours 10 minutes ago

Masvingo, June 26, 2011-War veterans here have nullified their national
chairman, Jabulani’s Sibanda’s expulsion from Masvingo by the Zanu (PF)
provincial executive.

Last week, Zanu (PF) provincial executive resolved at a provincial
coordinating committee meeting held at the Chief’s Hall that Sibanda-who has
been preaching hate speech and inciting violence and intimidating Movement
for Democratic Change supporters in and around Masvingo province-should
leave immediately.

In defiance of Zanu (PF), and in a move that is set to further divide the
fractious Zanu (PF) leaders in Masvingo, the Zimbabwe National Liberation
War Veterans Association’s provincial leadership here Saturday came out guns
blazing, saying Sibanda was in Masvingo to stay.

“ZANU PF has no mandate to chase him out of Masvingo. After all, they are
not the ones who invited him here. The war veterans are sponsoring his stay,
not Zanu (PF),” said the association’s provincial chair, retired colonel
Josphat Rupuwo.

Jabulani is accused of going over bounds following the expiry of his one
year stay in Masvingo conducting an operation code-named ‘Ngatibudirani
Pachena’.

“We cannot be told what to do by a non-war vet. We fought the war and
ushered them into structures and their offices.

“We are an affiliate of Zanu (PF). Zanu (PF) is not the one to tell us what
to do. Sibanda is here to stay until we are satisfied that the programme is
over,” said Rupuwo

The association’s provincial secretary general, Spencer Mandipaka, accused
Matuke of being a sellout.

Galileo International threatens to withdraw its franchise from Air Zim

http://bulawayo24.com/

by Moyo Roy
2011 June 26 11:43:54

Galileo International has threatened to withdraw its franchise from Air
Zimbabwe Holdings, a move that could paralyse the airline's operations, The
Sunday Mail Business reported on Sunday.

Galileo Zimbabwe was established in May 1998 as a division of Air Zimbabwe
as a result of the distribution agreement entered into between Air Zimbabwe
and Galileo International.

In 1999, Galileo Zimbabwe became Galileo Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Air Zimbabwe, after registration with the
Registrar of Companies in Zimbabwe.

Galileo Zimbabwe distributes a computerised reservations system (CRS)
service to travel agents in Zimbabwe as its core business.

A CRS is an automated system which processes booking data.

Documents in possession of this paper reveal that Air Zimbabwe's acting
chief executive, Mr Innocent Mavhunga, recently wrote a letter to the
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Communications and
Infrastructural Development, Mr Patterson Mbiriri, informing him about the
development.

"Galileo International (Travelport) has threatened to terminate the
distribution agreement and in its place wants to form a company to take over
the functions of Galileo Zimbabwe.

"Travelport wants to terminate the agreement so that they can take over the
Galileo Zimbabwe function through the company they are forming with some
Zimbabweans who are being used as fronts for Travelport, while they are
effectively in control," read part of the letter.

The termination of agreement will negatively affect revenue inflows at the
beleaguered airline and loss of market share as travel agents who were on
Galileo will no longer support Air Zimbabwe as is the case with the current
set-up.

The letter further states that: "It should be recognised that the NDC
(Galileo Zimbabwe) generates strategic funds which have been used to pay Air
Zimbabwe's distribution costs.

"Without these funds the airline will not be able to pay the Galileo
Worldspan distribution costs, which will result in the airline being cut off
as had happened with Amadeus."

Air Zimbabwe further states that Galileo International has in the past tried
to take over Galileo Tanzania and Galileo South Africa without success.

However, the letter notes that Air Zimbabwe has since met with Galileo
International's vice-president for Southern Africa over the issue and they
indicated that they were not agreeable to any suggestions that will see them
not withdrawing the franchise.

"They want (Galileo International) an arrangement where they are in the
driving seat and in total control of NDC," wrote Mr Mavhunga.

Air Zimbabwe had suggested that they share the commission on a 20-80 percent
ratio with 20 percent going to the NDC to cover running costs while 80
percent goes to Galileo International to cover Air Zimbabwe's distribution
costs.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Mbiriri proved fruitless as he was said to
be out of the country.
Sources allege that serious divisions have surfaced with counter accusations
within Air Zimbabwe management of trying to sabotage the State-owned
enterprise.

"A storm is brewing at the airline with counter accusations amongst the
management. Recently there was a public fallout between the two general
managers accusing each other of trying to act on behalf of Galileo
International, violating indigenisation regulations.

"There is also a mass exodus of people at Galileo Zimbabwe and they have
since been roped in by the new company.

"A marketing manager at Galileo has already signalled her intention to
resign in anticipation of the formation of the new company although the real
mastermind is alleged to be the former general manager of Galileo," added
the source.

Statistics contained in a 2009 report by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority on
tourists showed that five of the major airlines serving Zimbabwe — Air
Zimbabwe, South African Airways, British Airways-ComAir, Air Namibia and
South African Airlink — take up 93 percent of the airline market share in
the country.

The report also notes that the market share for Air Zimbabwe fell by 11
percent in 2009, which saw South African Airways taking over the leading
position in terms of passenger market share in the country.

The airline has in recent years grounded several aircraft because they were
no longer worth flying and scaled down on the number of flights per week to
rationalise operations and contain ballooning costs.

Zimbabwe, The Second Poorest Country In The World

http://www.radiovop.com

9 hours 46 minutes ago

Bulawayo, June 26, 2011--Zimbabwe is the second poorest country in the world
a New York based financial magazine revealed in its monthly report this
week.

The report released by the monthly Global Finance magazine on Thursday says
Zimbabwe is second poorest in the world after Congo-Brazzaville which is at
the bottom of the list among 182 countries in the wealth classification.

“The poorest 10 countries were by order of their poverty Congo, Zimbabwe,
Burundi, Liberia, Eritrea, Niger, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone,
Togo and Madagascar,” said Global Finance report.

The report says Qatar is currently the wealthiest nation on earth after it
steadily pushed up its way on the global rich list, aided by its massive gas
wealth. The small European state of Luxembourg was the second richest.

"The richest country is occupied by Qatar a GDP per capita of U$ 90,149 in
2010. The poorest country is the Republic of Congo, with a per capita of
only U$ 342." The report also showed the other 9 countries in top 10
richest nations include by order of their wealth Luxembourg, Norway,
Singapore, oil-rich Brunei, the United States, Hong Kong, Switzerland,
Netherlands and Australia.

Zimbabwe was hit by the economic meltdown in the past decade with
International lenders last extended funding to Zimbabwe in 1999 after
fallout with President Robert Mugabe, whose policies, including the seizures
of white-owned commercial farms in 2000 led to an investor flight.

Zimbabwe’s arrears to foreign lenders now stand at US$6.4 billion and the
country has agreed to clear its debt through debt cancellation and using
revenues from its minerals to settle part of the money it owes.

However the southern Africa’s economy is on the mend since the unity
government came into office in February 2009.

Stop suppressing people: Mtukudzi

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Maxwell Sibanda, Entertainment Editor
Sunday, 26 June 2011 15:33

HARARE - Music star Oliver Mtukudzi says Zimbabwe needs a new constitution
that should uphold the fundamental rights of its citizens as opposed to the
current law which has been used to suppress people.

