Bankruptcy might be the only escape for the
ECB after backing themselves into a corner over Zimbabwe
Frank
Keating Friday March 12, 2004 The Guardian
It may be a case of
cricket, lovely cricket in the Caribbean for a couple of months but it is
anything but that for the squirming diplomats of the England and Wales
Cricket Board. They have painted themselves into a corner over England's
planned tour to Zimbabwe in the autumn and bankruptcy might be the only
escape if the government does not bale them out "on moral grounds". It
would be appalling if the government did. Would it couple it with a ban on
any Britons competing against Zimbabweans in the Olympics?
It beats me
why the ECB's wimpish and duplicitous stance seems to be considered as a
jolly good thing. Cynic I may be but can this be the first time a leading
sporting body in Britain has ever taken the moral high ground over a sporting
contest?
That is causing giggles around the world for starters. The fact
is that the England players do not want to go, they do not like Zimbabwe
anyway - once you've seen one waterfall you've seen 'em all - and the ECB got
into the mess because the floundering suits feel they owe the lads one after
the calamities of the World Cup.
Well, where was the ECB's morality
last time they happily hosted (and banked the receipts from) the Zimbabwe
tour here? It is ripely apt that the ECB's messy dilemma is revealed in the
very week that India arrive in Pakistan to play a historic series and as the
cricket world applaud as Bangladesh joyously win their first international
match for five years - in Zimbabwe.
Music of primes and
cubes
Numerical trivia has been inspiring anorak's orgasms on our
letters' page - ie at four minutes past four am on the first Sunday in April
it will be 04:04, 04/04/04. Sport can always better that sort of thing
without trying.
I remember, for instance, describing a Boycott century at
Headingley in 1977 only to be scooped by the chap next to me who wrote that
the great man had touched the ankle of his right foot 230 times in facing 466
balls and had wiped his brow with a handkerchief 143 times.
In 1972 I
enjoyed Henry Longhurst's description of a hole-in-one early on in a golf
round starting 437 1354 "which happens to be my own
telephone number".
But my favourite remains a Congleton reader writing
in 1979 to the letters' page of the Evening Sentinel: "The only worthwhile
aspect of Port Vale's match with Hereford United on Saturday was that the
attendance of 2,744 is a perfect cube, 14 x 14 x 14."
Barrington top
of the bats abroad
Lamentations ahead, for this Sunday is the
anniversary of the death during England's 1981 tour of the then assistant
manager Ken Barrington. What a harrowing memory - as Botham's England
endeavoured to play the Barbados Test through a cascade of
tears.
There were few dry eyes in the pressbox either as we filed our
obits. I remember summing up Barrington's batting career as one of
willing subservience in sweltering foreign parts, "doughtily sweeping the
stage for the entrance of such legends as Compton, May, Cowdrey and
Graveney". Utter rot and a calumny on good, lovely, wonderful Kenny who is,
in fact, by far the best batsman England have ever had in foreign
Tests.
Barrington's Tests spanned 1955 to 1968. Compare with his the
averages abroad of these superstars of the past 60 years, when abroad began
to mean seriously tough - Compton 55 innings at 36.85 (four 100s); Hutton 61
at 55.29 (six 100s); May 49 at 35.57 (four 100s); Cowdrey 100 at
44.91 (thirteen 100s); Dexter 30 at 53.65 (six 100s); Graveney 53 at 39.26
(four 100s); John Edrich 50 at 43.10 (five 100s); Amiss 43 at 51.33 (seven
100s); Boycott 93 at 46.97 (eight 100s); Gooch 84 at 35.80 (eight
100s).
In those seething, steamy stadiums, in 58 innings, Barrington
averaged a phenomenal 69.18 with 14 centuries. He was the master and is still
much mourned.
No time to vote for man of the
match
Ireland's exhilarating rugby victory not only silenced
Twickenham and its ruddy chariots but also threw out of kilter one of BBC
TV's most barmy of the host of gimmicks they have introduced into their newly
exclusive Six Nations coverage. From half-time onwards (quaintly, or
suspiciously, only for England matches) a caption urges you to vote for the
"man of the match".
How can you nominate anyone with more than half an
hour to go? Well, I did on Saturday. You ring 09011 110 822 and a
pre-recorded voice asks you your name, address and the number on the shirt
you nominate.
