http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
June
28, 2009
Jon Swain
A Zimbabwean MP who was about to reveal to an
international delegation the
site of a mass grave of diamond diggers,
allegedly killed by government
troops last November, has been arrested and
jailed.
Shuwa Mudiwa, whose Mutare West constituency covers the Marange
diamond
fields where the killings occurred, was expected to disclose details
of the
massacre to a delegation from the Kimberley Process, a certification
scheme
aimed at preventing the sale of "blood diamonds". It is due to visit
Zimbabwe this week.
However, Mudiwa is now being held on a charge of
kidnapping first lodged
during last year's fraudulent and violent election
that returned President
Robert Mugabe to power. The charge is widely thought
to be trumped up.
Several other people the delegation wants to interview
have been harassed
and intimidated, making it unlikely the Kimberley Process
group will be able
to establish the truth.
Some of the diggers were
reportedly shot by soldiers firing from helicopters
to clear the diamond
fields and bring them under military control.
As a result, Zimbabwe has
been accused of trading in blood diamonds, a
charge it denies. Human rights
organisations have evidence that as many as
250 people died but the
government says no massacre took place.
The deputy minister for mines,
Murisi Zwizwai, admitted at a meeting of the
Kimberley Process in Namibia
last week that a "special operation" to clear
the illegal miners had taken
place. He denied any killings had occurred.
One official who attended
last week's meeting and who favours Zimbabwe's
suspension from the scheme,
said: "I am concerned that if the team comes
back and writes a report that
is very partial because it has not been able
to see anything, the Kimberley
Process will accept that and will be
endorsing a lie and
misrepresentation."
The Kimberley Process has come under mounting
criticism for being toothless
towards Zimbabwe and other governments such as
Venezue-la that allegedly
conduct an unethical trade in diamonds.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 20:47
PARIS - Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has warned that using the
so-called Kariba Draft
as the sole reference material for the country's new
supreme law will
undermine the ongoing consultations in another sign of
major differences in
strategy with President Robert Mugabe on how to
implement the long-awaited
reforms.
Mugabe last week told the Zanu PF National Consultative
Assembly that
the new constitution must be anchored on the Kariba Draft that
was agreed on
by Zanu PF and the two MDC formations in September
2007.
But Tsvangirai told The Standard on Thursday that using the
draft as
the only reference point will render meaningless the ongoing
consultations
on the draft constitution, which is one of the major
benchmarks of the
September 15, 2008 power-sharing agreement.
"I do not think that insisting on anchoring the new constitution on
that
draft alone makes any sense," Tsvangirai said after meeting French
Prime
Minister Francois Fillion in Paris.
"We have so many drafts
such as the one from the NCA that can be used
as the basis for the new
constitution.
"Consultations are not only important to
legitimise the process but
also the substance." The Parliamentary Select
Committee on the constitution
says it has received more than four drafts
including one from MDC-T that
proposes decentalisation of
power.
However, the Prime Minister whose party is at
loggerheads with Zanu PF
over the implementation of their power-sharing
deal, downplayed any
differences with Mugabe saying the veteran leader could
have been quoted out
of context.
Tsvangirai said Mugabe
assured him that the Kariba draft will only be
used as a reference
point.
Mugabe is said to favour the Kariba draft because it
would leave his
over-arching powers intact, while the MDC-T risks losing a
key constituency
in civil society if it gives in to Mugabe's
demands.
The constitution-making process led by a parliamentary
select
committee began consultations last week under a cloud of suspicion
with
civic groups threatening to stay away because of fears that the
four-month-old government will impose the Kariba draft on
Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai found an ally in Paul Mangwana, the
Zanu PF co-chairperson
of the Parliamentary Select
Committee.
Mangwana yesterday publicly differed with President
Mugabe on the use
of the Kariba draft.
Mangwana told
Bulawayo residents who turned up for the public
consultation meeting that
his committee would not use the Kariba Draft as a
reference
point.
"This process will be people-driven and any draft on the
new
constitution will come from the people and not from any one political
party.
The Kariba Draft is one such draft that will not be used as the basis
for a
new constitution," Mangwana said.
The public
consultation meeting was held at the Large City Hall and
was attended by
hundreds of Bulawayo residents.
Consultative hearings on a new
constitution began on Wednesday and
will lead to an all-stakeholders'
national conference on July 10, where
thematic committees will be selected
to collate the public's views on what
they want included in the
constitution.
Mangwana said his committee would push for the
new constitution to be
made a mandatory subject in schools.
"We hope that the constitution will be mandatory subject at schools so
that
Zimbabweans know and respect their constitution," Mangwana
said.
Editor Mathabisa, a member of the committee urging
Bulawayo residents
to ignore those who said the draft would be the reference
point, added: "It
is not a crime that people say we are basing this process
on the Kariba
draft because everyone has a right to their own
views.
"We are starting on a clean page. We are not using The
Kariba draft as
a reference point."
However the Minister of
Justice Patrick Chinamasa on Friday insisted
the Kariba Draft Constitution
would form the basis of the new constitution.
Addressing
journalists at Chinhoyi Press Club on Friday evening,
Chinamasa said there
is no way the Kariba Draft can be thrown away after all
the efforts from MDC
formations and Zanu PF.
He said Advocate Eric Matinenga, the
Minister of Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs was wrong in saying the
draft would not be used.
"I'm sure you have all seen the draft
it is signed page by page, all
that to throw it into the bin, into the
toilet. Do you believe that?
"To spend time signing that just
to throw it into the Blair toilet,
no, no, no it can't be."
Chinamasa also shed light on how work on the draft started. He said
the
drafting was not an overnight event but it was a process that had begun
way
back in 2002.
He revealed that after the Presidential elections
in 2002 he was
assigned to work on the constitution together with the then
MDC
Secretary-General Welshman Ncube to come up with a draft acceptable to
both
parties.
In startling revelations, he said he would
meet and write the draft
with Ncube at his home. They were later joined by
Nicholas Goche and Tendai
Biti in 2007. That process culminated in its
adoption in Kariba.
Chinamasa said despite criticisms, he was
confident the Kariba draft
would be the one to be presented for the
referendum.
"Anyway at the end of the day what ever comes from
this process must
first be agreed to by all the political parties. I am sure
Advocate
Matinenga realises that unless he is naïve."
Tsvangirai, who returns home today after a three-week tour of the
United
States and Europe was told that the international community will not
extend
any development aid to the unity government in the absence of
sufficient
reforms.
Fillion and French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard
Kouchner told
Tsvangirai in separate meetings that progress in media
reforms, the
restoration of the rule of law and a new democratic
constitution would
unlock desperately needed aid for the country's
reconstruction.
"After four months we have peace and stability.
There is progress and
I would be the last one to say everything is rosy. The
concern you have is
accepted, is a legitimate concern. The media are going
to re-open,"
Tsvangirai said at a joint press conference with
Kouchner.
Kouchner also told the Prime Minister that his
government expected
French farmers covered under Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection
Agreements (BIPPAS) to be protected against the
resurgent land invasions in
the country.
Several French
farmers have been targeted in the ongoing invasions,
which Tsvangirai tried
to downplay during an earlier visit to Britain.
Meanwhile,
Tsvangirai says his three-week sojourn was a success
despite yielding only
humanitarian aid for the country.
"When we left Zimbabwe we
were very clear about the objective of this
mission and that was to
re-engage the international community and also to
resume dialogue with the
European Union under Article 9 (of the Cotonou
agreement)," he
said.
"We are going back home proud that we were able to meet
all the
leaders and there has been a positive perception created by this
trip, which
also represented the re-opening of minds on the Zimbabwe
situation."
He said the close to US$10 billion needed for the
country's
reconstruction will not be raised overnight.
On his visit
to France he was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister
Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi and Tourism minister Walter Mzembi.
BY KHOLWANI NYATHI
& NQOBANI NDLOVU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 20:36
NATIONAL Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairman Lovemore Madhuku is
having
the last laugh.
Just a few months ago Madhuku was vilified for
"trying to derail a
parliament-driven constitution-making process for
personal gain" when he
announced that his group would campaign against the
process even before it
had started.
His critics said the
process backed by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and President Robert
Mugabe was noble and should be given a
chance.
"From the start,
we said politicians can never be trusted to draft a
new constitution,"
Madhuku said on Friday.
"Look, Mugabe has come out in the open. He
is not looking for people's
views in the new constitution. The consultative
process is just a sham," he
said.
Madhuku made the comments
as it became clearer that the consultative
process called to gather people's
views was a mere formality.
Mugabe told members of the Zanu PF
Central Committee last week that
the new constitution should be based on a
draft prepared secretly by
representatives of the three main political
parties in Kariba in September
2007.
Mugabe went further to
stress that people's views should not influence
the constitution, arguing
that nowhere in the world would drafters seek the
opinion of the
masses.
"Finally, the decision of the people is sought through
a referendum
and then .Everybody must vote.
"Our people have got to
be very careful and take precautions not to be
derailed, not to be led away
from the Kariba draft. We will make the draft
available."
Madhuku said Mugabe's pronouncements should be a wake up call for all
those
who were thinking that the nation could get a new constitution
reflecting
their views and their aspirations from the process led by
politicians.
"What is needed now is to stop this process.
Mugabe has to be forced
to agree to a process that would allow for people's
views to be gathered,"
he said.
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC-T
spokesperson echoed the same sentiments when
he said on Friday his party
would not allow anyone to derail the process of
gathering people's views
which had already started countrywide.
"Our position is clear:
we reject any attempt to impose the draft on
the people. We want the
constitution to be driven by the people. The Kariba
draft is not the Alfa
and Omega of the constitution-making process," he
said.
Madhuku is not surprised why Mugabe and any other politician aspiring
for
the high office of the President are insisting on the Kariba
draft.
According an analysis by the NCA, the draft which is
noted in the
Global Political Agreement, would result in a government
dominated by the
executive.
Parliament, the judiciary and
numerous public offices and bodies would
be subject to political
manipulation and control. Many of the fundamental
rights and freedoms to
which Zimbabweans are entitled would not be
protected.
The
draft leaves the President's expansive, unchecked powers
intact.
These powers have often been used for political
advantage.
Under the draft, all the executive authority rests
in the President
"who takes precedence over all other persons in Zimbabwe"
and his cabinet.
The President can unilaterally declare war and
suspend human rights
protections. He can pardon criminals.
He will
have unchallenged powers to appoint Vice-Presidents,
Ministers, cabinet
members, diplomats, ambassadors, the Attorney-General,
central bank
governor, and service chiefs.
No individual or body would stop
him from appointing chairpersons of
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission,
provincial governors and
chiefs.
The NCA found out that the Kariba draft actually
eliminated many of
the checks on presidential power that were included in
the Constitutional
Commission Draft rejected in 1999.
It
said the Kariba draft removed the need for the President to consult
with
another office or gain Senate approval when carrying out many executive
functions.
"Moreover the draft adds a section from the
current constitution
which limits the ability of the courts to inquire into
the manner in which
Executive powers are exercised." said the NCA in its
analysis.
While the 1999 draft contained a clause limiting to
20 the number of
Ministers, the clause was dropped when Zanu PF and MDC
politicians met in
Kariba, giving room for a bloated
government.
On rights, the NCA found that the draft replicated
the weaknesses of
the 1999 document.
The Kariba draft fails
to protect many vital rights, such as the
freedom of the media and the
rights of workers to strike.
It however adds pregnant women to
the classes of persons protected
from unfair
discrimination.
But that provision will not placate women who
want a constitution that
does more than that.
Speaking at
the consultative meeting Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khupe said women
wanted a constitution that provided an enabling framework
to facilitate the
inclusion of women to decision making bodies such as
parliament and cabinet.
This would be in line the even the Sadc Protocol.
"In the new
constitution we want the issue of women's involvement to
be clearly spelt
out. If the country becomes a signatory to some of these
protocols we must
ensure that in the new constitution we have provisions
that they
automatically become domesticated by an Act of Parliament and that
makes
them binding."
Women also want the removal of any forms of
discrimination in
constitution of women on the basis of
tradition.
According to section 23 of the current constitution
women do not have
legal guardianship of their children.