Mtukudzi said a normal life in Zimbabwe would only be ushered by a home
grown constitutional document that spelt how Zimbabweans wanted to be
governed.

In an interview with Daily News this week, Mtukudzi said it was sad that
Zimbabweans were still using the Lancaster House Constitution written by our
former colonisers.

“Today Zimbabweans are still using the Lancaster House Constitution which
was drafted by the colonial regime to suppress blacks. That same
constitution has never changed; suffice to say it was now being used by
blacks to suppress fellow blacks.

“We inherited even the policies that guide the broadcasting sector, radio
and television. Those policies were meant to suppress our voices and today
the scenario hasn’t changed. A new constitution will definitely bring change
to the way radio is operating today,” said Mtukudzi.

The music star said he did not believe that political parties were
responsible for the violence that has rocked the country over the years.

“Political parties are there to protect us, so I do not think it is true
that they fuel violence. The violence should be blamed on the people. The
people are responsible for injuring others, and not political parties."

“Can someone send you to attack another person on Mtukudzi’s behalf? Any
reasonable person would refuse that, but those doing it, did it in their
personal capacities and I am sure they will not be representing any
political parties,” said the lanky musician.

One of Mtukudzi’s songs, Who is a Hero? although sung way back still raised
a burning question in Zimbabwe where Zanu PF had monopolised the conferring
of national hero status.

Mtukudzi said his music communicated to people in an amazing way.

“My music works today, tomorrow and years beyond. That song, Who is a Hero?
remains fresh and I am still questioning the criteria used to confer hero
status.”

In 2000, Mtukudzi was among some of Zimbabwe’s top musicians that took part
in the production of a government song which promoted the idea of a new
constitution. Zimbabweans, however later rejected the draft document in
favour of a “No” vote.

Then (2000) Mtukudzi told international music journalist Banning Eyre:
“Well, I was involved in the song that encouraged people to go and vote. I
really wanted people to say out their feelings so that the government knows
exactly what they feel about everything. And that really happened.

The elections were very quiet, but at the end of the day, they had showed
their feelings.

“My personal feeling is that from the time of the referendum and the
parliamentary elections, it’s a step towards positive change."

“I think everybody knows now what the nation feels. It’s not just a matter
of being dictated to. People showed what they feel about the whole
situation. People are tired of the same thing. They want a change, something
different from the last 20 years.”

The end of an era for Zimbabwe's last white farmers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Despite the introduction of a power-sharing government two years ago, state-backed farm seizures have continued. Colin Freeman meets one of the last white farmers still at work in Zimbabwe.

Mr Cloete has spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills fighting the land reform programme Photo: GREGG ROBINSON

By Colin Freeman, Chegutu

7:00AM BST 26 Jun 2011

Driving through land his family have tended for half a century, Colin Cloete stops to inspect a harvested tobacco field, rows of green stumps sprouting from a terracotta soil.

As a seasoned professional farmer, he knows the field needs to be reploughed before pests infest the weedy growths left behind. As a tired political campaigner, however, he knows it is no longer worth his while.

"We should be replanting these fields now, but I don't know who is going to benefit from the next harvest," he says, shaking his head. "I will probably do it anyway, but I do wonder whether it's worth it."

After an 11-year struggle in which their ranks have been murdered, beaten, jailed and bankrupted, the last of Zimbabwe's white farmers are finally facing defeat in their efforts to resist President Robert Mugabe's land-grab programme.

Despite the introduction of a power-sharing government two years ago, state-backed farm seizures have continued, and earlier this month, Mr Cloete lost a final appeal at Zimbabwe's Supreme Court to keep his one remaining property.

Next Monday, he will appear before a local magistrate to answer a charge of trespass, for which the only way to avoid jail will be to pack up and start looking for a new house in Harare, an hour's drive away.

With his departure will also go the hopes of some 300 other white farmers - all that remains of a community that was once 4,000 strong - for whom similar legal challenges had offered some last chance of protection, or at least a stay of execution.

"They will probably give me about 24 hours to get off my land, as they will say I have dragged things out through the appeal process already," sighed Mr Cloete, whose fields supply British American Tobacco, makers of Dunhill's and Benson and Hedges.

"To be honest, I don't really fancy the idea of moving to Harare, and the idea of giving up farming is heart-rending. If I was going to serve a couple of years in jail and then get the farm back, it might be worth it, but that's not how it is."

A former head of the Commercial Farmers' Union, Mr Cloete has spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills fighting the land reform programme, which put Zimbabwe on the path to economic ruin a decade ago when black squatters were first encouraged to "invade" white-owned farms.

Purportedly to redress the injustices of white colonial rule, its effect has been largely to create a new landlord class: the pick of white-owned land has gone to Zanu-PF cronies, leaving an agricultural sector that was once the pride of Africa in the hands of people with no experience of farming.

Hopes that Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC might use their presence in government to halt the programme have proved premature, with the party fearing that vocal support for farmers could allow Mr Mugabe to portray them as the stooges of British rule.

However, the prospect that the MDC might still curb the programme should they win the next elections has encouraged Zanu-PF supporters to continue to grab the remaining white-owned farms while there is still a chance.

"Morgan knows that the land issue is too sensitive to broach because everything is tied in with the liberation struggle," said Mr Cloete, who lives on the farm with his wife Charmian, 57. "But do hope that at some point, we will get a new government and there will be a change of stance."

Mr Cloete's central claim to the Supreme Court was simple: he argued that as had bought the farm after independence in 1980, it could hardly have been considered the booty of a white colonial overlord, and therefore should be exempt from land-grab laws.

That the judges rejected it, though, came as no great surprise to him or his Harare-based lawyer, David Drury.

Zimbabwe's courts are dominated by Zanu-PF judges who are often beneficiaries of land-grabs themselves, says Mr Drury, while the few judges who find in favour of white claimants often end up losing their jobs.

Mr Drury, though, says the intention was not to triumph against odds that were always stacked against them, but to stage what he calls a "show trial" - a record of events that some post-Mugabe government may use to help rectify matters.

"It is a chance to provide a record of the injustice, in the hope that some sort of sanity will eventually be restored to cloud cuckoo land," he said.

"I am the first to support genuine land reform, and to support people who have been marginalised to become productive. But handing land to people on the basis of party connections is completely illogical."

In similar fashion, the Zimbabwean government has also chosen to ignore what should have been a legally binding 2008 ruling by a tribunal of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community, made in response to a petition by 77 white farmers, that the land reform programme was inherently racist as it operated purely on the grounds of colour.

Legal challenges by a few other white farmers are due to be heard by the Supreme Court in July – with some claiming, for example, that they hold their land as a company rather than an individual - but the way every other case has so far been struck down means lawyers are already advising them to prepare to leave.

Even farmers who thought they were on solid legal ground have had no protection.

South African Dirk Visagie, another Chegutu farmer, has suffered constant harassment from farm invaders intent on grabbing his land, despite it supposedly being protected under a bilateral investment agreement between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Mr Cloete, whose parents first came to Chegutu in 1955 and still live nearby, is in many ways typical of the white farmer's dwindling breed.