The stunt had annoyed me in England's previous match
against Scotland when, by an overwhelming margin, England's Ben Cohen was
voted top man - ridiculous as he had scarcely touched the ball once except to
flop on to a fluke of a gifted try.
On Saturday, as far as I could see
or hear, they never announced the winner. Perhaps it was Cohen again - did he
touch the ball even once this time? - which in view of Ireland's triumph
would have been a dotty name to trumpet.
Had the BBC just decided quietly
to drop the idiot wheeze? I rang the corporation twice on Monday; it never
got back.
It reminded me of a decade ago, when Sky pioneered the cranky
fad to their football coverage - a lady would take your call and log your
choice. A friend in Cumbria rang to nominate a Chelsea player. Then she asked
where he lived and hung up on him when he spelt out "Cockermouth".
The
poor chap spent the week worrying about a knock on the door from the vice
squad.
Soldier, actor and businessman: The multi-skilled life
of a modern 'dog of war' By Andrew Buncombe and Basildon Peta 12 March
2004
For much of his life Simon Mann has been part "dog of war" and
part modern-day businessman. Now he is a prisoner in a Zimbabwean
jail.
As a member of Britain's SAS, the one-time Scots Guard soldier is
used to roughing it. But as the scion of a wealthy brewing family and the
fifth member of his family to go to Eton, Mr Mann is also accustomed to some
of life's better things. His father and grandfather were captains
ofEngland's cricket team.
Mr Mann, who is in his fifties, has a long
and colourful history in warfare and private armies. After leaving the SAS in
1985 he and an associate, Tony Buckingham, established the mercenary group
Executive Outcomes, which had offices in South Africa and in Chelsea, West
London.
Mr Mann was also instrumental in the establishment of Sandline,
the British-based mercenary group headed by the former British Army
Lieutenant- Colonel Tim Spicer. Sandline shared offices with a number of
other companies owned by Mr Buckingham and Mr Mann. Famously, Sandline was
involved in 1997 in helping restore the ousted President of Sierra Leone,
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
In his 1999 biography, An Unorthodox Soldier: Peace
and War and the Sandline Affair, Mr Spicer says that he met Mr Mann in the
early 1990s when he was working for the British Lieutenant-General Sir Peter
de la Billiere, who in April 1992 had returned to London and retired from his
military career. He immediately took up a new post as the British
government's "Middle East adviser". The job involved selling military
services to and obtaining or retaining British bridgeheads in the
Gulf.
Mr Spicer apparently contacted Mr Mann and "co-opted" the
anti-terrorism and computer specialist into the operation. According to Mr
Spicer, the two men were employed "as liaison with the rulers of the Gulf
States".
However, a report published by the Washington-based Centre for
Public Integrity claimed that a business associate of Mr Mann had
acknowledged that this was just a cover story. The real task of the men, the
man had said, was "to help Peter de la Billiere market the training services
of 22 SAS" and thus gain new clients for Britain's elite troops. The centre's
report claims that after leaving the SAS Mr Mann's first commercial venture
was not as a mercenary, but in the field of computer security.
The
report said: "Mann joined forces with a former insurance broker who
had pioneered computer insurance and had been a manager for Control Risks,
a large and reputable risk-assessment consultancy that was founded by
ex-SAS officers."
In 1990 Mr Mann established contact with the oil
entrepreneur Tony Buckingham, who may have also served with the special
forces. Together they formed Executive Outcomes, a modern-day mercenary group
that marketed the talents and skills of their friends and former colleagues.
From their offices at 535 King's Road, the pair ran businesses that had
interests in oil, gold and diamond mining, a chartered accountancy practice,
and offshore financial management services.
Executive Outcomes was
involved in operations across southern Africa, often accepting oil or
diamond-mining concessions by way of payment. In 1993 Executive Outcomes was
employed by the Angolan government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos to
help regain the Soyo oilfields, which had been seized by the Unita
rebels.
A report by the well-regarded Institute of Security Studies (ISS)
in South Africa, says that the two-and-a-half year contract was worth more
than $40m a year.
Authorities in Zimbabwe said that Mr Mann had gone
there in February and said he represented a company called Logo Logistics Ltd
and was seeking to buy weapons for a security operation.
An associate
of Mr Mann's told The Independent that he spent the past two years working in
South Africa trying to build business connections. "He comes up to the UK
occasionally" said the associate. "He has been active for a long time. He has
been trying to develop his commercial interests."