They are not allowed to inherit land. Among other things women want
equality
with men, representation of women in high political offices,
protection from
all forms of gender based violence, property and land
rights. They also want
the right to health and the right to education among
others taken on board
in the new constitution.
It remains to be seen if Mugabe will
have his way and disregard
everyone including women from his party such as
Vice-President Joice Mujuru
who promised a new constitution to the female
constituency two weeks ago.
BY WALTER MARWIZI & BERTHA
SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
20:33
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said his whirlwind tour of
the
United States and Europe was "highly successful" as it managed to drag
Zimbabwe out of international isolation.
Tsvangirai, who was in
Paris on his three-week trip's last stop,
denied that his main mission was
to raise substantial amounts of money to
kick-start the country's flagging
economy.
"My tour of Europe has been very successful if you view it
on
re-engaging Zimbabwe with the West after we became a pariah state,"
Tsvangirai said. "On monetary issues, I did not promise anyone that I would
bring money to Zimbabwe. The relations established will yield results in the
long-term."
Tsvangirai's trip has yielded slightly above
US$200 million - a small
contribution towards the US$10 billion needed to
rebuild the shattered
economy.
The Western world told
Tsvangirai during his tour that the inclusive
government should undertake
more reforms before aid can be made available.
Western donors,
who accuse President Robert Mugabe of misrule and
largely shun him, have
said aid will only flow when democracy is restored
and economic, legal and
media reforms are implemented.
Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe is on
an "irreversible path to full democracy
and no one will stop
that".
On Thursday, Tsvangirai held talks with French Foreign
Affairs
minister Bernard Kouchner and Minister of Economy, Industry and
Employment
Christine Lagarde.
Tsvangirai said he had also
met with members of the Movement of French
Companies who indicated interest
in investing in the country, but were
worried about property
rights.
Private businesses said although they were willing to
invest in
Zimbabwe, they would do so only after the country had returned to
full
democracy.
Last week Amnesty International
secretary-general Irene Khan said the
human rights situation in the country
remained "fragile" and that the
economic and social picture was
"grim".
But in London on Monday, Tsvangirai told Khan that he
was committed to
ensuring the implementation of human rights provisions
included in the
Global Political Agreement, the deal that paved the way for
the setting up
of the inclusive government.
During the
week, France's Director for Africa and the Indian Ocean
Stephane Gompertz
said Mugabe's reappointment of Gideon Gono as central bank
governor further
damaged the credibility of the new government.
"Central bank
governor Gono had a negative effect on the economy of
Zimbabwe and his
re-appointment will escalate problems," Gompertz said.
Tsvangirai is
expected home today.
From Nqobile Bhebhe in Paris
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
20:30
GWERU - MDC-T Secretary-General and Finance Minister, Tendai Biti
yesterday attacked senior Zanu PF officials who stayed away from the funeral
and burial of Senator Patrick Kombayi despite the role he played during the
liberation struggle.
Kombayi was laid to rest at Nova House,
the family farm just outside
Gweru, where several hundreds of mourners
joined family members and MDC-T
officials in paying their last
respects.
Biti said Kombayi had become the "heartbeat of the
liberation
struggle" in the late 1970's as he aided countrymen through the
provision
of basics such as food and clothing.
He said
Kombayi had also received a substantial number of youths who
fled the
country to undergo training as the war of liberation
intensified.
"None of the people who went to war did not get
assistance from
Kombayi," Biti said.
"Today, he is being
laid to rest but none of his comrades are here.
What does this mean to us as
a nation?"
Biti said Kombayi made an enormous contribution to
the liberation of
Zimbabwe.
"He left a contribution that is
inextricable from the history of this
country. No matter that some of his
comrades absented themselves from this
burial as if nothing had happened,
Zimbabweans shall remember Kombayi as a
gallant son of the soil who was
selfless in his service to the nation," Biti
said.
He also
lambasted the Zanu PF leadership for what he said was poor
priority
allocation when it came to according of national hero status.
"We are sick as a nation," Biti said. "We have failed to recognise the
role
played by this man whom we are all gathered here to lay to rest. Our
national psyche is dead.
"Kombayi gave all he had in
sacrifice for the liberation and
independence of this country. But here we
are today; Kombayi is being buried
at his family home instead of being
interred at the National Heroes' Acre.
This is happening when the
likes of Chenjerai Hunzvi are accorded the
status which Kombayi should have
been accorded. Are we not ashamed about
that as a nation?"
He said that Kombayi was an upright man who stood for nothing but the
truth,
adding this was an attribute that made him stand head and shoulders
above
the rest.
".the wounds he sustained when he was shot by
Kanengoni and Chivamba,
both state intelligence operatives, are the ones
that have finally taken his
life and we stand proud that he has been a man
of great principle until his
last days on this earth," Biti
said.
Present at the funeral were MDC-T officials who included
Theresa
Makone, Tapiwa Mashakada, Elias Mudzuri, Cecil Zvidzai, Henry
Madzorera and
many other legislators.
The only notable
official from Zanu PF was Rugare Gumbo, who told
journalists he was at
Kombayi's funeral as a family friend. Gumbo said
relations between him and
Kombayi dated back to the days when they crossed
into Zambia for military
training.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
20:24
SEVERAL children under the ages of six who were vaccinated early
this
month against measles and polio under the Child Health Days are
reportedly
falling ill, raising questions about the way the exercise was
conducted.
More than two million children under the ages of six
were recently
immunised against measles and polio under a nationwide
campaign by
government with the support of the United Nations Children's
Fund (Unicef).
The children also received vitamin A supplement.
The Standard was last week inundated with calls from concerned parents
whose
children were sick and had reportedly developed side effects. Some
reported
their children were experiencing extremely high temperatures and
vomiting,
diarrhoea and nose bleeds.
"My two-year-old daughter had
serious nose bleeds a few days after the
vaccine with huge clots and the
bleeding wouldn't stop," said one parent.
"We were so shocked
that we rushed her to hospital because we were
afraid she would lose a lot
of blood."
City council nurses at clinics such as Highfield,
Mufakose,
Marlborough and Glen View confirmed having received cases of
diarrhoea and
vomiting. One nurse at Mufakose clinic said she had referred
one parent to
Harare hospital because her child's temperature was "too
high".
"The mother said she had given her paracetamol but the
temperature
would not go down," said the nurse speaking on condition of
anonymity.
"I referred her to Harare hospital because when she
left here the
child was already having convulsions.
When this
happens a child may go into cardiac arrest so they need to
be monitored
carefully."
But the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare
Douglas Mombeshora
yesterday said the public should not panic because
government is already
investigating these reports.
"We have
received reports but we would like to assure the public to
remain calm
because we have not received any fatalities," Mombeshora said.
"We have our team of experts following up on this and what they have
found
out is nothing to worry about. The public must understand each time a
child
is vaccinated it is normal to have side effects such as vomiting and
high
temperatures. They should only worry when this persists for days but we
have
not come across severe cases like this."
On the issue of nose
bleeds, Mombeshora said it must be "purely
coincidental" because it is not
one of the listed reactions children have
after vaccines.
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 20:22
THE
Deputy Secretary-General of the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ)
Wilder Tayler is expected in Zimbabwe tomorrow on a three-day
mission to
assess the state of human rights and respect for the rule of law
in the
country.
In a statement last week, The Africa Programme of the ICJ
said Tayler's
visit is also expected to enable him to promote effective
dialogue with
various human rights and rule of law stakeholders on how to
address legacies
of gross and systematic human rights violations in the
country, most of
which have not been independently investigated and
effectively accounted
for.
"During his stay in Zimbabwe, Tayler
will have the opportunity to
interact and consult with the legal fraternity,
policy community, diplomatic
community and human rights organisations on the
challenges facing the
realisation of human rights and respect for the rule
of law in Zimbabwe",
part of the statement reads.
"Among those,
of paramount importance are the challenges affecting
efforts to break the
endemic cycle of impunity for perpetrators of serious
human rights
violations in Zimbabwe."
Tayler is expected to discuss with the
coalition government the reform
of human rights and rule of law
institutions, which are central to the fight
against impunity and respect
for the rule of law.
"The Africa Programme of the ICJ is
convinced that the timely visit of
ICJ Deputy Secretary-General will
revitalise all efforts being made by
government and non-governmental
organisations for sustained restoration of
the rule of law in Zimbabwe and
the breaking of the cycle of impunity for
past and on-going human rights
abuses," ICJ said.
The ICJ is an international non-government
organisation (NGO)
comprising 60 of the world's most eminent jurists and has
a worldwide
network of national sections and affiliated organizations, among
them
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
ZLHR project
lawyer Otto Saki yesterday said his organisation was
facilitating some of
Tayler's meetings.
"ZLHR is facilitating some of his meetings,
specifically those with
NGOs", Saki said. "We understand the ICJ had direct
communication with those
government officials he intends to
meet."
Tayler's will be the first visit by an ICJ senior official
to
Zimbabwe.
His visit comes at the back of a six-day
high-level mission by Amnesty
International's Secretary-General Irene Khan
who concluded that the country's
human rights situation remained
precarious.
During her visit, Khan met senior government ministers,
human rights
activists and victims of human rights violations.
"Persistent and serious human rights violations, combined with the
failure
to introduce reform of the police, army and security forces or
address
impunity and the lack of clear commitment on some parts of the
government
are real obstacles that need to be confronted by the top
leadership of
Zimbabwe", said Khan, who added she enjoyed frank dialogue and
open access
given to Amnesty International by all arms of the government.
Her
daring conclusions however earned her a tongue-lashing from
President Robert
Mugabe who said: "She complains a lot as if she was
bewitched."
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
18:28
THE turf war pitting Finance Minister Tendai Biti against Reserve
Bank
governor Gideon Gono will be played out in the Supreme Court after a
Harare
magistrate referred an externalisation case against the minister's
law firm
to the superior court.
Harare Magistrate Peter Kumbawa
referred the case to the Supreme Court
saying the accused, Honey &
Blanckenberg legal practitioners, was unlikely
to have a fair hearing since
the matter has degenerated into a personal
fight between Gono and
Biti.
The law firm, through its attorney, Advocate Happias Zhou,
filed an
application to have the case referred to the Supreme Court for a
determination on the validity of the search warrants and the seizure of
documents protected under the attorney-client privilege.
Making his ruling, the magistrate noted that the reasons given by Zhou
in
the application showed that the independence of the prosecution had been
seriously compromised.
"There's no way the accused can
receive a fair trial in the
circumstances," he said.
Zhou
had submitted that his client would not get a fair trial because
the
complainant and investigator, the RBZ, had commented on the merits of
the
case while it is pending, including commenting on what it considered to
be
the defence raised by the accused.
He argued that Gono's
interest in the case is now more than
professional. "It has taken a
political dimension. The investigations and
prosecution are driven by a
political agenda," Zhou said.
For the state, prosecutor Benson
Taruvinga had opposed the appeal
saying the seized documents formed the
basis for the allegations the firm
was facing.
He said by
searching the premises of the law firm, there was no
infringement of
attorney-client privilege.
"I would therefore, implore the court to
dismiss the accused person's
application with the contempt it deserves and
order that we start the
trial," Taruvinga said.
But
Kumbawa ruled that the contents of the privileged document seized
by the
state had already been publicised by Gono making it highly
prejudicial to
the accused in his defence.
"In view of the above, can we
safely say the application is frivolous?
It's clear that this is a matter
for the Supreme Court," Kumbawa said.
"It is the ruling of this
court that this matter be referred to the
Supreme Court in terms of Section
24 (2) of the constitution of Zimbabwe."
The State recently
resuscitated a long abandoned case of alleged
externalisation of foreign
currency filed against the law firm three years
after the allegations were
raised.
According to the charge sheet, Honey & Blanckenberg
is being charged
with contravening Section 5 (2) (a) (11) of the Exchange
Control Regulations
109/96 as read with Section 5 (1) (a) (1) of the
Exchange Control Act
Chapter 22;05.
The law firm is accused
of registering patents and trade marks for
clients and then instructing
clients to make payments into its offshore
accounts without exchange control
authority.