He wears the standard attire of khaki shorts and bush shirt, follows cricket keenly, and contrary to Mr Mugabe's narrative of white farmers as uncaring feudalists, shows a country squire's concern for the welfare of his black farm workers.

His mother, he says, built the 700-pupil local school, his father sat on the local council, and whenever his black neighbours need helping out - be it a fellow farmer borrowing a tractor, or the local police borrowing fuel for their cars - it is his door on which they knock.

"There is a perception that we had an elitist, privileged lifestyle, and just took advantage of our workers," he admits.

"And yes, I agree that there are some difficult farmers about - I learned that while dealing with them as head of the CFU. But there is never any talk about the schools we built, the clinics we built. We have never tried to live in isolation from the community."

He has already handed over another farm he owns to a group of black settlers who turned up in 2006, since when, he says, he has done his best to be neighbourly.

He helps prepare the land for cultivation and offers advice when they need it, although driving through his estate, it is clear that some of what is now in black hands is being used for little more than subsistence agriculture.

Such goodwill, however, counts for little when groups of club-wielding "war veterans" - ostensibly men who fought in Zimbabwe's war for independence, but in practice often just hired thugs - turn up to demand a farmer's departure, as they last did with Mr Cloete in late 2009.

The men, who he suspects were sent by Colonel Norman Kapanga, the retired policeman who has claimed his second, 450-acre farm, wielded clubs and lit a fire in his front garden, although they eventually left without further confrontation.

What stung more, though, were the "Go back to Britain" slogans they shouted - meaningless to a man who is in fact of French Huguenot stock, has only ever held a Zimbabwean passport, and has nowhere else to go even if he wanted to.

Infuriatingly, the view that he has no longer a citizen of his own country is shared by the black prosecutor who will oversee his trespass case next week, who has described him in previous court appearances as merely a "visitor".

"I have never viewed myself as anything other than Zimbabwean, and that is what hurts me most," he said.

"We are not being looked at as citizens of this country, yet my father was born here before Robert Mugabe. What future do we have when you are fighting people of that mentality?"

Home Office a disgrace: objective evidence – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 25th June 2011

Four Iraqi women joined our demonstration today. After stopping briefly at the Vigil and moving on they returned and said they supported our cause and joined in the dancing. It was great to have them with us: they expressed such liberation!

Iraqis – along with Zimbabweans – are among the largest groups of asylum seekers in the

. The Vigil makes no claim to speak for Iraqis but we both have a problem with the British Home Office, the gateway to sanctuary in the

. Few Zimbabweans have much respect for the Home Office. In fact it is generally regarded – in the words of former Home Secretary Dr John Reid – as ‘not fit for purpose’.

In the Vigil’s experience, the Home Office is worse than this. Putting aside the corrupt activities of some of its staff (as occasionally exposed in the British courts) there is a seemingly institutional incompetence. Not a few of our supporters have had their papers ‘lost’ in this Kafkaesque nightmare (apart from the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants the Home Office has mislaid).

What prompts these remarks is a letter from a Home Office official to a lawyer acting for one of our supporters who is seeking political asylum. The official said this about a letter from the Vigil supporting the asylum claim: ‘Objective evidence from www.nehandaradio.com raised public awareness that the

Zimbabwe

vigil was exploiting asylum seekers in the

and would on the payment of a fee issue a letter to state attendance at the vigil. Therefore, no weight is attached to the production of this letter’.

Our supporter’s lawyer asked for our comment on this ‘objective evidence’. Here is the response of one of our Vigil Co-ordinators.

I attach a doc with the history of why Nehanda Radio wrote the article decampaigning the Vigil (2 articles from Nehanda Radio and 2 of our diary items). As you will see on 20th June 2009 Morgan Tsvangirai addressed the Zimbabwean diaspora in the

and was booed off. The Vigil was accused of orchestrating this (totally untrue) and we wrote this riposte in our diary of 27th June "But Vigil supporters were too fired up about another matter – the silly allegations on some loud-mouthed Zimbabwean exile websites that the Vigil and ROHR were behind the booing of Morgan Tsvangirai when he spoke to the UK diaspora in Southwark Cathedral last week. Anyone looking at videos of the occasion will see that the angry response was prompted by Mr Tsvangirai’s remarks and was spontaneous and could not possibly have been planned." You will see that we also outline our policy on asylum letters in this particular diary - and our policy is still the same now.

Nehanda Radio's article of 30th June 'ROHR & ZimVigil exploiting asylum seekers' is in retaliation for this. Even though we didn't mention them by name they recognised themselves. The article is 2 years old.

The Internet is full of low quality

Zimbabwe

media websites set up by people with no particular authority and their own agendas, ie they are not neutral and unbiased. I find it astonishing that the Home Office / UKBA gives such credibility to this sort of trash. Unfortunately a lot of the people working at the HO / UKBA seem to be quite low calibre . . .

We are not an organisation set up to help asylum seekers: we campaign against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and all we can write about asylum claims by our supporters is their visibility as activists because they attend our protests – the more they come the more visible they are. We are entirely self-funding: the charge of £10 for our letters is for admin costs to cover paper, envelopes, print cartridges, phone calls, postage etc. Anyone who works for the Vigil does so voluntarily - nobody is paid. For people who are good attenders the admin fee for letters is not charged.

It strikes me that the Home Office is being disingenuous and deceitful in using this article to discredit the Vigil. They seem to be clutching at any straw. Their policy on

Zimbabwe

anyway is bizarre. The Home Office must be particularly dim if they don't realise that if the Vigil was a money-making business we would certainly charge more than a measly £10 for all the trouble we go to. After all MDC leaders have been known to charge hundreds of pounds for the same thing.

We are sending a copy of this diary to the Home Secretary Theresa May in the hope that she will make the Home Office fit for purpose (according to ‘objective evidence’).

We were happy to be joined by Kudakwashe Chitsike of the Research and Advocacy Unit (

Zimbabwe

). She had just arrived by plane from Zimbabwe and was going on to introduce and take questions on the film ‘Hear Us’ about political violence against women in Zimbabwe. Many of our supporters went on to the Frontline Club to watch the film. She was introduced at the Vigil by Wiz Bishop of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. Wiz also spoke of the London service of solidarity with

Zimbabwe

’s torture victims on 26^th June (UN international day in support of victims of torture) for which the Vigil was providing the choir.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil website. For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check http://www.zimvigiltv.com/.

· The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organisation based in

Zimbabwe

. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organisation on the ground in

Zimbabwe

which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the

actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in

Zimbabwe

· ZBN News. The Vigil management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.

· The Zim Vigil band (Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukqctWc3XE.

· Stop the violence in

Zimbabwe

: Vigil for democracy and rights. Monday 27^th June from 1 – 2 pm outside the

Zimbabwe

Embassy, 429 Strand, London WC2R 0JR. This protest marks the anniversary of the fateful 2008 presidential ‘run off’ election when Zanu PF ran a brutal campaign of violence including mass rape in a bid to retain power.