He is also something of
an actor. In Paul Greengrass's 2002 film Bloody Sunday, Mr Mann, who served
in Northern Ireland, plays the part of Colonel Derek Wilford, commanding
officer of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, the unit that went
into the Bogside on the day. The film notes say: "He lives mainly in South
Africa, where he runs a security operation."
Zimbabwe hones charges against "mercenaries" Thu 11 March,
2004 19:12
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is
finalising charges against more than 60 suspected mercenaries detained this
week in what officials say was a plot to overthrow the government of oil-rich
Equatorial Guinea, prosecutors say.
Acting Attorney General Bharat Patel
said the men would probably not appear in court until Friday and that "the
relevant law enforcement agencies" were drawing up charges.
"They are
not going to appear in court today, as far as I'm aware...The likelihood is
that they'll appear in court tomorrow, if not tomorrow then soon thereafter,"
Patel told state radio.
Zimbabwean lawyer Jonathan Samkange told Reuters
he had been hired by a firm of South African attorneys to represent the
suspects, and would be meeting his clients on Friday.
"I have already
talked to the police...and I will be going to see my clients tomorrow to take
instructions. I have been assured the suspects are going to enjoy their
constitutional rights to fair treatment and a fair hearing," Samkange
said.
Patel said charges against the group were likely to include
contravening the Civil Aviation Act and that "there may also be other charges
relating to the Firearms Act, possibly also in relation to our immigration
laws".
Zimbabwe's foreign minister said on Wednesday the men, who were
arrested on Sunday after the U.S.-registered Boeing 727 landed in Harare,
could face a possible death penalty, although none of the charges listed by
Patel would bring that sentence.
Officials said the men had implicated
the British, American and Spanish spy agencies in a plot to topple President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's
third largest oil producer.
U.S. and Spanish officials have denied any
involvement, while Britain's Foreign Office, following established practice,
declined comment.
The seized plane's operator, based in Britain's Channel
Islands, has said it was flying the men to the Democratic Republic of Congo
to provide security for mining operations.
Zimbabwe has identified the
men, who are both black and white, as coming from South Africa, Angola,
Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and one from
Zimbabwe.
Equatorial Guinea, which has arrested what it called an advance
party of 15 mercenaries, said "enemy powers" and multinational companies had
been plotting against the small central African state.
The country's
state television has said it would air a second interview on Thursday in
which one of the detainees, Nick du Toit, said he had been paid by the United
States and multinational companies to overthrow the president.
On
Thursday, Equatorial Guinea's deputy foreign minister briefed South African
Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria on events in the country,
the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported.
Equatorial Guinea
has publicly thanked South Africa and Angola for alerting it to the possible
coup attempt.
Both Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, some 3,200 km (2,000
miles) apart, have put their security forces on high alert since Zimbabwe
detained a Boeing 727 carrying the men and what officials described as
"military material" on Sunday.
Television footage of the plane's cargo
has shown items ranging from sleeping bags and camouflage uniforms to bolt
cutters and compasses -- but no firearms.
Zimbabwe officials say the
group expected to buy weapons in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe government has
divulged little information on the detainees, declining to reveal where they
are being held or what specific charges they may face.
A leading
Harare lawyer said while the law stipulated that suspects should be taken to
court within 48 hours, Zimbabwe's sweeping security regulations allow the
state to extend the period for a week or more.
In special circumstances,
judicial officers can charge criminal suspects outside courts, including at
detention centres.
The plot, as they say, thickens. We refer, of course, to
Africa's latest encounter with mercenaries. By yesterday, Cameroon had been
added to the list of possible destinations. But one could also have chosen
the Democratic Republic of Congo or Burundi. And equally, the intention of
those aboard the Boeing was not agreed upon by everybody.
All
indications are, however, that mercenaries were set on destabilising
Equatorial Guinea. Although given that country's history, that would not have
been a great achievement.
There are several points to be made
regarding both the plane now impounded in Harare - with its 60-plus
"passengers" - and the 15 "mercenaries" being held in Malabo, Equatorial
Guinea's capital.
The last thing Africa needs is a bunch of
mercenaries running (or flying around) the continent. It is to discourage
this kind of action that South Africa passed the Foreign Military Assistance
Act. Therefore, from our perspective, it is possible that a crime has taken
place.
