Typhoid slowly engulfing Zimbabwe

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Peter Marimudza     Wednesday 29 February 2012

HARARE -- A typhoid outbreak that began in Harare last year is steadily
spreading across Zimbabwe with more than 3 000 cases reported although only
one death due to the disease has been reported so far, health officials have
said.

New infections have in recent months been recorded in districts lying
several hundreds of kilometres away from the capital, highlighting the risk
that the typhoid outbreak could turn into a crisis of similar proportions to
a cholera epidemic that wrecked havoc across Zimbabwe from 2008 to 2009.

Ministry of health director of epidemiology and disease control Portia
Manangazira told the parliamentary portfolio committee on health and child
welfare that the ministry did not have the capacity including adequate
medicines to combat a major outbreak of typhoid.

“We actually have an outbreak that is raging,” said Manangazira. “It is
important to note that diarrhoeal cases usually precede serious outbreaks
like what happened when we had that cholera outbreak,” said Manangazira,
herself a trained medical doctor.

She added: “If we look at a potential outbreak, we don’t have the medicine
to deal with it, for instance in Bindura we ran out of Ciprofloxacilin, a
drug of choice.”

Manangazira said areas where typhoid cases have been reported included in
Harare’s working class suburbs of Kuwadzana, Mufakose and Crowbrough, while
more cases were reported from Bindura town in Mashonaland Central province
and from Norton and Zvimba in Mashonaland West province.

The disease was expected to affect several more Harare suburbs and other
outlying districts and towns such as Makone and Chegutu in Mashonaland West
province and Mt Darwin and Guruve in Mashonaland central province.

The first cases of typhoid were reported in Harare last October, with city
officials blaming the outbreak on contaminated food sold in the open in the
capital’s low-income suburbs.

As part of efforts to halt the disease from spreading, municipal officials
ordered the closure of open market food stalls, while also announcing they
would launch an exercise to ensure hotels, restaurants and other food
outlets comply with acceptable standards of hygiene.

The last cholera epidemic between August 2008 and July 2009 -- which the
World Health Organisation labelled the worst outbreak of the disease in
Africa in 15 years -- killed more than 4 000 people out of more than 100 000
infections before it was brought under control.

Health experts have warned that Zimbabwe remains at risk of another major
outbreak of waterborne diseases because the same problems that helped drive
the last cholera epidemic remain unresolved, with six million people or half
of the country’s total population of 12 million people with little or no
access to safe water and sanitation.

The power-sharing government of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
President Robert Mugabe promised on coming to power in 2009 to rebuild the
economy and restore basic services such as water supplies, health and
education that had collapsed after years of neglect and under-funding.

But the cash-strapped administration has found it hard to undertake any
meaningful reconstruction work after failing to get financial support from
rich Western nations that insist they want to see more political reforms
before they can loosen the purse strings. – ZimOnline

Former adviser says Gono stole millions from RBZ

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

 

 

 

Central bank Governor Gideon Gono

By Lance Guma
29 February 2012

The dispute between central bank Governor Gideon Gono, and his former advisor Munyaradzi Kereke, scaled new heights this week with Kereke sensationally alleging that Gono stole millions of dollars and gold from the bank.

Kereke has also made claims that he is the one who wrote the examinations which earned Gono a doctorate degree. He said his removal from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as an advisor was calculated to conceal Gono’s criminal activities at the bank.

Kereke was with the central bank for over 8 years but was sacked by Gono on the 1^st February when it became clear relations had broken down. At the centre of the feud are allegations by Gono that Kereke authored a 20-page dossier detailing Gono’s financial misdemeanours.

SW Radio Africa has in its possession a 12 page letter written by Kereke, threatening legal action against Gono for his “continued acts of deliberate provocation and malicious destruction” of his name. Kereke accuses Gono of writing to senior government officials in an alleged bid to tarnish his image.

Kereke has now decided to expose Gono, telling him: “You abused public assets, ranging from cars, gold bullion, shares, etc for direct personal gain. I have explicit evidence on this and please challenge me openly so that the public pronounces their own verdict based on facts.”

Kereke accused Gono of giving the impression he fired him for disciplinary reasons, “yet you know very well that you did so to cover up the multiple acts of criminal frauds you, Dr Gono did for your own personal gain with your family.” Gono “bought many personal real estate properties,” with stolen money, Kereke said.

“You have lately attempted to cover up these transgressions through an old man lawyer of Asian origin who is based here in Harare and a chartered accounting audit firm also based here in Harare.”