A representative of the law firm, Mark Albert
Rosettenstein, who was
summoned to Harare Central Police Station in 1996,
denied in a warned and
cautioned statement that the company had externalised
funds on 698 occasions
between October 3, 2005 and May 3, 2006. The amount
involved was US$1 025
943.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 18:22
UNITED
States President, Barack Obama has appointed Charles Ray as the
new US
Ambassador to Zimbabwe.
Obama made the announcement on Friday. Ray
takes over from James McGee
whose tour of duty ends next
weekend.
In his remarks Obama said: "I'm grateful that these
talented and
dedicated individuals will be serving my administration and
representing our
nation abroad. I look forward to working with them in the
months and years
ahead to strengthen our relationships in the global
community and our
standing in the world."
Ray joined the
Department of State in 1982 and held several positions
such as deputy chief
of mission at the US Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
He also served in
the Department of State Political Military Affairs Bureau,
and worked in the
US Consulate- General Offices in Guangzhou and Shenyang,
China.
In 1998 he became the first US Consul-General in Ho
Chi Minh City in
Vietnam. During his more than 20 years in the Department of
State, Ray
worked with human rights activists on a variety of
issues.
Ray served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for
Prisoners of
War/ Missing Personnel Affairs in September
2006.
He reported to the Secretary of Defence for policy,
control and
oversight on all matters pertaining to missing US
personnel.
His task was to lead a team of personnel whose major
task was to
account for Americans who went missing during
conflicts.
Prior to entering the Department of State, Ray
served in the United
States Army for 20 years. He retired with the rank of
Major in 1982. He
received two Bronze Star medals from the Army and the
Armed Forces
Humanitarian Service Award.
Ray served as the
US Ambassador to Cambodia until 2005.
He has also served as
diplomat-in-residence at the University of
Houston.
During
his posting in the White House, Ray recruited students
interested in careers
in the US Foreign Service or the State Department. He
also worked with
secondary school systems, civic organisations and other
groups to inform
communities about Foreign Service.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 18:18
WORKERS' basic rights continue to be
violated in Zimbabwe, a top
official with the Dutch Trade Union
Confederation (FNV) said on Friday.
Agnes Jongerius, FNV president,
said although the level of violence
had subsided workers' basic rights such
as the right to organise and to
strike were not being
respected.
"The various laws which are violating basic human
rights, like freedom
of expression and the right to organise are still in
place. For workers the
basic rights to organise, to strike, and earn a
living wage are not
respected," she said.
She said
restoring the basic rights do not cost money "and are at the
same time the
conditions for getting aid or loans and new investments".
She
said the majority in the public service were surviving on an
allowance of
US$100 a month which is inadequate to meet daily needs.
"This
is far below the poverty datum line, which means that, for
example, many
teachers cannot even afford to send their own children to
school. A decent
wage should be at least US$450. What is the use of having
fully stocked
shops when people can not afford to buy (in) them," she said.
She bemoaned the absence of a national policy to strive for a minimum
wage
related to a decent living wage saying this leads to unacceptable low
remuneration in some areas.
"The worst examples are the
US$10 in the agriculture sector, the US$35
in forestry and the advised US$50
for domestic workers," she said.
Jongerius said government has
to take responsibility for setting a
minimum wage, which represents a decent
living wage.
Jongerius is in Zimbabwe to assess trade union and
workers' rights,
the political and socio-economic conditions of workers in
light of the
Decent Work Agenda as agreed by the International Labour
Organisation (ILO).
Last year the ILO conference decided to
send a fact-finding mission to
Zimbabwe but it did not get the needed
co-operation. The mission is now
expected in Zimbabwe on August
18.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
18:04
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai risks alienating himself from
his
political support base following his remarks that "all is well" in
Zimbabwe
during his just-ended international tour, analysts have
warned.
The MDC leader, who is expected back in the country this
weekend,
stirred a hornet's nest when he denied acts of human rights abuses,
farm
invasions and the general disregard of the rule of law.
Tsvangirai also denied that there were MDC activists who were abducted
last
year that have not yet been found and suggested that they might have
fled
the country.
Civil society, commercial farmers, people in the
Diaspora and even
members of his own party are furious that Tsvangirai is
turning a blind eye
to the crisis in the country for the sake of securing
external financial
support and propitiating President
Mugabe.
His attempt to gloss over the situation in the country
has not
impressed his party back home. Officials disgruntled with failure by
the
principals to solve outstanding issues convened a meeting in Harare
which
resolved to refer the sticking points to the Southern African
Development
Community (Sadc).
At the meeting Mugabe, who
was defended by Tsvangirai on his trip, was
accused of insincerity after he
refused to fire central bank governor Gideon
Gono and Attorney-General
Johannes Tomana. Mugabe unilaterally appointed the
two, disregarding his
coalition partners as required under GPA.
The MDC-T says Tomana
and the police have intensified a crackdown
against its officials which has
seen several of the party's legislators
arrested and charged in court. Three
MDC-T MPs have already been convicted
while four others are facing different
charges.
The MDC-T's resolution prompted Sadc, the guarantor of
the agreement,
to pencil in a meeting for next month to try and solve the
differences.
Commenting on Tsvangirai's attempts to paint a
rosy picture of
Zimbabwe, an MDC-T official who requested anonymity said of
the Prime
Minister: "He must have been out of his senses.
"You cannot say that when people are still aggrieved by the death of
their
loved ones murdered in June last year. I know of people still looking
for
their relatives whom they can't locate."
National Association
of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango)
spokesperson Fambayi Ngirande said
contrary to what Tsvangirai said
overseas, the political and human rights
situation in the country has not
changed. He said denying that there were
still human rights abuses in the
country was a slap in the face for all who
are working to democratise
Zimbabwe.
"We still have a
democratic deficiency in the country," Ngirande said.
"It's not yet Uhuru
and Tsvangirai should not stoop so low in order to get
financial
aid."
He said Zimbabwe needs a conducive environment that
attracts
investment more than financial aid.
White
commercial farmers were infuriated that Tsvangirai denied that
farms were
still being invaded.
Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) president
Trevor Gifford said
Tsvangirai was playing games in order to raise money for
the country.
"He is trying to turn a blind eye to the facts.
Evictions are
continuing. Harassment is continuing. Disruptions are
continuing. He should
be brave enough to say things as they are," he
said.
Gifford however could not say whether Tsvangirai would
lose the
support of commercial farmers. "I don't want to go that
far."
In Britain, the MDC leader was booed by a crowd of exiles
after he
pleaded with them to return home and, help rebuild the country. He
claimed
that the unity government had made sure that there was peace and
stability
in Zimbabwe.
Many of them shouted that the
situation was not yet conducive and that
Mugabe must quit first before they
could return.
Other than risking his traditional support,
Tsvangirai is returning
home to face a more defiant Mugabe, who is
determined to use a draft
constitution crafted in Kariba as the basis for a
new constitution.
But the MDC national executive has resolved
to oppose the imposition
of the Kariba draft constitution, setting the stage
for another
confrontation between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The Prime Minister will also have to deal with a threat by the
Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity
George
Charamba to take legal action against him.
Charamba said he was
investigating the legality of a newsletter
published by Tsvangirai's office
recently. The office launched it to counter
continued State media propaganda
against the MDC.
Zanu PF youths are reportedly confiscating
copies of the bulletin.
This, said University of Zimbabwe
political scientist Eldred
Masunungure, shows that all in not well in the
inclusive government.
"It shows the friction in the inclusive
government and that contrary
to what the Prime Minister said, we still have
serious problems in the
country," he said.
Masunungure said
Tsvangirai is in a dilemma trying to balance multiple
interests and multiple
concerns.
As a result, Masunungure said, Tsvangirai was forced
"to speak in
tongues" depending on his audience.
"He was
trying to paint a rosy picture to say the time is ripe for aid
to Zimbabwe.
He is in a quandary. In trying to persuade the donor world, he
runs foul of
his civil society support base," he said.
But Masunungure was
quick to point out that Tsvangirai would not lose
his grassroots support
because it has different needs from those of the
civil society. "Civil
society might be aggrieved but there are certain
sections of the community -
the grassroots - who are happy as long as their
basic needs, which they
longed for, are met," Masunungure said.
BY CAIPHAS
CHIMHETE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
18:00
THE inclusive government must enact laws that make torture a
criminal
and cruel offence that cannot be pardoned, the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO
Forum has said.
Marking the UN International Day in
Support of Victims of Torture,
Zimrights director Okay Machisa said
government should sign, ratify and
domesticate the Charter Against Torture
(Cat).
He said this should be part of the efforts aimed at taking
transitional justice to the people.
All torture bases
reportedly being reactivated in some rural areas
must be
abolished.
"There is need to scrupulously investigate all
reported cases of
torture and bring the perpetrators to account," Machisa
said.
"Victims of torture should be rehabilitated, receive
adequate,
effective, prompt and proportional compensation to the gravity of
the
violation as recommended in the 2002 African Commission on Human and
Peoples'
Rights (ACHPR) between the government of Zimbabwe and the forum and
various
other domestic court orders which have been ignored by the
Zimbabwean
government."
The forum said as the world
remembers torture victims in Zimbabwe and,
across the globe, it is also
important to revisit the findings it made last
year on torture and its link
with the outcome of last year's two elections
held in the
country.
The forum recommended that the government should
guarantee
non-repetition of the acts through a systematic enforcement of the
prohibition of torture and elimination of impunity for all
perpetrators.
Last year's elections were marked by widespread
state-sponsored
politically motivated violence which claimed hundreds of
lives and displaced
thousands others. Several cases of violence mostly
attributed to state
security agents and Zanu PF militia members showed
evidence of systematic
disappearances, abductions, torture, summary
executions and extra judicial
killings, the forum said.
Among other victims were the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) director
Jestina
Mukoko and several other civic society and MDC activists. At Friday's
commemorations, the forum took the chance to launch a report entitled
"Taking Transitional Justice To The People Outreach Report", based on
findings it made in four of the 10 provinces in the
country.
In the report those interviewed noted the need for a
formal and
comprehensive process of national healing, reconciliation and for
transitional justice to begin. It also said that the participants suggested
that for transitional justice to be effective, the local communities need to
be involved and take ownership of the process.
"The
participants also suggested that there should be a
decentralisation and
restructuring of judicial processes in the event of
massive prosecutions of
many offenders," read part of the report.
"They also noted the
capacity of Zimbabwe's judicial system and its
past record in dealing with
political cases as needing innovative and
immediate reforms and
decentralisation, particularly of the court system in
order to deal
expeditiously and conclusively with cases of violence."
They
suggested the need for victim-friendly processes that would be
accessible to
all victims. The forum said those interviewed also recommended
that for
effective transitional justice to take place, people of integrity
should
constitute a body that might be created to deal with the issues.
The forum's report comes just as Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
reported
that at least 13 MDC activists from Masvingo were recently granted
orders
for compensation for the loss of their property during last year's
election
violence.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 17:55
BULAWAYO -
Twenty-eight students at the National University of Science
and Technology
(Nust) have been summoned for a hearing on Monday and Tuesday
after being
suspended for leading a demonstration over high tuition fees.
The
students, most of whom are Students Representative Council (SRC)
leaders
were suspended from the university on April 16 after violent student
demonstrations on campus.
Nust senior assistant registrar, Leon
Hadebe, slapped the students
with charges of breaching rules of student
conduct and discipline.
In a letter to one of the students,
Samson Nxumalo, Hadebe said
Nxumalo and the other student leaders led an
illegal demonstration. He said
according to the rules of student conduct and
discipline Nxumalo and the
other students incited others to demonstrate
following an illegal meeting on
campus.
Hadebe said the
accused will be required to appear at a student
disciplinary committee
hearing and can have legal representation.
A human rights
lawyer representing the students, Matshobana Ncube,
said initially the
hearings were deferred because there were no
irregularities in the students'
conduct.
"The hearing was deferred from June 19 to 29 because
according to the
charges the students acted in concert with others and
called for a meeting,
which means that they did not commit any offences
since that is allowed for
in the students Act and in the constitution of
Zimbabwe," Ncube said.
Ncube also said that the university was
targeting any dissenting
voices, particularly in the student
leadership.
"Most of the people that were called for the
hearing are student
leaders and that gives the impression that they are
being targeted on that
basis.
"They (university
authorities) can't point out really who did what so
these hearings are
actually a fishing expedition," he said.