But the ironies abound. First among these is that it is
being claimed South Africa knew about the plot to topple President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and tipped off his government. If
that is so, why was the Boeing allowed to depart from Wonderboom
Airport?
Now both Mbasogo and various Zimbabwe politicians are
jumping up and down with indignation. Mbasogo is that paragon of democratic
virtue who came to power through a coup in 1979. He ousted his uncle, whom he
later executed. In Harare, there is another leader who sees himself as fit
to govern for ever.
We do not for a moment buy into the claim by
the plane's owner that those on board were security guards en route to
various mining operations in the DRC. The evidence that we are talking
mercenaries is overwhelming.
The law must now take its course, but
the talk in Harare of executions is dangerous in the extreme. That country
may welcome this heaven-sent diversion from its own internal problems, but
another travesty is the last thing required in our neck of the woods.
Plotters ignored political environment March 12,
2004
By Peter Fabricius
The age of African coups is
past, said my ex-securocrat friend, thoughtfully. He was remarking, rather
incredulously, on the apparent plot to topple the government of Equatorial
Guinea which unravelled this week.
There was indeed something
rather anachronistic about the whole thing; a strange mixture of Mad Mike
Hoare's Frothblowers, Frederick Forsyth's Dogs of War and Evelyn Waugh's
Black Mischief. Maybe the movie will be called Black and White Mischief. That
would acknowledge the roles of the white ex-Executive Outcomes mercenary
bosses, their black ex-Angola and Namibia troops and their apparent
Equatorial Guinea opposition clients, also black.
"You and I and
three friends could topple the government of Equatorial Guinea," my friend
continued. "But I don't think the African Union would have tolerated it. They
would probably have sent in troops, perhaps Nigerians, and there would have
been a very bloody fight."
Africa has of course experienced a few
hundred coups since its first state became independent in 1957.
For many years, the leadership of Africa almost accepted coups as a routine
method of transferring power. But that started to change in
July 1999.
At its summit in Algiers that month, the Organisation
of African Unity approved an historic resolution to outlaw coups.
Departing quite radically from its 36-year-old policy of non-intervention in
the affairs of member states, the OAU leaders decreed that henceforth
governments that came to power by coups, or other unconstitutional means,
would be suspended from the organisation.
The OAU suspended the
governments of Cote d'Ivoire and the Comoros soon after that. In the latter
case, it began protracted negotiations to defuse the intra-party conflicts
which had sparked several coups over the years.
When the African
Union (AU) took over from the OAU, it also took over the anti-coup policy and
strengthened it, at least on paper, by giving itself much more explicit
powers to intervene in countries to stop extreme violence and abuses of
power.
Last year the AU - with the South African government
very much to the fore - reversed, by diplomacy, a coup in S<o Tomé and
Pr'ncipe, the Atlantic ocean island state near Bioko, the island where
Equatorial Guinea's capital Malabo is located.
It is true that
the AU has not reversed all coups since it outlawed them. It was unable or
perhaps unwilling to do so in the Central African Republic, for instance,
last year.
But it certainly seems determined to stop coups where it
can - especially in more manageable island states.
The plotters
of this week's alleged coup apparently ignored this new political
environment. That is why one may describe their wild adventure as an
anachronism, whatever else you may call it.
It must be said,
though, that if the dogs of war need to update their thinking about coups, so
does the AU. It must also take into account a wider political context - that
pressure for coups often builds up because leaders abuse their positions to
stay in power - for instance by rigging elections. And so invite violent
removal.
This is, ironically, true of both the countries which
figured in this week's saga - Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. It is not
surprising that the Zimbabwean government thought - and perhaps still thinks
- that it was the target. If the cap fits, wear it, as they say.
The AU is now arming itself with many weapons to deal with these abuses of
power which can make coup attempts inevitable. Foiling a crazy, retrogressive
coup plot by a bunch of ageing white South African soldiers of fortune
requires no political will. Facing up to the ostensibly legitimate black
leaders who manipulate the instruments of democracy to stay in power, is a
very different challenge.
That requires real political will. That
is the necessary next step in the evolution of Africa's new thinking.
Team sets off to quiz suspected mercenaries March
12, 2004
By Graeme Hosken, Basildon Peta, Estelle Ellis, Jeremy
Michaels and agencies
Intelligence agents have left for Zimbabwe
and Equatorial Guinea to interrogate South Africans being held for allegedly
plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea.