“Please take note that all the evidence, covering the actual addresses of the properties and amounts spent, is available and this evidence cannot be destroyed by any means you may seek to deploy now, even killing me,” Kereke added.

Kereke also warns that he has taken precautions: “There are at least three legal experts who have taken custody of the evidence to testify on my behalf in the event I cease to be here on earth, for whatever reason, given the real threats on my life these matters are now raising.”

In the letter Kereke also dares Gono to challenge him “through your lawyers or in an open forum such as Parliament, so that facts are laid bare in the national interest.” He said Gono took millions of dollars of foreign currency and built “his own personal granary of wealth”.

In one incident he said Gono, “directly participated and partook in the theft of US$6.5million that was stolen from the RBZ under your own signature through a close associate of yours”.

“I strongly protested against this and you, together with your accomplice, went round to high offices in the country spreading lies, including cooking up silly rape stories, as a way to divert attention from what I had strongly protested against. The full trail of what happened, supported by the evidence is available.”

In December 2010 SW Radio Africa reported how Kereke was accused of raping an 11 year old girl at his home in the Vainona suburb of Harare. Activists dealing with the case said there were medical and police records confirming the rape.

Then came the startling revelation about Gono’s degree.

“Mr Gideon Gono, do you forget you yet again abused your authority by forcing me to literally do all the academic work on your behalf for the entire PhD studies upon which you were “conferred” the Doctoral Degree you now flaunt to the public as your own?”

Kereke also threatened to expose how Gono “used RBZ money to buy two houses as ‘gifts’ to the wife of a Deputy Minister here in Harare”.

“As a fellow Zimbabwean, my own conscience is clean and at peace that I stole no one’s penny and earned all that I have, academic, materially and spiritual beliefs through my own physical and mental efforts. Should you have evidence to the contrary, please report me to the relevant offices,” Kereke said.

Kereke ends the letter by saying: “If I do not receive your written proposed way forward to resolve these matters within seven days I will proceed to institute legal measures to protect myself against your shameless determination to ruin my young life to protect and save your dirty, criminal, and unpatriotic ways.”

The case highlights what many Zimbabweans have been saying over the years, how Gono was behind many of the policies that ruined Zimbabwe’s economy. The printing of money to fund quasi-fiscal activities that propped up ZANU PF is one example of factors that fuelled hyper-inflation.

But Kereke is no saint either. He spent 8 years as Gono’s advisor and it would be unlikely he spent that long in the job if he was not in agreement with Gono on much that was going on. Commentators say the dishing out of dirt on each other is simply a result of a break down in their relationship and more is set to come out.

You can read the full letter from Dr Munyaradzi Kereke here

 

Carpenter In Trouble Over Mugabe Birthday Bash

http://www.radiovop.com/

 

Birthday boy: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe blows candles for his birthday cake at the celebrations of his 88th birthday in Mutare. Picture: AP Source: AP

Church leaders push for reforms before elections

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
29 February 2012

A coalition of the main religious leaders in the country has embarked on a
regional drive to urge SADC leaders to persuade Robert Mugabe to implement
comprehensive reforms before the next election.

The offensive comes as SW Radio Africa is reliably informed that leaders in
the Global Political Agreement are mulling calling for elections in the last
quarter of 2012.

The church leaders, under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian
Denominations, have prepared a report detailing the stumbling blocks to free
and fair elections, which they are presenting to justice ministers from the
SADC bloc.

The clergymen urged SADC to send monitors to Zimbabwe six months ahead of
any election, saying during the pre-election period the regional bloc would
have to open satellite offices in provinces and districts.

The document is titled: ‘The role of the church in nation building in
Zimbabwe.’ It identifies media, security and electoral reforms as a must, if
the country is to hold a credible poll.

The clerics have already met Mozambican Justice Minister Maria Benvida
Delfina Levi and there are plans to meet other ministers in the coming
weeks.

Anglican church Reverend Lameck Mutete told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday
that church leaders have taken it upon themselves to remind Mugabe of his
constitutional duties.

‘It’s not a question of forcing or putting pressure on Mugabe to reform but
it’s actually a reminder which is in line with what was agreed when the
unity government was formed.

‘He has diverted from what he assented to during negotiations that gave
birth to the GPA. The church leaders are simply reminding him of his
constitutional duties,’ Reverend Mutete said.

Labour leaders briefly detained at protest march in Harare

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
29 February 2012

The police briefly detained three labour leaders at a protest march in
Harare on Wednesday, organized by the breakaway Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), who wanted to highlight the critical issue of low wages their
members are struggling with.