BY GEORGE
MADEGA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 17:50
AFRICA'S leading financier, the World Bank, is embroiled in
allegations of
racial discrimination against black professional employees at
the Bretton
Woods Institution.
A recent study by a leading American watchdog
organisation found that
black World Bank employees are 36,3 % less likely to
hold a managerial
position compared to equally qualified non-black workers
at the bank.
But on Friday the Bank said the report provides, "by
their own
admission, an incomplete and outdated picture often based on
anecdotal
information and anecdotal evidence from unnamed
sources".
The study by the Government Accountability Project
(GAP) released
recently says workers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean and
black Americans
were greatly disadvantaged because of
racism.
But a bank official on Friday said: "We take our
commitment to
diversity and inclusion very seriously and we are continually
working to do
more. We track our diversity by nationality - as mandated in
our Articles of
Agreement. We do not track diversity by
race."
The report which documents the treatment of black
employees in
recruitment, retention and internal judicial decisions, finds
that race
ceiling exists at the institution and that the Bank's legal system
fails to
address racial discrimination adequately.
"As
Africa's leading financier, the World Bank should be at the
forefront of
promoting racial equality," said Shelley Walden, GAP
International Programme
officer and co-author of the report.
"Instead, their
anti-discrimination policies are largely cosmetic and
lack effective,
impartial enforcement mechanisms. They allow black employees
to be sent to
the back of the World Bank bus."
GAP is America's leading
whistleblower protection organisation that
promotes government and corporate
accountability.
The study also found out that professional
black staff members working
on bank operations are disproportionately
confined to the Africa region.
Last year, only four black
Americans held professional positions among
a headquarters staff of over 3
500 employees, more than 1 000 of whom are US
nationals.
Earlier this month, malicious racial slurs directed at black staff
were
painted on the hallway of the Bank's legal affairs offices on the 6th
floor
of the main complex in Washington DC.
One of the messages,
according to GAP read: "Nxxxxx Go Home."
The messages were
removed the following morning.
But GAP's international
programme director Bea Edwards said: "It is
intended to terrify people and
show them that the institution either will
not or cannot protect
them."
But asked about the general pattern of racial
discrimination in the
recruitment at the Bank, the Office of Diversity
Programmes said that
qualified black Americans applicants were in short
supply.
Edwards said: "This response seems disingenuous.
Washington, DC, the
city that hosts the World Bank, is home to Howard
University, the flagship
of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities
in the United States."
Several investigations have been carried
out to determine the extent
of racial discrimination at Africa's leading
financier, which contributes
about US$20 billion annually to countries in
Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin
America and the Caribbean.
In
1998, a Team for Racial Equality comprised of black staff members
wrote to
then bank President James Wolfensohn detailing the results of its
review on
racial equality and a proposed action plan.
The study found
that "black staff are painfully aware that they were
denied opportunities
because, behind closed doors, subtle unverifiable
doubts are cast on their
capacity - based not on their documented
competencies and accomplishments
but on the subjective opinions of
individual managers and
staff."
It also found that of 1 250 staff at level 25 and
above, representing
20 % of the regular staff, there were 43 Sub-Saharan
Africa, five Caribbean
blacks and two black Americans.
"The
figures are particularly striking for black women: Only seven
black women
are at grades 25 and above, representing 0,6 % of total staff at
that level.
Only one black woman is above level 26," the team noted then.
Thirty years ago, the Washington Post published an article about the
predicament of black employees at the institution. The story reported that
black employees were underrepresented in the higher levels at the
bank.
However, the Bank official said on Friday that as an
international
institution it has staff from 167 countries. Almost two-thirds
of its staff
(61%) comes from developing countries and more than 15% percent
of its staff
comes from Sub-Saharan Africa and Caribbean
countries.
"We take our commitment to diversity and inclusion
very seriously and
we are continually working to do more," said an official
of the Bank. "We
track our diversity by nationality. We do not track
diversity by race.
Our goal is to boost the number of staff from
developing countries,
and the number of women.
"In the case
of the United States we have Americans from a variety of
different
backgrounds, including many naturalised Americans from Africa.
Thirty nine
percent of our managers come from developing countries, 10% come
from
Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and 31% are female.
"World
Bank President Robert Zoellick has made increasing diversity at
the Bank a
major priority. More than 80% of his appointments to senior
positions are
from developing countries, (9 out of 11)."
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE,
recently in Washington DC
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June
2009 17:46
THE case of five National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
activists who
were arrested in Bulawayo on charges of holding an illegal
demonstration has
taken a new twist with the five launching an appeal to
have the matter
referred to the Supreme Court.
The five, Samson
Nxumalo Sheunesu Nyoni, Archford Mudzengi, Melusi
Hlabano, and Brian Mtisi,
last week appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate
Singandu Jele where the
application was launched.
In their application, the five, through
their lawyer, Nqobile Ndlovu
of Coghlan & Welsh legal practitioners
argued their arrest was an
infringement on their constitutional
rights.
Ndlovu told the court the application for a referral to
the Supreme
Court was based on Section 24 (1) of the Constitution which she
said obliges
a lower court to refer a case to a higher court when requested
to do so.
She said the basis of the application was that her
clients' arrest was
a contravention of Section 20 of the Constitution. The
section, Ndlovu
argued, guarantees any Zimbabwean freedom of expression,
association, and
assembly.
"It is my submission to this
court that there is no section in the
Constitution that restricts the
applicants from making such an application
(for referral) even at this stage
of hearing the matter.
"In addition, I submit that the
application is premised on the
constitution that declares any restrictions
unduly limiting freedoms of
assembly, expression, and association, illegal,"
Ndlovu said.
"My clients were seeking a redress to their
country's problems. Their
actions drew international attention to Zimbabwe
hence we have the
developments in the country today.
"They
did not conduct themselves in a way that damaged property or
attacked any
police officer during their procession as in other
processions," Ndlovu
said.
She further argued the courts had no obligation to put
her clients on
their defence as this would bolster the state
case.
Ndlovu told the court the conduct of her clients did not
exhibit any
intention to promote public violence hence the challenge on the
state
allegations levelled against her clients.
She also
cited a similar case involving Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza)
activists,
Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu which was also referred to
the Supreme
Court on a similar technicality that the arrest of the two was
an
infringement of their constitutional rights.
In response to the
application, State counsel, Jerry Mutsindikwa said
he needed time to go
through the submissions of the defence counsel.
He also said he
needed time to familiarise himself with the judgment
that saw the Woza
activists' case being referred to the Supreme Court.
"It is
important for me to have sight of the reasons proffered in the
case referred
to by the defence counsel. This is to check whether the
reasons are of a
similar nature. I will also need to familiarise myself with
the judgment
that was handed down afterwards. This familiarisation will have
a bearing on
the response that the state will give to the application.
"All
we want is to see justice being done," Mutsindikwa said.
Magistrate Jele
then deferred the matter to July 15 when he will make a
ruling on the
application.
Also present at the hearing was NCA chairperson,
Lovemore Madhuku.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 17:43
FEW,
especially in government, expected that when US Ambassador James
McGee
arrived to take up his post nearly two years ago he would be like his
predecessor, Christopher Dell.
But as the hardliners in
President Robert Mugabe's previous
administration who celebrated Dell's
departure for Afghanistan were soon to
discover, both men have been
combative, forceful and outspoken throughout
their tenure, right up to the
end. They have also had their run-ins with
President Robert Mugabe's
security apparatus.
McGee, who leaves in a week's time at the end
of his tour of duty, has
not been shy in making the US government position
on Zimbabwe known.
"I can tell you from day one, from the first
day that I arrived in
Zimbabwe I have always said we would want to see the
people of Zimbabwe
progress. The only way that is going to happen is to give
the political
space where they can," he told The Standard during an
interview.
"What we would like to see happen is the will of the
people of
Zimbabwe being met by the government. We would like to see
Zimbabwe begin to
prosper. This country can rapidly move itself out of the
predicament that it
is in and bring itself back to its former glory
days."
Without trying to guess what the future will be, McGee
said President
Mugabe's future is in the hands of the people of
Zimbabwe.
"The people of Zimbabwe clearly voted last March.
Fifty-seven percent
of the people in this country said they do not
appreciate the policies or
practices of the incumbent government at that
time. I do not care how you
look at it. That's a resounding defeat.
Fifty-seven percent 'No' is a
resounding defeat. So I think the people of
Zimbabwe have spoken.
"Obviously the will of the people still
has not been met. That is what
we want to see happen here in a free and fair
election in a democratic
society. That should be more than enough to say to
this government 'your
time is up'. The practices that you put in place that
have killed the
economy here in Zimbabwe, that have created such problems
that three million
of your countrymen have braved crossing the Limpopo River
to go to South
Africa - it's a failure."
Zimbabwe has a
well-educated and hard-working people that have been
stymied in their
efforts to move forward, he said, describing them as
"probably the most
critical asset this country has".
But he said the US had seen
irreversible change in Zimbabwe. This time
last year, Zimbabweans were
preparing to go to the second round of
elections. Morgan Tsvangirai had
already said he would not participate in
those elections. At that time no
one imagined Tsvangirai would be the Prime
Minister of Zimbabwe in a
government of national unity and that Tendai Biti
would be the Minister of
Finance.
"So we have seen a huge amount of change in Zimbabwe
and I would like
to think my embassy has been of assistance to the people of
Zimbabwe and
hope to bring about this change. That's number
one.
Number two: I think more than anything else is the
unparalleled
assistance the US government through the US taxpayer has
provided to
Zimbabwe.
"Everyone knows these figures because
I have literally refused to talk
to the media without letting people know
that the US government through our
taxpayers gave US$250 million to this
country last year. Over 60% of the
people of Zimbabwe received some of their
foodstuffs from the largesse of
the people of the US.
"So
we are very very proud that we continue despite the political
differences
that we have with this government. We continue to provide
humanitarian
assistance in food and in health to the people of Zimbabwe.
That's something
of which we are proud."
But he said there were elements in the
government who were against the
people and the result was that the people
did not always have the political
space.
"There are still
too many in government today who want to see the
status quo maintained or in
any case go back to the status quo," he said.
About this time
last year McGee was at the centre of a diplomatic spat
after security agents
tried to detain him for travelling out to Mashonaland
Central. Reflecting on
this and other incidents he said it was a shame that
Zimbabwe treats its
diplomatic visitors the way it did in the run up to the
election.
"It's very clear that there was never ever any
reason to stop
diplomats wherever they wanted to go in the country, McGee
said. "As a
matter of fact we have assurances in writing from the government
of Zimbabwe
that we were free to go anywhere we wanted to in this country.
But of course
that does not include sensitive military installations and
things like that.
But that wasn't our intent.
"This
ridiculous notion that we could not travel more than 40km
outside Harare,
it's just that. It's ridiculous. The government knows it. We
knew it. There
is nothing anywhere, nothing that says we cannot do that. So
this was just
sham pretence of saying you are getting too close to the
truth. So we don't
want you to see that. That's all it was."
Asked how these
developments had impacted on his family, McGee said
they had been in places
such as the Ivory Coast during the military coup and
the resultant political
election violence. They had to travel around in
armoured vehicles when the
military came over and took over the airport.
They had also been in Nigeria
when Shehu Shagari was overthrown and the
military took power in
1984.
"So this is nothing new for me. How has this affected my
family? It
hasn't. My family, my wife and I realise that this job comes with
risks. I
do not let the government of Zimbabwe or The Herald newspaper
define who
James McGee is. They can say what they wish about me. I know who
I am.
"They are so inept they cannot even get it right. They
continue to say
that I am a military fighter pilot bombing children in
Vietnam," he said. "I
have never sat behind the steering of a jet fighter
and I have never dropped
a bomb on a child anywhere, let alone in
Vietnam."
But McGee said it is important that reform-minded
elements in this
government be bolstered, supported, to show that the
international community
appreciates and supports what they are trying to
do.
"In that regard we continue to put programmes out there for
reform-minded elements of this government no matter what their political
party. If you are moving forward to assist the people of Zimbabwe we are
willing to work with you," he said stressing that the US is a friend of
Zimbabwe.
McGee is going to work with the African Centre
for Strategic Studies.