This followed a meeting
between Equatorial Guinea's Deputy Foreign Minister José Esono Micha,
President Thabo Mbeki and Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria
early yesterday.
Micha went on to Harare to meet members of the
Zimbabwean government.
The South Africans face charges in Zimbabwe
and Equatorial Guinea as well as charges at home for contravening
anti-mercenary laws.
Fifteen alleged mercenaries, including at
least seven South Africans, were arrested in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday
after South African intelligence agencies tipped off their Equatorial Guinean
counterparts about the planned coup.
Within hours, a Boeing
727-100 carrying another 68 South African passport-carrying men was impounded
at Harare International Airport.
The group, employed by the UK
company Logo Logistics Ltd, is claiming to have been hired to perform
demining and security work.
The governments of Equatorial Guinea,
Zimbabwe and South Africa all allege they were actually planning to topple
Equatorial Guinea's President Obiang Nguema and replace him with exiled oppo-
sition leader Severo Moto Nsa.
The plane is believed to have
landed at Harare airport to pick up arms and ammunition as well as two
alleged ringleaders of the plot - Simon Mann, a British national resident in
South Africa, and South African Simon Witherspoon.
Equatorial
Guinea's state radio said Moto had paid South African Nick du Toit (48), the
leader of the advance party in Equatorial Guinea, $10-million (about
R67-million).
Speaking on state television, Du Toit said the
advance party would take strategic targets such as the presidency, the
military barracks, police posts and the residences of government
members.
South African security sources say the Zimbabwean group
was heading to a covert military training camp in Cameroon that was
to be the staging point for a seaborne assault.
They said Logo
Logistics had recently bought a fleet of nine trawlers which had been
modified to take troops and had been fitted with machineguns and rocket
launchers.
Meanwhile in Harare yesterday, four days after their
arrest, the suspected mercenaries had still not been charged and South
Africa's high commissioner Jerry Ndou had still not managed to see
them.
POLICE this week
rounded up street children who returned to Harare's central business district
barely a month after they were taken to homes and farms.
Harare
Provincial spokesperson, Inspec-tor Cecilia Churu said police had taken the
street children back to the farms yesterday.
"We suspect these were
children who ran away before we rounded up hundreds others we took to various
farms last month and they had re-emerged after they noticed things had calmed
down.
"This time we took them by surprise and took them to the farms with
a few others who had returned to the streets," Insp Churu said.
Some
of the street children ran away from the farms barely a week after they were
taken there and were seen walking back into the city centre.
Scores were
also seen camping and loitering around some shopping centres close to the
city centre last week.
Residents of Waterfalls, Glen Norah and
Sunningdale expressed fears the street children might end up resorting to
criminal activities in the suburbs.
One Waterfalls resident said some
street children had camped at Zindoga shopping centre before going back to
the city after their return from the farms.
"I am sure they are back
in the city, but we usually see a few during weekends," the resident
said.
Some street children who ran away from the farms have indicated
that they were not happy staying on the farms.
They said there was not
enough food.
Police, however, said it would take the concerted efforts of
all stakeholders to permanently resolve the issue of street
children.
Inspector Andrew Phiri said as law enforcers, the police had
the duty to ensure there were no children living on the streets.
"The
street children were taken to various homes and places. There are no security
mechanisms to ensure that the children are kept in those homes. Everyone
should be involved in the issue to help alleviate the problem," Insp Phiri
said.
A few years ago, the City of Harare introduced drop-in centres
where the street children went to bath and slept during day-
time.
This did nothing to keep the children off the streets, as they were
not allowed to sleep there at night.
THE Minister
of Health and Child, Dr David Parirenyatwa, on Wednesday appealed for aid
from the international community to strengthen the country's health delivery
system.
He said the support would help in strengthening the capacity of
the health sector to provide quality health services and in achieving the
Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations.
Dr
Parirenyatwa said this when he officiated at a function to welcome the United
Nations Population Fund deputy director for programmes, Mr Kunio Waki, who is
visiting the country.
"As Government, we envisage the achievement of the
highest possible health and quality of life for our citizens through combined
efforts of individuals, non-governmental organisations and international
agencies.
"The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare cannot address these
challenges that the health sector faces alone and therefore believes in
partnerships," said Dr Parirenyatwa in a speech read on his behalf by
director for technical support in the health ministry, Dr Davis
Dhlakama.