Zimbabwe

may have elections within the year. We cannot let the violence happen again. The protest is organised by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA), the successor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement. ACTSA will be presenting hundreds of stop the violence cards to the Embassy. (Because this is a human rights event the Vigil register will be taken.)

· ROHR Woking general meeting. Saturday 2^nd July from 2 – 6 pm. Venue: Woking Homes, Oriental Road, Woking GU22 7BE. Contact: Sithokozile Hlokana 07886203113, Saziso Zulu 07861028280 or P.Mapfumo 07915926323 / 07932216070

· ROHR Liverpool general meeting. Saturday 9^th July from 1.30 – 4.30 pm. Venue: Kensington Methodist Church, 294 Kensington, Liverpool L7 2RN. ROHR national executive members present. A well-known immigration lawyer available to talk about the new country guidance ruling. Contact Anywhere Mungoyo 07939913688, Netsai Karota 07767483180, Panyika Anselm Karimanzira 07538534375, Sheilla Mironga 07578541227 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070.

· ‘Through the Darkness’, Judith Todd’s acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe. To receive a copy by post in the UK please email confirmation of your order and postal address to ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust which provides bursaries to needy A Level students in

Zimbabwe

· Workshops aiming to engage African men on HIV testing and other sexual health issues. Organised by the Terrence Higgins Trust (www.tht.org.uk). Please contact the co-ordinator Takudzwa Mukiwa (takudzwa.mukiwa@tht.org.uk) if you are interested in taking part.

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in

Zimbabwe

. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in

Zimbabwe

. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk

Threatening Chiefs in Chivi a Recipe for Disaster

I learned about developments in Chivi North with great sadness. The
headline, “ Chivi Chiefs’ Lives Threatened by ZANU PF Bigwigs” has a
disastrous ring to it. What makes it such a sad and regrettable development
is the fact that the alleged perpetrators are residents born in the same
area. I would expect them to know better. Before I go any further, I should
declare my abhorrence and disgust in finding my family name being associated
with these distasteful allegations of threatening lives. For almost a
century,” Huruva” has been a name synonymous with humanitarian assistance,
respect and compassion not just in the whole of Chivi but also further a
field. Although not a chief himself, Huruva was very much revered by the
Chiefs and all their subjects. To this day this is the image that Huruva’s
sons and daughters strive to project as a family. Any divergence from this
family policy could only be a ZANU PF contamination. Of course I would like
to think these are just newspaper stories as the truth is yet to be
ascertained.
Now, it is important to understand that with the advent of a multiparty
democracy in 1980, citizens may have wrongly or rightly, assumed that they
were now free to express their political views without fear of arrest or in
a worst scenario, fear for one’ life as this was the main objective of the
liberation war. During the war of liberation the same Chiefs who are
allegedly now being threatened with their lives were in the Front
(forefront) of the liberation war and I personally was there with some of
them. The battles raged in their yards, valleys and in the hills. These
battles were successful because of the support and personal involvement of
our Chiefs. These Chiefs bore the same physical and mental scars just like
those who were in the Rear (at the bases in Mozambique). Some never even got
the opportunity to bury their loved ones who perished in these battles.
These Chiefs are the true heroes of our liberation struggle. I know there
are other areas in the country that did not witness the war but in Chivi
bloody battles raged. We fought for our liberation and we will jealously
guard against anybody who wants to bring back repression.
Now that we are an independent country with no less than 15 legally
constituted political parties, citizens should be spoilt for choice and not
feel threatened for making their choices. Chiefs should be busy with their
civic duties that are apolitical and should not be coerced into working for
a political party.
What I will say to those who are not familiar with Chivi dna is, temper with
the fabric of their society and you are guaranteed to come out a loser.
Chieftainships and chiefdoms are part of that dna. The Chivians are a very
resolute people. Politics is a matter of choice but not your being.
The country should know that the sanctity of my family’s name has not been
bequeathed to ZANU PF or to any political party. However, with political
liberalisation, individuals are free to pursue politics of their choice. We
gave the country to the people at independence. Now let’s listen to the
people.
John Huruva
Jhuruva2002@yahoo.co.uk
CHIVI

Bill Watch - Parliamentary Committee Series [Public Hearing on Road Traffic Regulations; Committee Meetings - 27-30 June]

BILL WATCH

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SERIES

[25th June 2011]

1.    Public Hearing on Road Traffic Regulations

The House of Assembly Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure
Development will be holding a public hearing on the Road Traffic
(Construction, Equipment and Use) Regulations [SI 154/2010] in Harare.
Details are as follows:

Monday 27th June at 9 am

Senate Chamber, Parliament

Chairperson: Hon Chebundo.      Clerk: Ms Macheza.

The committee seeks the public’s input on the regulations, parts of
which have under fire from both transport operators and ordinary
motorists. Interested groups, business persons and organisations and all
members of public are invited to attend the hearing, at which they will
be given the opportunity to give evidence and make representations.
Contributions made will be considered by the Committee in compiling a
report to be tabled in Parliament. If you want to make oral
representations at the hearing, please signify this to the Committee
Clerk so that she can notify the chairperson to call on you. An oral
submission is more effective if it is followed up in writing. If you are
making a written submission, it is advisable to take as many copies as
possible for circulation at the hearing.

If you are unable to attend the hearing, written submissions and
correspondence may be addressed to: The Clerk of Parliament, Attention:
Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development, P.O. Box
CY298 Causeway, Harare. If delivering, please use the Kwame Nkrumah
Avenue entrance to Parliament, between Second and Third Streets.

For further information contact the committee clerk, Ms Macheza.
Telephone 04-700181, 252931, 252941, extension 2222. Email
machezas@parlzim.gov.zw

Reminder about the Regulations Following amendments made by Statutory
Instrument 44/2011, SI 154/2010 will come into force on 1st July 2011.
The regulations that lay down a complete code of requirements for the
construction and equipment of motor vehicles, replacing regulations
dating from the early 1970s. Provisions that have hit the headlines and
drawn criticism include:

·        prohibiting the importation into Zimbabwe after 31st October
2011 of second-hand motor vehicles that are more than five years old

·        prohibiting the registration of left-hand drive motor vehicles
after 31st October 2011

·        prohibiting the use of left-hand drive heavy vehicles after 31st
December 2015

·        requiring that all motor vehicles must have fire extinguishers
and red reflective triangles complying with specifications detailed in
the regulations from 1st July 2011.

In a recent public statement the Minister of Transport, Communications
and Infrastructure Development indicated his readiness to receive
representations on contentious aspects of the regulations.

2. Committee Meetings Open to the Public

The following committee meetings at Parliament are open to members of the
public as observers only, not as participants, i.e. members of the public
can listen but not speak.