Workers also took to the streets in Bulawayo and Masvingo to show solidarity
with the protesters in Harare, who delivered petitions to the Ministry of
Labour demanding salaries above the poverty datum line, currently set at
$535.

Among those detained in Harare was the ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo, a
ZCTU organizer named Chiripasi and General Secretary of the Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) Raymond Majongwe, whose umbrella teachers
union is an affiliate member of the ZCTU.

Takavafira Zhou, President of the PTUZ, told SW Radio Africa that the
marches had been peaceful in all three cities except Harare, where police
“wanted to spoil the day by arresting the leaders, even though they had been
notified of the marches in all three cities”.

Zhou said fortunately they arrived after a petition calling for decent wages
had been delivered to the ministry. “They detained the leaders for long
periods asking them why they had marched. I don’t know whether they expected
them to fly,” Zhou said of the interrogations. All three detained leaders
were released without charge.

No incidents were reported in Bulawayo where workers marched in solidarity.
In Masvingo about 50 people gathered but were not allowed to march. “We had
understood that permission for the national marches covered all three
cities, but apparently locals want their own documentation,” Zhou explained.

The main ZCTU did not participate in the protests. According to reports,
their president, Japhet Moyo, acknowledged that the issue of low wages
affects the majority of workers and needs to be addressed.

Civil servants urged to play dirty tricks on MDC

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Top civil servants and rural district executives from across Mashonaland
East Province have been instructed to sabotage MDC efforts to revive the
economy ahead of the coming elections, according to highly placed sources.
29.02.1206:47am
by Jane Makoni

Last Monday the Provincial Administrator, Cuthbert Ndarukwa, ordered senior
civil servants and rural district council management to stall MDC
development initiatives.

“Ndarukwa gave instructions that MDC development projects must be sabotaged
at the earliest opportunity as the Tsvangirai-led political project should
be dealt a fatal blow. He said if they managed to soil MDC economic projects
and other developmental initiatives now, President Robert Mugabe and Zanu
(PF) would easily regain lost ground,” said the source.

Ndarukwa reportedly told the meeting: “The former ruling party should be
assisted to win back lost glory in the coming elections.”

Some participants told The Zimbabwean they were disturbed at the way such a
senior civil servant meddled in politics.

“As chief executives of various local authorities, I strongly feel that our
efforts and energy should be focused on the development of the country and
economic recovery.

Joining forces with Zanu (PF) to fight MDC would not be in the best
interests of the country.

Our role should be to further the national interest,” said a top civil
servant who attended the meeting.

Concerned residents expressed their anger at Ndarukwa’s political manoeuvres
and called on the inclusive government to reign in such wayward civil
servants. They challenged the likes of Ndarukwa to leave government
employment if they wanted to participate in full-time politics.

“Civil servants who feel as Ndarukwa does should resign from government and
become professional politicians,” said an angry official from the PA’s
office.

The Zimbabwean has also learnt that war veterans here approached municipal
officers at Town House and threatened them for supporting the MDC council’s
Wenimbe-Marondera Water Project.

“Why are you supportive of the Wenimbe water project which has given MDC so
much political mileage? Since the project had been stalled for the past
decade the impression now is that MDC is better than Zanu (PF). You, as the
Zanu (PF) appointed council management, should do everything possible to
sabotage such MDC projects,” the war veterans reportedly ordered council
staff.

The council has managed to complete the long-awaited project, which will
provide residents with safe and clean water at minimum cost.

CIO agent held over attempt to extort ZIFA CEO

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

29/02/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

A CENTRAL Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent and a second man have been
charged over the attempted extortion of ZIFA CEO Jonathan Mashingaidze.

Richard Mubaiwa and accomplice John Chari demanded US$10,000 from the ZIFA
chief after claiming the spy agency had information that he was dabbling in
politics.
He was also threatened with murder if he failed to hand over the money.

Mubaiwa, whose address was given as the President’s Office, Chaminuka
Building, and Chari, of Shumba Farm in Banket, were not asked to plead when
they appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Chari, 32, was arrested during a police sting operation after turning up at
a rendezvous point in Avondale where it was expected Mashingaidze would turn
over the US$10,000 demanded.
Mubaiwa, 31, was arrested in a police follow-up after Chari gave up his
name.

Detectives are hunting four other men implicated in the elaborate extortion
attempt.

Prosecutors say a man who identified himself as Runanga from the President’s
Office called Mashingaidze at 4PM on February 21 and claimed he had a file
on the ZIFA CEO which could have serious implications on his career.