He mentioned some of the challenges facing the country's health
sector, which include the procurement of essential drugs, retention of
qualified staff and the HIV and Aids pandemic.
"Although primary
health care continues to be the cornerstone of the health delivery system in
Zimbabwe, the brain drain has reduced skilled labour and worsened the ability
of Government to provide basic health services.
"This is because of the
current adverse macro-economic environment, which is eroding the gains
achieved by the health sector. This is why we hope that Mr Waki will spread
the message to the international community in order to help us in overcoming
some of the challenges," he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said his ministry hoped
that other partners whose activities have an impact on health would be
involved in improving the country's quality of health.
He acknowledged
the good relations between the Government and all UN agencies, particularly
UNFPA. Mr Waki, who met Dr Parirenyatwa during his visit, said UNFPA would
look at ways to strengthen relations with Government.
POLICE yesterday
arrested 26 Somalis, who allegedly entered the country illegally by using a
canoe to cross the Zambezi River from Zambia.
The Somalis were arrested
in Makuti. They are still in custody and investigations are still in
progress.
They were arrested by a policeman after they had boarded a bus
to Harare. The policeman had demanded their identity cards.
"On March
9, the foreigners entered the country using a canoe and travelled to Makuti
in an unidentified truck," said police spokesperson, Inspector Andrew
Phiri.
He said the suspects had spent the night at Makuti Travel
Lodge.
The following day, a receptionist at the lodge informed the police
but by the time police arrived, the Somalis had left.
"The suspects
had boarded a bus, which was heading for Harare before our police officers
had arrived," said Insp Phiri.
"After carrying out preliminary
investigations, the foreigners later revealed that when they boarded the bus
to Harare, they were on their way to a refugee camp."
The Somalis said
that they were seeking refuge but could not say why they entered the country
illegally, Insp Phiri said.
Insp Phiri said the Somalis would be
transferred from Makuti to Waterfalls where a vetting process would be
carried out by a Refuge Verification Team. "We want to check whether they
were genuine asylum seekers or not," he said.
"And even if they are
genuine asylum seekers, they should have entered the country following the
normal procedures."
Insp Phiri urged foreigners not to enter the country
illegally.
"The illegal way is dangerous since it might cost their lives
because they can meet dangerous animals along the way or the canoe might have
capsized during the process," said Insp Phiri.
IRODGE MAVHURA, one of the MDC activists who robbed a
Zupco crew of $19 000 before burning a $75 million Marcopolo bus in January
last year has been sentenced to an effective four years in jail by a Harare
regional magistrates' court.
Mavhura had been sentenced to eight years
in jail but regional magistrate Mrs Lilian Kudya conditionally suspended four
years.
He had pleaded not guilty when his trial opened but was convicted
for breaching the Public Order and Security Act.
Mrs Kudya said
evidence against Mavhura, who was jointly charged with Lloyd Masawi, was
overwhelming since witnesses positively identified him.
Masawi was
discharged at the close of the State case and charges against 12 others who
were initially charged with the two were also withdrawn before plea but the
State can proceed by way of summons.
Prosecutor Mr Obi Mabahwana said
Mavhura was part of a gang of men who hatched a plan to burn a new Zupco
Marcopolo Scania bus plying the City-Highfield route on January 13 last
year.
Agreed facts are that at around 7:45pm on the day, Mavhura and
his accomplices boarded the bus in Glen Norah A while armed with a
container with petrol, matches and whips.
The conductor, Mr Sainos
Makaripe, asked for bus fare from one of the gang members but was referred to
another man identified as the commander responsible for the group. The
commander promised to pay the bus fares later.
As the bus approached a
bus stop along Willowvale Road, the driver of the bus, Mr Amos Magumbe, was
ordered to stop.
As the driver stopped, the man jumped onto the bonnet
and started assaulting the driver with a whip. The driver and conductor
managed to escape and Mavhura sprinkled the bus with petrol before another
member lit the bus and fled.
Dualisation of Harare-Norton Highway Reaches Advanced Stage
The
Herald (Harare)
March 12, 2004 Posted to the web March 11,
2004
Harare
THE Government will next month open to traffic another
section of the dual carriageway on the Harare-Norton highway.