Monday 27th June at 2 pm

Portfolio Committee: Budget, Finance, Economic Planning and Investment
Promotion

Oral evidence from Minister of Finance on Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review

Committee Room No. 4

Chairperson: Hon Zhanda                  Clerk: Mr Ratsakatika

Portfolio Committee: Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs

Brief on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill

Committee Room No. 413

Chairperson: Hon Mwonzora             Clerk: Miss Zenda

Tuesday 28th June at 10 am

Portfolio Committee: Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and
International Trade

Oral evidence from the Ministry of Regional Integration and International
Trade on the First Quarter Budget Performance Report

Committee Room No. 3

Chairperson: Hon Mukanduri             Clerk: Mr Chiremba

Portfolio Committee: Industry and Commerce

Presentation of background paper on the business environment in Bulawayo

Committee Room No. 311

Chairperson: Hon Mutomba               Clerk: Ms Masara

Thematic Committee: MDGs

Oral evidence from members of the MDGs National Task Force on the impact
of the 2011 Budget on programmes aimed at addressing MDGs

Government Caucus Room

Chairperson: Hon Chief Mtshane      Clerk: Mrs Nyawo

Thursday 30th June at 9 am

Thematic Committee: Human Rights

Meeting with the Human Rights Commission on the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission Bill

Committee Room No. 2

Chairperson: Hon Marava                  Clerk: Ms Macheza

Thursday 30th June at 10 am

Portfolio Committee: Education, Sport and Culture

Oral evidence from Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture on
tendering procedure and textbook distribution in primary and secondary
schools

Committee Room No. 4

Chairperson: Hon Mangami               Clerk: Ms Chikuvire

Note: As there are sometimes last-minute changes to the meetings
schedule, it is recommended that those wishing to attend a meeting avoid
disappointment by checking with the relevant committee clerk that the
meeting is still on and still open to the public. Parliament’s
telephone numbers are Harare 700181 or 252936. If attending, please use
the Kwame Nkrumah Ave entrance to Parliament. IDs must be produced.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information supplied.

Mugabe remains in Asia

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 19:41

BY OUR STAFF

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has not returned home from Malaysia despite his
delegation flying back home on Thursday, sparking fresh speculation about
the 87-year-old leader’s health.

It was not immediately clear if Mugabe was still holed up in Malaysia where
he was attending the Langkawi Smart Partnership Dialogue, which ended on
Thursday.
Mugabe has this year frequented East Asia, particularly Singapore, where he
has sought medical help for both himself and wife, Grace.

Last month he admitted that he underwent surgery in the Asian country to
remove a cataract in his eye. But speculation is rife that he was seeking
treatment for prostate cancer.

Despite frequenting Malaysia, the president may not have fond memories of
that place, as on one of the visits he reportedly fell and was pictured with
a plaster across his forehead.

While it was not clear why he remained behind, speculation was rife last
night that he had again sought medical help in Asia. However, there was also
speculation that maybe he could have gone to visit his daughter, Bona who is
studying in Hong Kong. Insiders claimed Mugabe might return today, although
they were not certain.
Mugabe has made several trips to the East this year and when he last went to
have his eyes checked it was reported that he demanded US$3 million from the
Finance ministry.

It is reported that for the last trip, about US$7 million could have been
provided for the president and his bloated entourage. Within the first three
months, Mugabe had spent half the budget allocated to government travel
activities in 2011. This travel budget sums up to US$25 million — more than
the government spends for health care measures for all its public servants.
Higher civil servants are instructed to cancel all foreign journeys if not
urgently required.

VP Nkomo ruffles feathers in Matabeleland

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 17:38

BY KHANYILE MLOTSHWA

BULAWAYO — Vice-President John Nkomo might have forgotten how fellow Zanu PF
senior official Calistus Ndlovu destroyed his promising political career
with a single statement, when he accused people of Matabeleland of being
lazy.
Nkomo made the astonishing claims last week after touring the Joshua Mqabuko
International Airport whose refurbishment has taken over nine years to
complete.
Ndlovu, a respected academic, has failed to win any election since he
described Zapu as a dead donkey in the 1980s.

The statement has come back to haunt Ndlovu each time he has tried to seek
political office. A similar fate may befall Nkomo judging from the backlash
elicited by his statement on the emotive issue of Matabeleland’s
marginalisation.

Nkomo has shieded away from standing in elections in the recent past
claiming that he was a national figure but indications are that he is under
pressure to find a seat in the next polls.

Activists and political parties roundly condemned Nkomo’s utterances saying
it showed that Zanu PF was out of touch with issues affecting the region
whose development has stalled since President Robert Mugabe’s military
campaign, code-named Gukurahundi.

The militant Matabeleland Liberation Front (MLF), which is campaigning for
the creation of a separate state in south-western Zimbabwe said it was not
surprised by Nkomo’s claims.

“MLF is not surprised by statements by John Nkomo. To start with, Nkomo has
never spoken out on our people’s plight since the tragic loss of the
Mthwakazi hero, his excellency Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo,” MLF spokesman
David Magagula said.

“We note with embarrassing regret that he has eaten fully the soup, bone and
marrow of Zanu PF propaganda. He sees nothing wrong done by Mugabe to this
region.”
Accusations that the government has been neglecting Matabeleland have
mounted over the years.

The sentiments were reflected in last year’s constitution outreach programme
where most people demanded the devolution of power to provinces as a way of
addressing the problem of marginalisation.

MLF was formed last year and has drawn support from Zimbabweans exiles in
South Africa, most of who ran away from the grinding poverty in
Matabeleland.
Dumisani Nkomo, a Bulawayo-based analyst said the VP must apologise for his
statement or face the wrath of the people.

“Certainly, one would have to come from outer space not to appreciate the
fact that the marginalisation of Matabeleland is a practical reality,” Nkomo
said.
“It is a monumental scandal that government ministers from outside
Matabeleland have seen what so-called leaders from the region itself have
failed to realise and aknowledge.”

Nkomo rated the same as governor Cain Mathema

VP John Nkomo has been placed in the same bracket with Bulawayo governor
Cain Mathema and Zanu PF chairman Simon Khaya-Moyo who have claimed that the
marginalisation of Matabeleland was just a myth.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Industry and Commerce
minister Welshman Ncube described Mathema’s statements as unfortunate coming
at a time when companies in Bulawayo were closing down every day.

“We are amazed that despite the undisputable fact that there has been
closure of a minimum of 87 companies which has rendered over 2 000 people
jobless, Mathema continues to say the closure of these companies is just a
fallacy,” MDC provincial spokesman Edwin Ndlovu said.

“Of course we are aware that for Mathema and his party the figure 2 000, of
people that have lost their jobs is worthless considering that his party is
responsible for the massacre of over 20 000 people from the region for
political expediency.”

MDC said Mathema was divorced from reality, “a stranger to Bulawayo and the
region, a man blinded by the love of 30 pieces of silver.”

MPs confirm ZBC rot

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 17:35

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

EQUIPMENT at all Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) studios for both
radio and television is too “old, obsolete and incompatible” with new
technologies in the broadcasting sector, a recent parliamentary committee
report said.
The sorry state of the equipment has greatly compromised the quality of
production in all studios countrywide.

The revelations contained in the first report of the portfolio committee on
Media, Information and Communication Technology on the State of Public Media
in Zimbabwe confirms a story carried by The Standard newspaper in November
last year. ZBC sued The Standard for US$10 million claiming that the story
was a lie.

“It is now very difficult to have outside broadcasts and the broadcaster
admitted that productions are now of poor quality,” reads part of the
report.
“They do not have electronic news gathering cameras, microwave link, and
satellite link to cover outside broadcasts.”