As recently as 1999 Zimbabwean military officers
attended the military
school.
BY DAVISON MARUZIVA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
17:27
AMNESTY International (AI) secretary general Irene Khan says the
Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa admitted the army's involvement in
violence that left nearly 200 opposition supporters dead and thousands of
others tortured and displaced.
The AI boss, who was in Zimbabwe
on a week-long fact-finding mission,
said Mnangagwa had openly admitted the
army's involvement in the bloody
run-off campaign period.
But
she said Mnangagwa sought to downplay the army's involvement
saying those
involved in the attacks against civilians were individual
members on
leave.
"Mnangagwa, the Minister of Defence admitted that
certain army
elements had been involved in political violence but said these
were the
people who were on leave and were not actually in uniform that
time," Khan
said.
Khan said in her response to this, she
told Mnangagwa that it did not
matter whether the army officials behind the
human rights violations were on
duty or not because it is government's
obligation to protect its citizens.
Khan said she also told the
defence minister of the need for further
investigations to bring members of
the army behind last year's violence to
justice.
"To this
Mnangagwa said they would be a regular investigation and that
if they were
any issues the army was ready to deal with them, but we all
know how this
government-sanctioned internal investigations always end up."
Mnangagwa was however quick to deny ever discussing that issue.
"Yes, I met Khan but we never talked about that," Mnangagwa
said.
The AI boss said other Zanu PF ministers she met
justified last year's
violent period.
"We found actually in
(meetings with) various Zanu PF ministers, they
were ready to acknowledge
that political violence had taken place but went
on to justify the violence
and in some cases didn't feel the need to
investigate and
prosecute."
In her report, which she presented two weeks ago,
Khan said the human
rights situation in the country remained "precarious"
and that her
organisation was concerned about the lack of reform of security
sectors.
"Persistent and serious human rights violations,
combined with the
failure to introduce reform of the police, army and
security forces or
address impunity and the lack of clear commitment on some
parts of the
government are real obstacles that need to be confronted by the
top
leadership of Zimbabwe," Khan said.
Among the
government ministers she met was Vice-President Joice
Mujuru, the Minister
of State in the President's Office Didymus Mutasa and
the two home affairs
ministers, Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi.
BY OUR
STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 14:44
MABVUKU/TAFARA on the eastern outskirts of Harare is a windswept
high-density area famous for going for years without water.
But
it is not just the shortages of water that blight this area with
an
estimated population of more than 101 000 people, according to the 2002
census.
With an unprecedented unemployment rate and increasing
numbers of
people affected by HIV/AIDS the demand for assistance is
enormous.
And nowhere is this felt more than among the young
people. There just
aren't any facilities for them or activities to engage
them. A religious
order undertook a needs assessment and identified the
absence of activities
for young people.
Mavambo Trust,
headed by Fr Benjamin Posvo and Sr Kathleen Barbee
identified very young
children; the orphaned and young school leavers as
among those requiring
support in the Mabvuku/Tafara and the surrounding
rural
areas.
Their work not only gives hope to those they work with
and the
community around them, but it is a project that is empowering young
people
to deal with their condition of deprivation.
Fr Abel
Makahamadze the Parish Priest for Mabvuku said Mavambo Trust
is empowering
children and has been successful in assisting some of them to
secure birth
certificates.
"We enable them to live better lives," he told an
official handover of
grants from the World Bank's Social Development Civil
Society Fund Programme
(CSF). "We look after them up to the ages of 18 - 25
years and ensure that
they are equipped with skills to look after
themselves."
And they are making a difference. Reinhard Woytek
from the World Bank
Country Office in Zimbabwe and colleagues from the
office were in Mabvuku to
see the difference that Mavambo Trust is making to
people in that community.
"Every country's future lies in its
youth. They embody hope,
aspirations and capacity. The Social Development
Civil Society Fund is there
to help civil society organisations in their
efforts to promote social
development," Woytek said.
"This
year our awards go to organisations that deal with youth
organisations."
In thanking the World Bank's support, Fr
Posvo said they would put the
support to good use.
One of
the creative projects Mavambo Trust has established in
Mabvuku/Tafara is the
Young People Care initiative, which is reaching out to
the young people in
the area so that they remain focused by engaging in
productive
activities.
The other beneficiary this year was Simuka Africa,
a youth group based
in Norton.
Last year's winners were
Development Aid from People to People,
Scripture Union and Christian
Care.
The fund focuses on capacity building, empowering and
strengthening
the voice of vulnerable groups including disadvantaged
children, women and
youth as well as people with disabilities. The
activities aim at supporting
these vulnerable groups and promoting social
inclusion.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 14:31
THE corporate world must join hands with the government and help
revive
critical sectors such as health and education that have been
seriously
neglected and under funded over the years, a business executive
has
said.
Handing over a donation of US$5 000 worth of bed linen and
blankets at
Harare central hospital, Cresta Hospitality finance director
Tendai Mhere
said the private sector should enter into partnership with
state hospitals
to improve service delivery at the
institutions.
"The corporate sector must join hands with the
government and
critically affected sectors such as health and education in a
bid to turn
around and enhance their service provision by providing all the
financial
and material support that we can," she said.
Mhere said her organisation is committed to helping improve service
delivery
at government hospitals and urged authorities at Harare hospital to
approach
them when in need.
Accepting the donation the Harare hospital
Chief executive officer
Jealous Nderere said the donation of bed linen,
towels and blankets was
timely.
Nderere said the hospital's
linen and blankets were old and the
hospital was contemplating replacing
them. He said after this donation the
hospital would now channel its limited
resources to other areas of need.
Mhere also commended hospital
staff for their commitment and
dedication in taking care of patients, even
at times when working conditions
were far worse than there are
now.
"l wish to express sincere gratitude to all hospital staff,
for their
resilience and commitment towards the welfare of patients," Mhere
said.
Over the past years health service delivery at the country's
major
hospitals has deteriorated to appalling levels as a result of neglect
and
under funding from government.
Even as the working
conditions and issues of remuneration remained
contentious many health
workers continued going to work, giving some
semblance of health care system
in place.
But it was only last year that things in the sector got
to breaking
point and health workers downed their tools in the biggest work
boycott that
resulted in the closure of many hospitals around the country
for at least
five months.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
15:03
THE government is faced with a dilemma on how to deal with the
waiver
of duty on imported basic goods into the country by business players
and
consumers.
The moratorium which came into force on February
6 is expected to
expire on June 30.
Under the statutory
instrument released during Patrick Chinamasa's
reign as acting Finance
Minister, the government said commodities such as
rice, flour, cooking oil,
margarine, petroleum jelly, washing powder, bath
soap, and toothpaste could
be imported into the country duty-free.
This, it was said, would be
a transitional arrangement until the
inclusive government came up with ways
to deal with the issues of the
pricing of basic commodities.
The move, however, has drawn an outcry from business players in the
country
who claim this has hampered the growth of their businesses.
Business players argue they could be railed out of business because
there
was little income from their ventures as most of their would-be
customers
can afford to import basic commodities duty free.
Speaking at the
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) congress
held in Bulawayo,
Industry and Commerce minister, Professor Welshman Ncube
said the outcry
from both business and the consumers created a dilemma for
the
government.
"I will be among the first government officials to
admit that as
government, we have found ourselves in a dilemma.
"We have a business community reeling from effects of importation of
basic
commodities crying to us. We also have consumers who are also saying
the
instrument should remain in full force. We are kind of caught in
between,"
Ncube said.
He added that government could extend the lifespan of
the instrument
as it was still brainstorming on ways of dealing with the
dilemma.
"We have options that we could pursue. Either allow the
instrument to
lapse given that it is expiring on June 30, or give it an
additional six
months lifespan," he said.
Of the two options,
Ncube disclosed that it would be more feasible to
maintain the
moratorium.
"As I said, we are still brainstorming on the issue. We
know we have a
few days to do that but I can assure you that we will have an
answer before
the end of the month," Ncube said.
He added: "Of
all the options, we believe extending the lifespan of
the instrument is
best. It will help us as government to come up with more
effective ways of
dealing with this dilemma. But I am sure all of us are
convinced keeping the
instrument in place for another six months is the best
option we
have."
Ncube said the greatest challenge that lay ahead of
government was
coming up with a measure to control what he termed
unrealistic price hikes.
"If we are to remove the instrument now,
you will find that basic
commodities will be unrealistically increased. We
are trying to avoid a
situation where basic commodities will most likely go
up by 65% if we let
that instrument to lapse on June 30.
"To
the government, that is unrealistic increases. We will not sit by
and watch
that happen," Ncube said.
Presenting the 2009 National Budget
in January, Chinamasa said while
it was critical that the country begins to
restore domestic production
levels taking advantage of the liberalised
currency and pricing environment,
there was need to support importation of
basic goods as a transitional
arrangement.
BY NKULULEKO
SIBANDA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
14:57
IN another blow to the country's reconstruction programme, three
leading financiers have said Zimbabwe's inability to pay its arrears means
that it cannot get more funds from lenders.
Zimbabwe urgently
requires US$10 billion to kick-start the economy
following the formation of
the inclusive government in February.
In a joint note by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank
and African Development Bank
(AfDB), the three institutions set tough
conditions for the re-engagement
process to start, chief among them the
clearing of arrears to the lenders
and other official creditors.
As at the end of May, Zimbabwe owed
IMF US$138 million and World Bank
(US$676 million). It also owed African
Development Bank US$438 million as at
the end of April.
The
joint note said the process of re-engagement with Zimbabwe will
require
close co-ordination among all official creditors and was likely to
involve
raising resources beyond those currently existing within
International
Financial Institutions.
"Given the interdependence of creditors'
processes and requirements
(including financing assurances) the willingness
and ability of all
creditors to move in tandem will heavily influence the
pace of
re-engagement," the note said.
The joint note, obtained
from Washington last week, shows the
operational and legal elements for
re-engagement with Zimbabwe.
The three institutions said they
cannot avail resources to Zimbabwe
except limited grants due to the
country's inability to repay its arrears.
They said Zimbabwe does
not have a track record of sound policies and
that there are significant
external financing gaps that needed to be filled
through concerted donor
efforts.
The note said Zimbabwe's arrears to IMF could be settled
through a
bridge loan in the context of a Fund financial arrangement with a
track
record of sound policies and assurances that arrears to other official
creditors are cleared, or programmed to be cleared.
It said the
suspension of Zimbabwe's voting and related rights needed
to be lifted
before a Fund-supported programme involving the use of IMF
resources could
be in place but said it needed a decision of the Board
adopted by 70%
majority of the total voting power.
IMF imposed stopped lending to
Zimbabwe in 2001 due to the country's
arrears to the General Resources
Account (GRA). The arrears have now been
settled although Zimbabwe still
owes IMF under the Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility
(PRGF).
Notwithstanding the clearing of GRA arrears, the IMF
maintained
non-lending status saying Zimbabwe had exchange restrictions and
also
breached rules on reporting of international reserves
data.
Zimbabwe needs to convince the IMF on its capacity to repay
as well as
the availability of other programme financing, the joint note
said.
"These issues may become particularly salient given the
uncertainties
regarding the estimated financing gap under a future programme
and given
unconfirmed rumours that Zimbabwe might have pledged some export
receipts as
collateral for financing it has received," it said.
For the World Bank to support Zimbabwe, the country has to first clear
the
arrears to the bank as well as to other creditors.
Before a country
indicates a willingness to begin the re-engagement
process, the Bank can
only provide limited grant support.
World Bank has already provided
such support to Zimbabwe and is in the
process of proving more (from the
State and Peace Building Fund) which could
be channelled with resources from
other donors through the Multi-Donor Trust
Fund for Zimbabwe.
The joint note said the key step in the re-engagement process is the
full
clearance of arrears saying that financing is sought in the first
instance
from the government and bilateral donors.
The joint note said that
while the AfDB group does not have internal
resources to clear Zimbabwe's
arrears, it could utilise instruments of the
existing Fragile State Facility
(FSF) for the country's arrears clearance
operation once Zimbabwe's
eligibility for the resources, beyond technical
assistance, is approved by
the Board of Directors.
Through the FSF, AfDB is able to provide
arrears clearance grants to
eligible countries that meet a set of political
and economic requirements.