A wall portrait of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in his ZIFA office was
an indication he was a member of the MDC-T, he is further alleged to have
told him.

Mashingaidze was also accused of persecuting innocent individuals in the
ongoing investigation into alleged match fixing which has seen 80 players
and coaches being suspended.

The caller, whom investigators say was in fact Mubaiwa, told Mashingaidze he
was looking into his political background, which includes his connections
with the MDC-T.

It is alleged he requested Mashingaidze to meet him at Chikwanha Shopping
Centre in Chitungwiza to discuss the matter further.
But it was Chari, in the company of four other men, who turned up in a white
kombi for the meeting around 7PM.
Chari, it is alleged, took Mashingaidze to a secluded place behind the
shopping centre. A second man followed at a distance.

It is alleged Chari emphasised to the ZIFA chief the seriousness of the
allegations against him and he told him that there were six men including
him appointed to “deal with him”.

He told Mashingaidze, say prosecutors, that he was to be “eliminated” and
that his bosses required a US$10,000 protection fee, but they would take
US$6,000 if he paid promptly.

Chari, described as a farmer, is alleged to have asked Mashingaidze how much
money he had on him, to which he handed over US$20 which the former
pocketed.

Chari allegedly told him to go and look for the required money and indicated
to him that he was going to contact him the following morning.

Mashingaidze called an emergency meeting with ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube
and Rtd Brigadier General Elliot Kasu, the ZIFA board member in charge of
finance, who released US$2,000 bait money for the police sting operation.

At about 2.30PM on Febryaru 22, the court heard, Mubaiwa gave his vehicle to
Chari to drive to Avondale Shopping Centre where the hand-over of the money
was due to be done.
Chari called Mashingaidze and advised him to go to Spar Supermarket at
Kensington Shopping Centre.

The ZIFA CEO used a taxi for the journey as detectives in plain clothes took
positions outside and inside the supermarket.

Prosecutors say Mashingaidze handed over a brown envelope with US$2,000
inside which Chari put in his trouser pocket, once again telling the ZIFA
CEO to go and find the balance.
Detectives swooped as Chari left the supermarket leading to the recovery of
the bait money.

Mubaiwa and Chari were remanded in custody to Wednesday, February 29.

12 days left of media reform ultimatum

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
29 February 2012

There are now 12 days for Media and Information Minister Webster Shamu to
implement key media reforms, as agreed to by the leaders in the coalition
government.

Monday 12th March will mark three weeks since an ultimatum was allegedly set
by Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara for the boards of
the ZBC, the Broadcasting Authority and the Mass Media Trust to be
reconstituted.

This agreement was reached at a meeting of the government heads last Monday,
but there is still no sign of movement on Shamu’s part, or any visible
pressure from the leaders to ensure that this happens.

This is not the first time that Shamu has been ordered to reconstitute the
boards, with no action. This is despite media reforms being a key issue in
the Global Political Agreement that, more than three years on, has still not
been fully implemented.

Gwisai tells court Mugabe must go

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
29 February 2012

A state prosecutor was left stunned on Wednesday when University of Zimbabwe
law lecturer, Munyaradzi Gwisai, told the court Robert Mugabe must go
because he’s had his time in office.

While this bold statement from Gwisai left prosecutor Michael Reza in
stunned silence, it elicited jubilation from others attending the trial of
the former MDC-T legislator.

‘Mugabe must go and it is my opinion and I am entitled to it. He is old and
has had over 30 years in office as Prime Minister and President.

The state has finished cross examining Gwisai and the trial proceeds on
Thursday with Antonator Choto taking to the witness stand. The duo and four
others are being charged with conspiracy to commit public violence.

Gwisai and Choto are being jointly charged with Tatenda Mombeyarara, Edson
Chakuma, Hopewell Gumbo and Welcome Zimuto. They all deny the charges. The
six were part of a group of 44 activists who were arrested on 19th February
last year while gathered at Cross Roads House in Harare.

Gwisai had arranged a seminar entitled ‘Revolt in Egypt and Tunisia. What
lessons can be learnt by Zimbabwe and Africa.’ The assembled group viewed
videos of the Arab spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and discussed the
implications for their own situation.

In the midst of the discussion CIO agents and police raided the place and
took all of them into custody. While 38 were released within days, it took a
month before Gwisai and the five others to be released on bail.