The detailed report said the corporation has one functional editing machine
which had to be shared between programming and news departments.
“As a result, they have to edit programmes up to midnight or early morning
hours.”

The committee found that the equipment, commissioned in the 1990s, now
needed to be replaced by digital equipment by 2015 in compliance with the
deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union.

MPs noted that it was now difficult to get spares for “old and obsolete
equipment”.

The state of affairs is equally bad at Montrose Studios in Bulawayo. There
are no portable recorders.

Apart from that, the OB (outside broadcasting) van is now grounded and ZBC
has to bring the one in Harare for events taking place in Bulawayo, about
440 km away.
Workers are sometimes ferried in “open” trucks to work.

The report also confirms that viewers are no longer listening or watching
ZBC programmes because they are lowly regarded. ZBC, said the report, was
therefore facing resistance in collecting licence fees, particularly form
individuals.

Revenue generation by the corporation remains very low. The report said with
transmission coverage of 30% for television and less than 45% for radio, it
is difficult for ZBC to realise considerable amount of revenue from
licences.

“Regarding salaries workers at Pockets Hill were concerned about failure by
the company to meet pay dates, sometimes they were paid two weeks into
another month,” the report said.

Mugabe wades into AirZim fiasco

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 15:06

BY PATIENCE NYANGOVE

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has refused to accept Air Zimbabwe, board chairman
Jonathan Kadzura’s resignation from the board, The Standard has learnt.
Officials who requested to remain anonymous said Mugabe’s refusal to accept
Kadzura’s resignation was influenced by a letter written to him by Air
Zimbabwe engineers who blamed a senior government official for the airline’s
collapse.

The engineers accused the official in the Ministry of Transport,
Infrastructure Development and Communication (name supplied) of fuelling
corrupt activities.

“Air Zimbabwe engineers wrote to Mugabe notifying him that this senior
official, through his corrupt activities, had fuelled the rundown of
parastatals like Air Zimbabwe, Net-One and the National Railways of Zimbabwe
among others that fall under the ministry.

“That is when Mugabe refused to accept Kadzura’s resignation.”

Kadzura had resigned early this month as pressure mounted on his board to
reverse the decline at the airline. A diplomatic Kadzura on Friday confirmed
that his resignation had been rejected.

“It’s true my resignation was not recognised by the shareholder,” he said.

“The main problem at Air Zimbabwe is undercapitalisation and it continues to
be my number one priority to look for a long-standing solution to the
problems.”
Kadzura, who did not want to say much about the matter, said that although
he had not seen the letter written to President Mugabe by the Air Zimbabwe
engineers he had heard about it.

Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba could not be reached for comment as he
is out of the country with his boss.
The national carrier, just like most other parastatals, is reeling under a
huge debt and recently, local suppliers of A1 Jet reportedly stopped
supplies over a US$1, 6 million debt.

The airline was to cancel flights as result of the problem. Pilots have also
gone on strike twice this year demanding outstanding salaries.

Anglicans remember Bernard Mizeki

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 15:15

BY KUDZAI CHIMHANGWA

MARONDERA — At least 15 000 members of the Church of the Province of Central
Africa led by Bishop Chad Gandiya successfully converged at the Marondera
Show grounds yesterday to commemorate the life of martyr Bernard Mizeki.
Gandiya, whose group is involved in an ugly fight for the church’s
properties with renegade Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, said this year’s
commemorations had passed without any major incident.

“We have no complaints, the police were here to protect us,” Gandiya said.

“Our only complainant is about politicians in the background who did not
want to see us at the shrine. My question is: Are these police the same
police force we know or a rogue force, considering there is a heavy police
presence at the shrine?

“Why is Norbert Kunonga commanding the police?

Gandiya refuted allegations that his church supported homo- sexuality
accusing Kunonga of spreading the falsehood, a claim Kunonga used to break
away from CPCA.
Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the diocesan secretary said they were not worried
about Kunonga’s threats that he would strip them of their uniforms, saying
the Zanu PF leaning bishop was excommunicated.

Archbishop Albert Chama represented other member states from the Sadc
region. Mizeki was killed in 1896 and his death is commemorated every year.

Chombo, wife head for court

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 14:53

BY WALTER MARWIZI

LOCAL government minister Ignatious Chombo and his estranged wife Marian
will finally meet at the High Court tomorrow, over three years after their
separation opened a window into the politician’s property empire.
The Standard has it on good authority that contrary to reports that the two
had struck an amicable way out of the divorce wrangle, the matter has been
set down for hearing by Justice Antonia Guvava.

“The reports that you heard last year that Chombo and his estranged wife had
agreed on sharing their property were false. There wasn’t any truth to
that,” said a source aware of the developments.

While Marian had been represented by Sinyoro and Partners in the past,
latest information indicate that she quietly hired firebrand attorney,
Beatrice Mtetwa to take up the case in March.

The involvement of Mtetwa, an award-winning lawyer and former president of
Law Society of Zimbabwe adds currency to reports that Marian is determined
to get her
fair share of the property acquired by the minister during the subsistence
of their marriage.

A postnuptial agreement allegedly signed by the two parties shows that the
couple acquired a multi-million dollar empire. Chombo however denies the
authenticity of the list of properties insisting that it was an
exaggeration. He is on record saying the value of his property is nowhere
near that list, adding that he legitimately acquired whatever is in his
name.

These conflicting versions of his wealth are likely to be addressed in court
as the agreement is going to be lodged with the courts.

Economic indicators crucial to investment: World Bank

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 20:18

BY OUR STAFF

WORLD Bank country manager to Zimbabwe Nginya Mungai Lenneiye says the
country has to improve on indicators to attract the much needed investment
into the economy.

In his key note address at the Zimbabwe Quoted Companies Survey 2011 awards
on Thursday, Lenneiye said Zimbabwe was doing badly on the World Bank’s
Doing Business Report indicators.

The Zimbabwe Quoted Companies Survey 2011 was produced by The Standard’s
sister business paper, the Zimbabwe Independent and sponsored by BancABC
under the theme: “Staying the course”.

Lenneiye looked at five of the indicators — ease of employing workers,
getting credit, protecting investors, trading across borders and paying
taxes —and said an improvement on these facets would help lure investors
into the economy.

Lenneiye said the country had scored badly on the protection of investors
with a score of four and said Zimbabwe “needs to get closer to the index of
six achieved by Rwanda”.

He said the cost of production, especially labour, in Zimbabwe was high as
compared to other countries. He said in 2010, Zimbabwe experienced
redundancy costs of 446 weeks of salary. This is equivalent to eight years
of full-time employment. Botswana on the other hand had redundancy costs of
90 weeks of salary, Rwanda with 26 while Uganda had 13 weeks.

“An American employer incurred zero costs,” Lenneiye said. He said investors
engaged by the World Bank had raised concern on the unavailability of
reliable infrastructure.

Lenneiye said more than 90% of the country’s road network was in a poor
condition and public, private partnerships (PPPs) with the right legal,
regulatory and institutional framework would help address the situation.
Power and water supplies are erratic thereby affecting production.