The requirements include a commitment to
consolidating peace and
security; unmet social and economic needs as
evidenced by significant
contractions of Gross Domestic Product; and have
respected the preferred
creditor status of the AfDB group among
others.
Zimbabwe's eligibility to the FSF will be the determination
by IMF and
World Bank's on the country's HIPC eligibility.
The
FSF requires that its arrears clearance programmes are closely
co-ordinated
with those of other partners such as IMF and World Bank.
"Should
Zimbabwe be declared eligible to HIPC and to the FSF, the FSF
could bear at
least 67% of the clearance of the arrears of Zimbabwe to the
AfDB Group
based on the Zimbabwe's capacity to pay and subject to the
availability of
sufficient FSF resources," the note said.
BY NDAMU
SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 14:40
PRESSURE escalated last week for the government to return Mutumwa
Mawere's
seized assets as it emerged that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had
advised
President Robert Mugabe to intervene after the administrator
continued
"scoring own goals".
Tuesday's letter from RBZ is a follow up to an
advisory note written
to President Mugabe last month in which the apex bank
said Mawere's assets
were seized on spurious grounds, close sources said on
Friday.
Information obtained last week showed government officials
had been
irked after it emerged that SMM Holdings Limited administrator,
Arafas
Gwaradzimba could have misled Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on
the
prospects of a US$60 million loan from the Development Bank of South
Africa
(DBSA).
In a May 19, 2009 letter to Justice Minister
Chinamasa SMM
administrator Gwaradzimba said he had approached DBSA for a
loan and
prospects of securing the loan were high but Mawere's ghost was
haunting the
institution.
"One issue with DBSA is that they
have asked the Administrator to
unequivocally state that MDM (Mutumwa Dziva
Mawere) is no longer the
controller and shareholder of SMM," he
said.
"They also want an undertaking that MDM will never be
involved with
SMM as long as SMM is still indebted to DBSA (should the loan
be approved).
This says a lot about how financial institutions in South
Africa view MDM."
But DBSA distanced itself from the alleged loan.
In a June 19, 2009
letter to Gwaradzimba, the bank said it had not in any
way dealt with SMM or
people acting on its capacity.
"As head
of the International Finance Cluster, I have inquired with
our investment
officers and managers responsible for Zimbabwe about our
involvement in the
matter. It appears we have never been approached by the
Administrator of SMM
Holdings (Private) Limited or any person acting on
behalf of the company for
any facility or loan," wrote Yotam Longwe,
divisional executive
International Finance.
"We would like to contest the claim made in
the letter and state that
we had no dealings with SMM Holdings (Private)
Limited or any person acting
on behalf of that company."
The
DBSA debacle has irked senior government officials who argued that
the
development raised questions on the credibility of the
administrator.
They say that the issue is not only embarrassing but
has a potential
of being counter-productive to the government's efforts to
raise funds from
South Africa, this paper was told.
Gwaradzimba
maintained SMM had made preliminary discussions with DBSA
who told them how
the company can manage its requests.
Mawere lost his empire in 2004
after the government said his companies
were indebted to the state and were
seized using the Reconstruction of
State-Indebted Insolvent Companies
Act.
At the time SMM had a debt of Z$396 million in respect of a
commercial
bond issued by the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe; an
RBZ
Productive Sector Facility loan of Z$30 billion; a debt of Z$8.2 billion
owed to ZESA.
SMM also owed National Social Security Authority
(Z$252 million) and
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Z$39.9
billion).
Standardbusiness heard last week despite the
embarrassment to the
government, the SMM saga had also "eaten" into the
coffers of the state with
more claims on the way.
The costs of
the UK trial are estimated at US$2 million. Since AMG
lost its bid to be
registered as the owners of SMM parent companies SMM
Holdings and THZ
Holdings, it has to pay the legal costs and Mawere had
delayed enforcing the
court order in order not to embarrass the government
on whose behalf AMG
acted on, Standardbusiness was told on Friday.
Critics have argued
that the Reconstruction Act passed by the then
Zanu PF controlled Parliament
undermines efforts to restore the rule of law
as it is effected
retrospectively.
Under the heading, "Application", it is stated in
the Act that: "This
Act shall apply to all State-Indebted companies,
including those formed or
incorporated before the date of commencement of
this Act and regardless of
when they became indebted to the
State."
Critics say it is on the basis of this law that the
Administrator
derived his locus standi to litigate.
Besides
saying that SMM was seized on spurious grounds, RBZ had
advised President
Mugabe that for SMM to be deemed insolvent, judicial
hearings had to be
undertaken to assess the material facts and financial
data of the company,
as to be able to factually determine and conclude the
existence and degree
of such insolvency.
It said that in the case of SMM, the verdict of
insolvency was arrived
at through a unilateral decree by Chinamasa "with
neither notification to
the relevant parties nor the conduct of urgent
judicial proceedings to
collate the facts as to confirm and conclude that
insolvency was indeed the
status quo at that time".
A top
government official said in their opinion, the contention that
SMM was "an
insolvent State-indebted entity", is not correct, "implying that
the
application of the Reconstruction Laws was, with the benefit of
hind-sight,
inappropriate".
This lends credence to the notion that under the
guise of the
Reconstruction laws, some bigwigs in Zanu PF had masterminded
the seizure of
Mawere's assets after the acquisitive businessman blew the
whistle on their
shady dealings, close sources say.
BY NDAMU
SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 17:01
THREE weeks ago, Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai left on a
tour of Europe and North America, much of which
is collectively referred to
as the West.
As the tour
unfolded two major objectives were apparent. First, the
trip sought to
promote re-engagement between Zimbabwe and the West whose
relationship over
the past 10 years has been severely estranged.
Second, the
mission sought to facilitate ways of funding the new
Inclusive Government
which is basically operating on less than a shoe-string
budget, a
circumstance that was largely authored by gross mismanagement of
national
resources.
By and large Tsvangirai was warmly received by the
leaders of the many
countries that he visited. However, his trip to London
was overshadowed by
the ugly scenes of protests by sections of the
Zimbabwean Diaspora more of
which will be said later in this
article.
It was evident from the various receptions he got that
Tsvangirai is
now acknowledged as a national leader. Before this trip,
Tsvangirai had
visited these countries as an opposition leader but on this
occasion he was
a man transformed; a metamorphosis that also took many of
his hosts and
observers by surprise.
His new capacity has
brought new objectives and also a different
language of politics, some of
which his hosts and observers found hard to
comprehend, let alone accept.
Tsvangirai could have taken the easier option
and spoke the language of
condemnation that sits easily in the pages of the
media in these
parts.
Instead, he chose to speak positively of his relationship
with
President Mugabe. Some have accused him of not being faithful to the
truth
on certain issues such as the situation on the farms and the human
rights
issues.
It did not help that at a time when he was
trying to sell a positive
image an influential human rights body, Amnesty
International also issued a
damning review of Zimbabwe’s precarious human
rights situation.
To be sure, this was a difficult voyage.
Tsvangirai has been a
recipient of generous Western support in leading the
fight for democracy in
Zimbabwe. For that he has been accused by his
erstwhile opponents of being a
Western puppet.
Yet, the
decision to join the government headed by Mugabe was not
popular among some
Zimbabweans and in the West. It is possible that some of
his old friends in
the West now doubt his credibility. But as a leader in
the new government it
is in his interests to ensure that it succeeds in its
mission. Yet to do so,
the bankrupt country needs resource-injection from
somewhere.
In this respect, Tsvangirai has the unenviable
task of persuading the
Western world to provide some funding to kick-start
the economy. Yet to do
so he needs to persuade the West that Mugabe is now a
reformed character or
at least that he has enough power to ensure the
resources are used fairly
and effectively. He cannot possibly do this whilst
at the same time
appearing to condemn his new partners.
Thus it
has appeared that he has tried too hard perhaps to paint a
picture that the
government is on the right path and has good prospects.
Yet in
so doing he has drawn the wrath of his constituency, who feel
that in fact
there is not enough progress at all; those who consider that
the forces of
continuity still hold sway in Zimbabwe. With the problems on
the farms being
highlighted and the issue of arrest and mistreatment of
those accused of
political offences still brewing, the confusion over the
application of
media regulations, and the clear violations of court orders
still
continuing, Zimbabwe’s positive image has proved to be a hard sell.
Clearly,
Tsvangirai has had his work cut out.
It is hardly surprising
that although he has been warmly embraced by
the West, the begging pot has
received very little. Yet it would have been
naïve to expect that Tsvangirai
would return with bags of cash.
This trip has to be seen for what
it truly was — a tentative step
toward re-engagement with the Western bloc.
It had been years since Zimbabwe
and Western countries had shared the same
table on a bilateral basis. The
hostility caused deterioration in trust and
confidence, key tenets of any
sound relationship.
These
elements of a relationship cannot be restored overnight.
Therefore, I see
this as being only the beginning in a long process of
relationship repair
and much of this lies in our court.
Some of the key things that
ought to be done require no investment at
all from the state. Liberating the
media, enabling a free environment where
civil rights are protected does not
cost money. If anything, it facilitates
creativity and enterprise which can
help to ease the unemployment situation.
The government ought to
play its role in rebuilding Zimbabwe’s image
and that requires the cessation
of all the retrogressive things that
continue to hold us down. We can use so
many words but it all comes down to
just two words of a simple type: common
sense. The leadership must quite
simply be guided by common sense but sadly
this always seems to be a scarce
resource, even though it’s
free.
As indicated earlier, the biggest blemish on Tsvangirai’s
trip was the
ugly reception that he got during his speech to Zimbabweans at
London’s
Southwark’s Cathedral. A section of the crowd was not pleased with
Tsvangirai’s general call for people to return home.
This
reaction must have come as a shock to the visitors. The last time
a national
leader was booed and heckled by his supporters he panicked.
This
was when in 1997, at the Heroes Acre in Harare, liberation war
veterans
broke with tradition and heckled President Mugabe during a
graveside speech.
President Mugabe panicked. This humiliation had never
happened to him
before.
The result was that he paid out $50 000 to each person who
claimed to
be a war veteran. This was the Zimbabwe dollar when it was still
a proper
dollar. A few weeks later this and combination of other factors
contributed
to the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar on 14 November 1997, a
date often
associated with the start of the real show of the cataclysmic
fall of
Zimbabwean economy.
One hopes Tsvangirai does not
panic from the scenes in London. It
could be very easy for him and others to
dismiss the Diaspora as a useless
constituency that deserves little if any
attention.
I think it’s important to take seriously the concerns
raised by those
who expressed their resentment however disrespectful it
might have been
carried. Perhaps there is concern that the prime minister is
trying too hard
to sell a product that passed its sell-by date centuries
ago.
But it is also important for the PM to know that the heckles
do not
necessarily represent the homogenous views of all Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora. Indeed, contrary to general thought, the Diaspora is not a
homogenous entity — there are many faces and characters of the Zimbabwean
Diaspora — their concerns, fears and interests may meet at times but they
are not necessarily uniform across the board.
There may in
fact, be many who acknowledged his call and understood
it, not as an order
from the emperor but simply as a call for re-engagement.
I do
think though that the Prime Minister’s advisory team could have
done better
and that they have learnt a lot from this episode. Every leader
has
researchers, advisors and speechwriters. A leader is as good as those
around
him.
We often marvel at how effective President Obama is in
delivering the
right speeches to different audiences but what we do not
realise is that he
has a great team around him; a team that works its socks
off to prepare
their man for every occasion.
He relies on them
for so many things, including research on the issue
to be presented, the
make-up, attitude and mood of the targeted audience,
create the best script
for that audience.
Basically, very often it is not the content of
the message that
matters most but the manner in which it is packaged and
delivered. That also
includes a clear appreciation of the audience to whom
it is delivered. Many
people I have spoken to agree that the Prime Minister
was not adequately
prepared to face the kind of audience that he met at
Southwark Cathedral
last Saturday. At the risk of sounding elitist, with all
due respect, the
call of the PM is very relevant to certain segments of the
Diaspora — the
skilled and professionals — but not all and it would have
been well-received
and discussed sufficiently by that type of
audience.