The
Secretary for Transport and Communications, Retired Colonel
Christian Katsande, hoped the whole section of the dual carriageway from
Kuwadzana roundabout to Turnpike Service Station would be finished by the end
of next month.
The dual carriageway has so far been opened to traffic
extending from the Kuwadzana roundabout and ending a few kilometres before
the Turnpike Garage.
"The plan is to open up that section of the road so
that all traffic will be diverted onto that new dual lane to make way for the
rehabilitation of the existing carriageway starting from Kuwadzana roundabout
up to Turnpike," he said.
Toll gates are planned at Snake World this
year to collect tolls to finance the carriageway, which since 1998, has
consumed more than $1 billion. This year $4 billion was allocated. The plan
is to continue the dual carriageway all the way to Gweru.
Apart from
the Harare-Gweru highway, Rtd Col Katsande said plans were at an advanced
stage to clear the route for the first phase of the new dual carraigeway on
the Harare-Masvingo highway.
"Buildings that are within the road reserve,
especially J Masters, are to be removed. The Ministry is working on this in
conjunction with the City of Harare," he said.
Rtd Col Katsande said
at least $2 billion had been sunk into that road so far while $8 billion
dollars was allocated during the current fiscal year.
"Part of the $8
billion will cover compensation for the relocation of buildings in the way of
the road and the remainder is to be used on the road, including the extension
of Mukuvisi bridge which is currently at design stage," he said.
Work
on the dualisation of the Harare-Masvingo highway from the corner of Simon
Mazorodze and Willowvale Roads to the roundabout to Glen Norah
and Chitungwiza started last June.
President Mugabe last year said it
was "a must" that all major roads be upgraded into dual carriageways to
reduce road accidents, which were killing and maiming hundreds of people
every year.
The President was speaking at a memorial service for 37
people, most of them Masvingo Teachers College students who died in a bus
accident along the Harare-Masvingo highway.
The dualisation which is
going to cover the Harare-Gweru, Harare-Masvingo, Harare-Mutare,
Harare-Nyamapanda, Harare-Bindura, Harare-Chirundu and the Harare -Airport
roads was expected to cost $1 400 billion.
Government was using its own
resources and the Build-Operate-Transfer system. The Government has invited
the private sector to partner it to dualise the trunk roads on a
Build-Operate-Transfer method of financing.
Through this, the private
sector would raise money and dualise the roads and then recoup costs plus
some profit by way of road tolls. The private sector would build and operate
the road for 20 to 25 years and then hand the road over to the Government
after the expiry of the concession period.
At least three major companies
had so far shown interest in the dualisation of roads on a BOT
basis.
A consortium of two local companies - Tolling Company of Zimbabwe
(TOLZ) and Zim-Highways had shown interest in the Harare-Masvingo,
Harare-Gweru and Harare-Mutare roads.
The third is a South African
company, Nedcor, which has shown interest in the dualisation of the
Harare-Airport Road.
However, despite the commitment on Government's
part, the project is facing major constraints.
These include the
shortage of fuel for construction equipment, construction material like
cement and bitumen and equipment for hire while high inflation was making it
difficult for the companies to forecast finance regimes accurately.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Updated 11TH MARCH 2004 Please send any job opportunities
for publication in this newsletter to: JAG Job Opportunities <justice@telco.co.zw>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.
Advert Received 5th March 2004
Looking for an opportunity
to get started as an assistant, a secretary, a trainee or with your books. I
grew up at Entre Rios Farm in Bromley, where my father was a manager, my
mother a teacher. We lived at the farm for nearly 25 years. I was born
there.
The farm fell victim to what is now part of Zimbabwe's known
history. We relocated to Marondera where I enrolled for a secretarial course.
I was successful and am now looking for a suitable placement, anywhere
in Zimbabwe. Anyone out there willing to give me a chance?
Can anyone recommend an all purpose handyman who can do the basics
- weld, plumb, do electrics and do basic mechanics. Any such person jobless
after farm evictions?
Please place this
opportunity in your next issue of the JAG Classified Ads. With
Thanks.
Wanted for 3-year training contract in Botswana, a certified
and experienced practicioner/trainer in Holistic Range Management.
We
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The holistic range management practicioner/trainer would join a strong team
of six professionals in diverse fields from ranch management, to ecology and
human resources development. For the holistic range management
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Our objectives are explore holistic rehabilitation
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Program is tied to a long-term range rehabilitation
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