On power, some companies have resorted to generators thereby increasing the
cost of production. He said the lack of credit was also hindering
investments together with the issue of collateral in cases where credit is
available, which complicated things for prospective investors.

Lenneiye said government has addressed some of the concerns raised by
investors by simplifying processes via the creation of a one-stop shop and
finalisations of PPPs in infrastructure.

SundayView: Timba arrest, another sinister Zanu PF plot

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 20:05

THE arrest of Jameson Timba, the Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s office, and the way police have denied his lawyer access to
him, is part of the systematic harassment of MDC activists that is growing
by the day.

Timba, who is also the MDC-T secretary for International Affairs, was picked
up around 4:30pm on Friday as he walked out of his office at Charter House.
Circumstances of his arrest remained unclear up to late yesterday afternoon
with Timba’s lawyers frantically trying to locate him.

Among other things, they filed an urgent High Court application to compel
the police to disclose his whereabouts.

The minister’s arrest came a few days after Jonathan Moyo, a Zanu PF
apologist, called for Timba and Tsvangirai’s arrest for allegedly
undermining the authority of the President.

After Mugabe and his protégés tried to mislead the public over the outcome
of the Sadc extraordinary summit held in Midrand, Timba felt compelled to
set the record straight in an article carried by Sunday papers last week.

Moyo claimed he committed a crime —undermining the authority of the
President. But that spurious charge levelled against Timba exposes the grand
scheme to annihilate the MDC through a systematic campaign of prosecution in
the courts.

There is no doubt that Moyo and his ilk are angling for the PM himself, whom
they see as the greatest obstacle in their quest to prop up Mugabe’s shaky
rule.

It’s a sinister campaign by a clique that is well aware that Mugabe, who has
pursued disastrous policies in the past, cannot win any free and fair
election.

In light of these developments, Timba’s arrest should be condemned in the
strongest terms. By merely expressing his opinions, Timba does not deserve
to be kidnapped, as his lawyer Selby Hwacha suggested on Friday, and thrown
into a freezing lice-infested cell.

One day someone will have to be answerable for these blatant human rights
violations.

SundayOpinion: Malema is not the problem

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 19:49

By Tau Tawengwa

“T hose of us who fret about the numerous threats Julius Malema has made
since becoming president of the ANC’s Youth League are worried because we
don’t understand what it means politically to have such a wild card in our
midst. His abrasive, confrontational style is not what we’ve come to expect
of our national leaders in the post-apartheid era.” Heidi Holland — the
renowned author of the internationally acclaimed Dinner With Mugabe.

Clearly, Julius Malema has many people worried sick about the future of his
country. His “abrasive, confrontational style” is excessively frightening
for many people, and hardly a day goes by without seeing the media awash
with stories of Julius “Juju” Malema. With the African National Congress
Youth League’s (ANCYL) elective conference over, it may be interesting to
look into this apparent fixation the nation has with Julius.

Recently, it was widely reported that Malema praised former President Thabo
Mbeki for his high intellect and leadership. Apparently, Malema went as far
as saying, “Mbeki is the best leader the ANC has ever produced.” In light of
this comment, critics including one independent political analyst, Elvis
Masoga, labelled Malema a “political opportunist”, who is out to challenge
President Zuma’s bid for a second term at the helm of the African National
Congress.
It would seem that Masoga is somewhat correct, because, if Julius said that
former president Mbeki is the best leader the ANC has ever produced, he
obviously meant that the leadership of the former president surpasses that
of the current. However, Masoga, to label Julius Malema as a “political
opportunist” is subjective. It is necessary for one to research the matter
holistically.

Firstly, the ANCYL constitution, as amended and adopted by the 23rd national
congress in April 2008 documents, the aims of the organisation; one of which
is: “To champion the cause of the African Renaissance.” For those who are
unaware, the African Renaissance is the concept that encourages African
people and nations to overcome the current challenges confronting the
continent and achieve cultural, scientific and economic renewal. This
concept was popularised by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. The
concept also encompasses the notion of “African solutions for African
problems”.

Now, the current chaos in Libya cannot be ignored. In terms of damage in
that country, the International Committee of the Red Cross says that 530 000
people have fled the country, hundreds of people are dead and thousands are
injured. The extent of infrastructural damage is yet to be documented. And
even while the continent knows that Colonel Muammah Gaddafi is no angel,
Africa is still puzzled as to why South Africa voted in favour of a
no-fly-zone over Libya by means of the UN Security Council’s Resolution
1973, which was meant to “protect civilians against Gaddafi’s forces”. The
South African Communist Party (SACP), one of the partners in the governing
tripartite alliance, recently lambasted President Jacob Zuma’s decision to
vote in favour of the enforcement of a no-fly zone in Libya, labelling it a
“foreign policy blunder”.

As the Libyan crises drags on and as South Africa’s foreign office
repeatedly shows its ineptitude to substantially intervene, it is clear that
different political personalities in South Africa, including Malema, are
nostalgic of the leadership of former president Mbeki in such matters. It is
therefore simplistic to dismiss Malema’s comments as those of a “political
opportunist.”

Secondly, Malema is a politician. Like most (if not all) politicians of this
age, he desires popularity, and in the last few years he has certainly won a
sizeable following for himself and for the ANC. He was recently quoted as
saying: “We have grown the youth league, the YL is a household name today. A
day doesn’t pass by without anybody mentioning the YL.” Now, one might argue
(as many do) that Malema is a demagogue, and that his pronouncements are
irresponsible and a bad example for the youth. Noted. However, the youth are
neither deaf nor dumb in this liberal democracy, and they can choose, if
they so wish, to reject the so-called “irresponsible” example of Malema, and
follow the “responsible” example of, say, Helen Zille. But why don’t they?
Maybe it is because some of the sensitive issues that Malema touches are
actually relevant in this society of increasing unemployment, poverty and
disparity.

Therefore, it is not Malema that is the problem, because another demagogue
could rise and fan the same fire. Hence, until the very social, economic and
political issues relevant to the youth of South Africa are largely
addressed, there is more than enough room for the likes of Juju to thrive.

SundayView: Zanu PF claims over struggle undermine democratic principles

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Saturday, 18 June 2011 21:49

Zimbabwe’s service chiefs have recently made remarks that are unfortunate
and constitute a brutal and vicious assault on democratic tenets and
beliefs, but these are also predictable and understandable given our
political background.

The history of our country is such that the security directorate is made up
of nationalists (not career soldiers) who find themselves in the security
establishment by virtue of the accident of having joined a nationalist
(political) movement which was forced to militarise in order to solve a
political problem.

It has to be pointed out that the political umbilical cord between the
current security leadership and Zanu PF stretches back to the early 1970s.

The relationship is so interlocked and intertwined that the career path of
the security top brass naturally leads to joining the political leadership
of Zanu PF upon retirement from the security establishment. This is evident
from past elevations of retired army officers like retired General Solomon
Mujuru, the late Air Marshall Josiah Tungamirai, the late retired general
Vitalis Zvinavashe and Nyambuya, among others.

The above scenario replicates itself in all strategic organs of government,
signifying Zanu PF’s omnipresence in all key levels and levers of
government.