That call could therefore have been packaged and sold
to an audience
of that type and to be sure, it would have been warmly
received and
considered. I know that because I work with many Zimbabweans
who have shown
a critical interest in playing a role in rebuilding the
country. They
appreciate that when the Prime Minister calls for people to
return home, it
is not a literal call for people to pack their bags to
return home
instantly. They appreciate that this is language for
re-engagement and that
decisions are made as a matter of individual
choice.
What the government needs to do is to respond to the
interest of these
people and collectively devise ways of facilitating skills
utilisation which
can be done in so many ways beyond physically returning
home.
We know that there are so many ways because we are not the
first
country to produce a Diaspora. We do not have to re-invent the wheel;
rather, we can learn from those who have been there before us —what they are
doing to fully utilise the Diaspora resource.
Finally,
contrary to some characterisation of the trip, I do not think
it was a
failure. I think it was the first tentative step toward
re-engagement with
the West, which is crucial. Mistakes were made, as in all
things new and
some things could have been said differently but perhaps one
can appreciate
that these perhaps overly positive words were made more in
hope of achieving
the right thing.
●Alex Magaisa is based at, Kent Law School, the
University of Kent and
can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk or a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27
June 2009 16:57
ALLEGATIONS by teachers against the Progressive
Teachers' Union of
Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and its secretary general, Raymond
Majongwe in particular
have prompted me to respond.
Studio7
aired a PTUZ meeting in Gweru where Majongwe was allegedly
heckled. We were
told that Majongwe and PTUZ had sold out on the teachers'
cause.
For us to analyse objectively the allegations against
these people, we
need to interrogate these two perspectives. We can only do
that by also
looking at past and current national contexts. We need the
whole picture.
We are emerging from a period of extreme
polarization. The
polarization had human skeletons, real casualties. But the
polarization only
began after the 2000 Referendum on the Constitutional
Commission Draft.
Given this background, where then do we place
the PTUZ and Majongwe
debacle? What are their credentials? Majongwe and the
PTUZ are by-products
of President Robert Mugabe's rulership.
They surfaced as a reaction to Mugabe's style of management. Majongwe
earned
his kudos as a staunch Mugabe critic from his early days at the
University
of Zimbabwe and he has been consistent. It was a mere expression
of
exasperation over perceived state heavy-handedness against voices of
dissent.
At the helm of the state machinery was Mugabe. It
was not by design
that activists such as Majongwe found themselves at the
mercy of security
agents. It was an innate human reaction to perceived
injustices.
Such voices of dissent were very few because of the
obvious resultant
violent response from the ruling elite. Majongwe bears
permanent scars
inflicted on him by state security agents. His crime has
been to stand up
for the cause of teachers.
When he and his
colleagues were brutalized, it was not because they
were leading an
insurgency or a terrorist organisation. Their sin was to
state the glaring
facts. Not more than five among those now calling Majongwe
and the PTUZ
sell-outs were ever terrorized by state security agents. If you
were never
part of the real heart of the struggle, how then do you label the
real
legends of that struggle traitors?
Simply, the struggle has
assumed another dimension. Just like the
MDC/Zanu PF struggle has reached
another epoch, so is the struggle by the
likes of the PTUZ, Women of
Zimbabwe Arise and the other progressive forces.
If the
allegation is that they received material inducements, the
question that
should be addressed is: from who in this government and in
what form were
the alleged inducements? Are the alleged benefits tangible or
assumed?
We know who is in control of the government
institutions. Our teachers
must look at the whole picture as the MDC and
Zanu PF try to outwit each
other ahead of the next
elections.
It's not in their interests for them to be fighting
each other. At
least in Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education,
Sport, Arts and
Culture teachers have an honest man.
My
observation is that over three quarters of the teachers would
rather they
were paid handsomely, like their regional counterparts. If the
criticism of
Majongwe was coming from people with impeccable activism
credentials I could
accept them, but not from armchair critics. They are
charlatans. We know the
legends of past Uhuru struggles.
BY ODRIX SITHOLE
MOYO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:55
IF Zanu PF could be certain of the outcome of the constitution-making
process, it would happily welcome the people's participation. But because it
cannot guarantee the resultant outcome it wants to foist the Kariba draft
document on the people of this country.
After assurances that
the Kariba draft would only be used as a
reference point, Zimbabweans were
stunned to hear President Robert Mugabe
declare last week that the new
constitution will be anchored on the
September 2007 document.
Mugabe told his party's National Consultative Assembly in Harare that
the
Parliamentary Select Committee on the constitution-making process
"should
not deviate" from the Kariba "agreement". If it cannot have its way,
then it
is prepared to sabotage the whole process because that is the only
way it
can maintain control.
Here lies the fundamental flaw in Zanu
PF's thinking. It tragically
believes that it is the only organisation that
has the capacity to think on
behalf of the nation. There would be nothing
wrong with that if its
definition of the nation extended beyond the herd
mentality of card-carrying
members of that party.
But last
year's March elections demonstrated that an overwhelming
number of
Zimbabweans think differently from those in Zanu PF. Their will
must be
respected.
We know why Zanu PF wants to seek refuge in the
Kariba draft document.
It is aware that it was able to extract concessions
from the two formations
of the MDC that it is unlikely to ever get if the
people of this country are
allowed a free and unfettered say in writing a
new constitution. So better
the devil they know!
Given a
free and fair process, the people who voted for the MDC
formations are
likely to participate in and influence the eventual outcome.
That would not
be good news for Mugabe and his party whatever their dark
motives.
One of the fears that stalk Zanu PF is the
realisation that it does
not have the resources to mount a nation-wide
campaign to influence
especially the rural majority to turn out in their
thousands to chant a
rehearsed script on the form and content of the
proposed constitution.
So if it cannot stall the progress in
the hope that China and other
Far East friends are persuaded to part with
their money to finance Zanu PF's
campaign, it is prepared to spoil the party
for everyone. Zanu PF has sent a
delegation to the Far East headed by
Emmerson Mnangagwa, its secretary for
legal affairs. The outcome of that
visit will define Zanu PF's response to
the constitution-making
process.
One approach is that it will stall the process until
it has done
something for which it can claim credit. But given the current
position that
is highly unlikely. So the Kariba draft document offers a
safer refuge.
The above observations are among issues that
drive Zanu PF's panicky
response to the constitution-making process.
Mugabe's position on the
succession debate within his party provides
evidence to change it has no
control over. Since the Zanu PF Goromonzi
conference, Mugabe has constantly
changed the goal posts on when he will
step down, now parading the specious
claim that there is no "unity" in the
party.
But the people of this country cannot be held to ransom
by a
self-seeking clique that has conspired to ruin the country. Now they
seek to
blight the promising start to a bright future by keeping afloat the
leaky
Kariba plan. Zanu PF's intrigues must be rejected outright and with
all the
vigour and resources at the people's disposal.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 27
June 2009 14:54
IT is lunchtime at Harare hospital and kitchen staff is
hurriedly
pushing trolleys full of food to the wards for patients. In the
air is the
unmistakable smell of beef, cabbage and sadza.
On
seeing the delegation of acting Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara
touring the
hospital last week, one cheerful kitchen worker takes time to
engage the
visitors.
"Allow us to dish for you as well. It's not cabbage and
sadza anymore
for our patients so at least now we can offer visitors food
without feeling
embarrassed. Today we are serving sadza and beef," she said
jokingly to a
roar of laughter.
For this kitchen worker and
the hospital administration the scent of
beef in the corridors instead of
boiled cabbage for patients is most
certainly a welcome
relief.
It is the same sigh of relief that many Zimbabweans who
rely on
government hospitals for medical care must be heaving now as the
health
sector is slowly on the mend.
Due to years of under
funding and neglect Zimbabwe's health sector
took a nose dive last year
after health workers downed tools complaining
that, with no drugs and
life-saving equipment, hospitals had become "death
traps" for
patients.
During a recent tour of Harare and Parirenyatwa
hospitals Mutambara
heard that support from the Ministry of Finance had
already made a
significant difference to their operations.
Harare hospital chief executive officer Jealous Nderere said with the
recent
injection of US$1 million from government the hospital has managed to
make
"a few but significant improvements".
Nderere said the Ministry
of Finance promised the hospital US$2.4
million for its day-to-day
operations and that the US$1 million it received
was part of that money. He
said the amount has allowed the hospital to buy a
heavy duty laundry
machine, complete renovations on two operating theatres,
food supplies,
repair some life-saving equipment and improve security and
lighting at the
hospital.
Nderere said security was important because the
hospital has lost a
lot property through thefts and vandalism. The hospital
also conducted
pauper burials for at least 500 unclaimed bodies that were
cramped in the
hospital's mortuary whose capacity is 80.
Drug and surgical supply situation had improved to at least 80%
although the
supply of vital drugs remained low. Nderere said when the
hospital reopened
in February bed occupancy was 20% but said with improved
service delivery it
is now 50%.
"Although there are many outstanding issues because
many things had
been left undone for years because of poor funding, we are
very grateful for
the support that government has given us," Nderere
said.
At Parirenyatwa hospital, chief executive officer Thomas
Zigora said
the institution had been bailed out by the Ministry of Finance
after the
National Blood Transfusion Services cut off blood supplies to them
over a
US$241 000 debt.
"We are quite happy that when we
knocked on the door of the Ministry
of Finance they were able to quickly
respond to our need," Zigora said. "We
appreciate such a relationship where
matters of life and death are
concerned."
Zigora said
although the drug supply situation had improved to at
least 48%, through the
National Pharmaceutical Company.
Zigora said the hospital
needed at least US$4.9 million to beef up its
drug supplies, US$3.9 million
to replace and repair equipment and at least
US$220 000 for linen. Zigora
said the issue of human resources for a
specialist hospital like
Parirenyatwa required address by the government
urgently.
After the tour Mutambara said nothing is more important than the
health of a
country.
"Never shall we allow a state of affairs where
ordinary hard-working
people of Zimbabwe do not have access to health care,"
Mutambara said.
"This government has the people at heart and we
will do everything
within our means to provide for the people of Zimbabwe.
Without health there
is no economy to even talk about because production
comes from a healthy
nation."
Last year in October state
hospitals shut down after a work boycott by
health workers seriously
crippling operations and leaving many people
stranded.
BY
BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
New Ministers, Beware of Patronage Trap
Saturday, 27 June 2009
16:21
I am warning all the new ministers in the inclusive government,
especially from the MDC to guard against being trapped and dragged into the
shoddy governance approach of the past, characterized by patronage and
buying of favours by parastatal bosses for whatever reason.
I
have noticed with dismay the new Minister of Energy and Power
Development
being hoodwinked into accepting an office at Chaminuka Building
being
expensively furnished and refurbished by funds from the National Oil
Company
of Zimbabwe at a time when the country is struggling to buy fuel.
Worse still he is the one now blamed for directing Noczim management
to
slash workers' salaries, which management had blundered by awarding
without
due diligence.
Noczim management has diverted several thousands
of dollars in order
to install digital satellite television for the new
minister, purchasing
leather and other expensive furniture, refrigerators,
heaters, photocopiers,
laptops, office blinds, fax machines, and 10 new
vehicles for the ministry's
use.
Is there a national budget
approved by Parliament for this? Is this
not quasi-fiscal
expenditure?
Minister, mark my word, management is allowing you
to micro-manage the
company and in the process you are bound to make
mistakes which they can use
to weaken your position in the near
future.
Disappointed worker
Noczim,
Harare.
---------------
Time is up for the 'media
hangmen'
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:18
IT was sickening to say
the least reading George Charamba and Jonathan
Moyo's pieces trying to pour
scorn on the Prime Minister's Bulletin that was
launched last
week.
The two showed they were against any forms of media reforms
in the
country and for Charamba, he was trying to use the state media as a
platform
to lick his wounds after the High Court ruling of two weeks ago,
which ruled
that the Media and Information Commission was no longer
legitimate.
Charamba and Moyo should realise that the Global
Political Agreement
has brought some democratic changes to the
country.
And the move by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to
have a publication
shows that the country is on a transitional path to
democracy.
It is a shame that Charamba, Moyo and Tafataona
Mahoso find it hard to
comprehend these are signs that the country is
heading for democratic
change.