Accordingly, this is why some of us shout from the mountain top that we have
an institutionalised de facto one-party state in Zimbabwe. When the
security chiefs go public on their support for Zanu PF, they do so on the
basis that they are an integral part of the current ruling elite and also
Zanu PF political leaders-in-waiting. They are merely defending their
political self-interests and post-retirement careers. In short, the
security chiefs see themselves not only as guarantors of Zanu PF tenure in
government but also as constituting the next generation of the national
political leadership.

The reality of the current political structure is that the people’s struggle
for independence has been devalued to mean the Zanu PF struggle, the people’s
victory over colonialism to mean the Zanu PF victory. The children of
Zimbabwe who constituted the armed wing of the struggle are classified as
the children of Zanu PF. In this process, Zanu PF, the political party, is
made synonymous with and equated to the state — the people are Zanu PF and
Zanu PF is the people! This is a dangerous philosophy in a country
striving for multi-party democracy.

The deliberate devaluation of Zimbabwe struggle for independence into a Zanu
PF affair and the consequential enhancement of Zanu PF to the level of state
breeds the mindset that an attack on Zanu PF is an attack on the state, and
that if Zanu PF loses power, that becomes tantamount to the country sliding
back to colonial rule. Accordingly, any opposition party that threatens the
political hegemony of Zanu PF, ipso facto, challenges the state machinery,
which instinctively goes into defensive mode against the intruding political
party.

The above stance is wrong. It distorts and rubbishes the real objective of
the nationalist struggle against colonial rule. The struggle was for the
establishment of a free Zimbabwe on the basis of “adult suffrage” (we used
to refer to it as “one man, one vote”). We have other similar struggles in
the world such as the French Revolution and the American War of Independence
founded on the same noble cause. The difference is that liberation wars in
other parts of the world have remained national affairs unlike in our
situation where Zanu PF claims the glory and the ownership.

Democracy allows people to ventilate their views openly and freely and
prevents pushing opposing and dissenting voices underground. Thus democracy
guarantees national stability and security.

From the Editor's Desk: Voter secrecy only way to stop electoral violence

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 26 June 2011 20:10

By Nevanji Madanhire

Voter secrecy only way to stop electoral violenceWhenever the weak have
pain, both physical and emotional, inflicted upon them by the powerful, they
desire revenge. They look forward to the day they can fight back and
humiliate the perpetrators of the violence. Violence when visited upon
adults is humiliating; every adult wants to fight back and restore his
dignity.

During colonialism when the white man treated adult Africans as children by
administering corporal punishment or giving them humiliating assignments to
do, the Africans often fought back in ways that sought to reduce the white
man’s standing among them. Those who worked as domestics often spat or
urinated into the white man’s drinking water and when they saw the white man
looking refreshed after a long swig they felt they had fought back.

Political violence is rampant in Zimbabwe in the run-up to any election.
Adult men and women particularly in the rural areas are beaten up and
humiliated in front of their colleagues and their children by people young
enough to be their offspring. The situation is not too different in urban
areas with thugs often going door-to-door terrorising people as has often
been reported in Mbare where a quasi-secret society called Chipangano is a
law unto itself.

What Jabulani Sibanda, chairman of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association is
allegedly doing in Masvingo province demonstrates the impunity which
perpetrators of political violence enjoy. That his colleagues have voiced
their concerns about his actions shows the extent to which he has humiliated
the people of Masvingo. The provincial leadership now thinks that Sibanda’s
actions are too extreme and may turn the whole province against Zanu PF.

In normal circumstances the people of Masvingo would be itching for revenge.
They would suffer quietly until the day they would demand their pound of
flesh; obviously that would be the day of the polls when they would enter
the polling booths and put their X into the box that would exact revenge on
their bullies. Countrywide there should be thousands upon thousands of
people suffering quietly in the same predicament as the people of Masvingo.

There is an inherent contradiction in electoral violence; you beat up people
in order that they vote for you! This doesn’t make sense at all especially
in a situation where voting is done in secrecy. One cannot expect the people
he or she has humiliated to vote him or her. But that is what happens in
Zimbabwe.

But why?

The perpetrators of violence are aware that the people they have humiliated
hate them with a passion but they don’t care. Jabulani Sibanda for example
knows pretty well that the people he is terrorising daily in Masvingo loathe
him but he doesn’t care. He knows how the philosophy of violence works: keep
them in perpetual fear before elections; threaten them during elections and
punish them communally after elections if some of them have voted in a way
you dislike.

The most important stage of this three-pronged strategy is the second:
threaten them during the polling process by reminding them that their vote
is not secret; this is the fulcrum of electoral violence. This point cannot
be harped on enough. If they were assured that they would vote in secrecy
they would seek revenge.

It would seem civil society organisations and political parties that should
harp on this until policy makers’ ears begin to ring are guilty by omission
and commission for perpetuating a flawed electoral process in Zimbabwe.
There are two types of electoral violence in Zimbabwe.

The first is that between small groups of members of different political
parties. It happens all the time in all countries in Africa and other
developing regions. This is normal and is difficult to eliminate entirely.
These little groups meet at townships or even communal wells and because
they have failed to change the others’ thinking they resort to fist fights.
All political groupings without exception are guilty of this at one time or
another.

This kind of violence can be reduced if concerted efforts are made by elders
in the communities to counsel peace or if a real national healing and
reconciliation strategy is put in place. This has been done successfully in
Ghana, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

In Ghana, for example, reports say the United Nations worked with the
government, the electoral commission, the media and civil society to ensure
that the 2008 elections were peaceful. The process was an unqualified
success; the success was attributed mainly to the existence of national and
local institutions capable of mediating disputes peacefully.

The second type of violence is the obnoxious variety which is
state-sanctioned. This is perpetrated by senior members of political parties
in government, directly or through their proxies. These people would be
protected by law enforcement agents who apply the law selectively. The
police in this case would descend with full wrath on certain groups while
allowing other groups to inflict pain and suffering on their opponents with
impunity. The country’s prosecuting authority — in our case the office of
the Attorney-General — usually remains supine in the face of this. This is
the kind of violence Zimbabwe has continued to experience in the past
decade. It is already rearing its ugly head in spite of the lull of the past
two years with the deployment of military personnel into the rural areas and
the reported resurrection of torture bases all over the country.

This type of violence is almost impossible to stem even if international
organisations such as the United Nations, or in our case the Southern
African Development Community, intervenes. The only way to stop it is by
removing its fulcrum or hinge, which is that people are not voting in
secrecy. If voters are enabled to express their free will in secrecy
violence becomes entirely useless; it will, as it naturally should, turn
prospective voters against perpetrators.

As we reluctantly totter towards another harmonised election, Zimbabweans
must interrogate holistically the whole electoral process and identify those
facets of the process that militate against voter secrecy.

The place to begin could be the whole legislation pertaining to the
electoral process and the agents such as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
that enforce the legislation. The aim would be to reinforce voter security
in the polling booth so that every voter is assured there is absolutely no
Big Brother watching.

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SundayOpinion: Malema is not the problem

SundayView: Zanu PF claims over struggle undermine democratic principles

From the Editor's Desk: Voter secrecy only way to stop electoral violence