Their reaction has shown
that they are not happy that the PM has met
with world leaders such as
President Barack Obama when their boss President
Robert Mugabe will only get
that opportunity in his dreams.
The PM should be commended for
taking the initiative of publishing his
own newspaper and this will give the
people of Zimbabwe an opportunity to
know what is happening in the country
despite the continued
black-out that his activities are getting from
the state media.
The state media has been silent in reporting
that PM Tsvangirai
received astounding accolades and acknowledgement from
Western leaders for
his relentless resolve to bring back democracy in
Zimbabwe.
I also wonder whether the defence chiefs noticed that
during his tour
the PM was also given police escort and inspected a guard
of honour?
Agrippa Zvomuya
Harare.
----------------
Kombayi is a National Hero
Status
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:32
IT is with a sad heart
that I learnt of the death of Senator Patrick
Kombayi. He was indeed a true
son of the soil. He fought for the liberation
of Zimbabwe and deserves to
lie at the Heroes' Acre just like other gallant
sons and daughters at the
shrine.
It really boggles the mind as to who exactly determines the
status of
all the heroes that will lie at the shrine. Kombayi deserves to
rest at the
shrine. If there is anyone out there who is a decision-maker for
all who lie
at the shrine please consider Kombayi as a Zimbabwean hero who
deserves the
status.
He was there during the struggle to
liberate Zimbabwe from colonial
rule and he was there again trying to
democratise Zimbabwe. Rest in peace
Cde Kombayi, we the children of Zimbabwe
will always remember you for your
strength and courage.
Inheritors
Midlands.
---------------
Involve
Students in Healing Process
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:36
TERTIARY education students have always played an instrumental role in
the
politics and societal transformation of every country in the world.
Zimbabwe
is no exception.
Students must be involved in the so-called
"national healing", which
we only hear of from the state media, with nothing
tangible on the ground.
Students have been victims of state
brutality since time immemorial
and therefore, are an integral part of this
process, that is if it takes
place.
Police have always
mercilessly and brutally suppressed demonstrations
by the students. In 2001,
a University of Zimbabwe (UZ) student, Batanai
Hadzizi was beaten to death
by police officers after a demonstration. Sydney
Tapfumaneyi was murdered in
mysterious circumstances in Waterfalls where he
had sought accommodation,
after being evicted from campus on a 30-minute
notice by the
Vice-Chancellor. This took place in 2007.
Students,
particularly from tertiary institutions, were gravely
affected by the June
2008 Zanu PF-orchestrated violence. A certain friend of
mine, from Africa
University sustained "short sleeves" from Zanu PF hoodlums
during this
period. Tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe are infested with
secret
intelligence operatives from the notorious Central Intelligence
Organisation. As a result, abductions, torture and intimidation have always
been the order of the day.
Students from UZ are the most
disgruntled as the institution has
failed to re-open. Fees have become
exorbitant.
I therefore appeal to the responsible authorities
to incorporate the
student fraternity into the national healing process.
Students have been
traumatised and need healing. Genuine national healing is
required - where
an independent commission will be set up with powers to
grant amnesty in
exchange for full disclosures and
contrition.
Victims of political violence must be compensated.
People must direct
the healing process. It should not be imposed by the
government of the day.
Charles
UZ,
Harare.
----------
Fed up With Zesa Power Cuts
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:46
I would be grateful if you could publish
this letter and also if you
could try and get Zesa to respond to
it.
I have decided to write in after hearing a lot of people ask
the same
questions that have been going through my mind for some
time.
We all know that Zesa has some problems and is unable to
ensure that
we all have power every single day.
We all understand
that when it is cold as is the case now, there is
increased demand for
electricity, which results in more power cuts than
normal.
What we do not understand is why, in a situation like this, some areas
are
always without power while others always have power.
Speaking
to friends from areas like Avondale, Hatfield and Mabelreign
you hear them
saying they last had a power cut sometime ago.
But for some of
us power cuts are almost a daily occurrence. I
carefully cut out the
load-shedding schedule that Zesa published in your
paper sometime ago and
according to that schedule, my portion of Eastlea
(VID/GMB area) is meant to
be load-shed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
if not in the morning then
in the evening.
But quite a lot of times, we have no power on
Mondays. On Tuesdays we
usually wake up to darkness and at times in the
evening too.
On Thursdays without fail we are cut off early in
the morning and
again in the evenings. This area is full of flats and
businesses. Where in a
flat are people supposed to start a
fire?
And if we are cut off every single day, does this mean
Zesa has
established we don't need power as much as those in town, Braeside
and other
areas where power cuts are far and few between?
We are
not the only ones.
Some workmates actually say portions of
Chitungwiza, Bluff Hill,
Marlborough, Highfield, among others have no power
almost on a daily basis.
We know we are in a difficult
situation where load-shedding is
necessary but it has to be fair. If every
suburb in this country was cut off
for the same number of hours on a
rotational basis, no one would complain.
If you cut off Eastlea
on Monday, cut off Mabelreign Tuesday, Avondale
on Wednesday and the next
suburb the next day, we will all have power for an
equal amount of hours.
That way you can even give power also to those in
Zengeza, Kuwadzana and
others who last had power ages ago.
Stick to the schedules and
ensure that everyone is affected the same
not others more than
most.
I urge the new Minister of Energy and Power Development to ensure
that
load-shedding is implemented properly to every Zimbabwean as the
limited
resource is evenly distributed.
With all the stress
people have from the different challenges we face
daily, home is the only
place where Zimbabweans get comfort but if there is
no power, how can we
unwind?
There ought to be a difference between the rural and
urban areas. Don't
expect us to start living as if we are in the rural
areas. Firewood, gels
and everything else also come at a
cost.
We are not against load-shedding but it must be
implemented
professionally and fairly. Then it might make sense to expect us
all to pay
the same amount of money for Zesa's supplies.
Right now I am so pissed off that you even expect me to pay the same
US$40
that Avondale residents pay. I work there and we last had a power cut
that
time when there was a fault. Power cuts are a rarity in that
area.
It is even worse for our parents and grandparents in the
high-density
areas that you want to extort US$30 from. Some don't even know
what Zesa is.
We know you have issues but let us see you also considering
our wishes.
Tired of going to a cold unwelcoming home and tired
of being made to
pay for other people's mistakes.
Mother of
very hungry and very cold
children
Eastlea,
Harare.
There was no response from Zesa. -
Editor.
----------------
Be Wary of SA Record
Companies
Saturday, 27 June 2009 16:28
AS much I appreciate
the strides our lovely energetic Tongai Moyo has
made so far, he should ask
Oliver Mtukudzi and Aleck Macheso about the
dangers of recording with South
African companies.
I bet you by the time he releases his next album
in Zimbabwe we will
be selling it here in Mzansi as pirated copies just as
happened to Mtukudzi
and Macheso. So please brother, it's good to record
home where you maximise
your sales and reduce the prospects of pirated
copies.
Do it and I will be the first to tell you I now have a copy
the day
you finish recording. The technology here in Mzansi (South Africa)
is just
more advanced and corrupt as compared to Zimbabwe.
Phillip Mubhau
South Africa.
---------
SMS The
Standard
Saturday, 27 June 2009 14:15
Need for other
avenues
FROM the reports from the state media, it is increasingly
becoming
difficult to tell whether the Prime Minister is with the people or
with Zanu
PF. This is why I am fully behind the initiative by the Prime
Minister's
Office to put out a newsletter giving their side of the story.
The
suggestion is a damning verdict on the failure of the inclusive
government
to open up the media landscape to voices other than Zanu PF. -
Muongorori,
Chivhu.
******
WHY is the Prime
Minister appearing to be giving conflicting
statements to what is happening
on the ground? I am surprised that no one
from his party has bothered to
correct or censure him. Is it a case of the
gravy train that he is now
riding? If he keeps on like this he must kiss
goodbye to our votes. Morgan
Tsvangirai get real. - Watching, Bulawayo.
Charamba's contempt
CAN you see the contempt in George Charamba's article in The Sunday
Mail
where he suggests that he will investigate the Prime Minister over the
legality of the newsletter published by the PM's office. Was he supposed to
talk like that to his boss if he regards him as his boss? He regards the PM
as someone who has jumped protocol, but has Charamba also not jumped
protocol by issuing a public statement about the issue? How can he want to
institute an investigation of his senior without being contemptuous?
Charamba is acting the Zanu PF way. It strengthens our resolve to boot out
such culture. He is behaving like the rest, especially members of the
uniformed forces. Don't try to continue to hold the nation to ransom with
childish games. Tsvangirai is restoring our hope. Leave him alone. - Watch
dog.
******
SOME time ago when the issue of permanent
secretaries was raised, the
Prime Minister said they had decided to let
sleeping dogs lie because they
had been assured that George Charamba was no
longer President Robert Mugabe's
spokesperson, but merely the secretary for
the Ministry of Media,
Information and Publicity. It appears his recent
statements confirm that the
more things change the more they remain the
same. - Soothsayer.
Our weird world
WE live in a weird part of
the world. The Prime Minister's visit and
his meeting with the "Anglo-Saxon"
premier should have been the headline but
the denial of a visa to a junior
member scoops the "headline award" at the
state media stable. -Cleka
weDowasuro.
******
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe tells his party
faithfuls of their "total
commitment to the inclusive government" yet at the
same time they fulminate
against the mere publication of a newsletter by the
Prime Minister's office?
Why don't they address the reasons why the PM's
office had to resort to such
measures if there is commitment to seeing the
government of national unity
succeed? - Not fooled, Bindura.
******
JONATHAN Moyo's talk on ZBC 8 O'clock soap was total nonsense.
Can I
make it categorically clear to the learned professor that what we went
through his tenure was hell. We will never appreciate what he stands for. We
love, cherish, trust, admire and will stand by our Prime Minister. God will
judge you. - Jubilee, Harare.
******
AFTER getting a
small windfall that came as a result of the sale of
Thomas Sweswe, is it
possible that the Dynamos executive and the board have
thought of investing
in a team bus and maybe setting up a website for the
club? Smaller teams
such as Gunners have achieved these things on a much
smaller budget and
support base! - DeMbare for Life.
Sadc the problem
I think
Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana are not wrong. The problem is
with Sadc who
erred grossly when they appointed Mugabe President of the
Government of
National Unity. So these two are right to believe that it is a
government of
anomalies hence their decision to keep holding onto their
posts. -
Tinotenda.
******
THE current political quagmire and
economic stagnation we are in
clearly demonstrate the mediocrity of the
previous regime and how we badly
need a socially just and carefully thought
out recovery programme. What we
don't need is getting ourselves tangled up
in internationally discredited
prescriptions from international financial
institutions. Already we are
close to US$5 billion in the red and borrowing
another US$8 - 10 billion
will only worsen our already dire situation. What
we need is technology for
our manufacturers/industries and farmers and more
inward-looking
macro/micro-policies. - Concerned, Harare.
******
YOUR film critic should get the facts right. Go and watch Eagle
Eye
again before giving it a poor rating. Not every movie should have an
Abba
sound track and has-been actors to be good. - Paul Dadzie.
Steaming off
I AM appalled and greatly disturbed by the article about
the encounter
with "tokoloshes". Why on earth did you have to publish the
pictures of the
actual goblins? I am disappointed in your sense of
journalism because this
was very insensitive of you. Who would have thought
that after a good
morning church celebration and expecting to relax, one
opens the newspaper
to be greeted by vivid pictures of a "tokoloshe"? - N K
C, Adylinn, Harare.
******
THE so-called "prophet" you
reported in your paper should not be
allowed to fool people the way he did.
There is no way a dead snake can wear
a condom, let alone make love to a
human being. Such "prophets" should never
be allowed to see the light of day
any day longer. - Stanley Mawire,
Chitungwiza.
I am
relieved to hear that police have identified two of the suspects
in the
brutal raid on Minister Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga's residence
in Mount
Pleasant which left their police security detail and the minister's
husband
for dead. Why would the robbers attack everyone who was at the house
except
the gardner, who they decided to lock up? - Get real.
SINCE May we
have been in darkness. I wonder how the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply
Authority can forget us for so long. We live in fear of
losing our property
to thugs who are taking advantage of the darkness to
break into homes. -
Worried, Eastlea, Harare.