Zim's indigenisation minister blasts Implats CEO

http://mg.co.za

HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Feb 29 2012 14:10

A Zimbabwean minister launched a verbal attack on Impala Platinum CEO David
Brown, saying on Wednesday he was "sick and tired" of the mining group's
failure to comply with local black ownership laws.

"The problem with Brown is that he talks too much. We are sick and tired of
his delaying tactics," Saviour Kasukuwere, the minister in charge of
Zimbabwe's black empowerment drive, told Reuters.

Implats is the biggest foreign investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector and has
become the prime target of a government drive to get all outside companies
to hand over majority stakes in their local operations to black Zimbabwean
investors.

Brown has been seeking talks with Harare but told Reuters he was still in
South Africa, where he is dealing with a strike at the company's Rustenburg
mine that has cost it R2-billion in lost output.

"We can only engage him if he comes here to implement the law," Kasukuwere,
a member of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said.

This weekend, Harare gave Implats two weeks to surrender 29.5% of its
Zimplats unit to a state-run fund and threatened unspecified sanctions if it
did not comply.

Kasukuwere has previously threatened to cancel the mining licences of
non-compliant firms. -- Reuters

Implats says will not exit Zimbabwe

http://af.reuters.com/

Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:09pm GMT

* Zimbabwe a "good investment destination"-Implats CEO

* Zimbabwe accuses Implats of delaying tactics

HARARE/JOHANNESBURG Feb 29 (Reuters) - Impala Platinum, the world's
second-largest platinum producer, said on Wednesday that it would not exit
Zimbabwe despite the demands being made by the government that it hand over
majority stakes in its local operations to Zimbabweans.

Implats Chief Executive David Brown told private radio station 702 Talk
Radio the company still saw the southern African nation as a "good
investment destination".

"There's huge expansion potential ... but we need certainty," he said.

Zimbabwe, which holds the world's second largest PGM deposits after South
Africa, is crucial to the future of the platinum industry because of its
massive resources.

But platinum companies, as Zimbabwe's largest investors, are being targeted
in the government's drive to get all outside companies to hand over 51
percent stakes in their mines.

Implats has offered to hand over between 25 percent and 30 percent in equity
and make up the balance through credits it hoped to receive in exchange for
giving up some of its land five years ago.

But the minister in charge of Zimbabwe's black empowerment drive Saviour
Kasukuwere has rejected part of Implats proposal and has given the company
till Wednesday next week to hand over 29.5 percent of its Zimplats
operation.

"The problem with Brown is that he talks too much. We are sick and tired of
his delaying tactics," Kasukuwere told Reuters.

Kasukuwere has previously threatened to cancel the mining licences of
non-compliant firms. ($1 = 7.5305 South African rand)

Churches and civic groups join search for missing activist

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
29 February 2012

Several churches, civic groups and community organizations have joined in
the search for missing human rights activist Paul Chizuze, who disappeared
over three weeks ago after leaving his home in Bulawayo.

There is growing concern he may have been kidnapped or even murdered, as
there has been no sign of his Nissan twin cab either, which he was driving
when he was last seen on February 8th.

Education Minister and Senator David Coltart, who worked on projects with
Chizuze in the late 80s and 90s, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that
several churches, the Legal Resources Foundation and the Catholic Commission
for Justice and Peace have all joined in efforts to locate Chizuze.

“I also know that lawyers have been involved and family members have gone to
rural areas. Other community activists have also been searching at police
stations,” Coltart explained, adding that he was “deeply distressed” at the
disappearance.

Coltart said what is worrying people the most is that “there is absolutely
no leads whatsoever” after so much time. “You can understand how a person
can go missing but it is really odd that something as big as a vehicle
should go missing,” the legislator said.

Asked whether Chizuze might have uncovered something that threatened the
security of top officials, Coltart said: “It could very well be, he has been
working on issues that could be very embarrassing to hardliners.

Chizuze was a well-known grassroots activist who worked mostly as a
paralegal with human rights and community groups in Bulawayo. According to
Coltart, he did “groundbreaking work” and has a lot of information on the
Gukurahundi massacres of the late eighties.

Meanwhile, members from the pressure group Women and Men Of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA/MOZA) marched in Harare and Bulawayo on Wednesday to highlight the
fact that Chizuze was still missing. MOZA member Conny Dube told SW Radio
Africa that they were surprised the police did not disrupt the peaceful
march, as that is what normally happens.

Asked to comment on Chizuze’s disappearance, Dube said: “There is an
anticipated election and they are sending a message. They know human rights
activists and civil groups educate people and they want to quell that.”

ZMC Sets Police Against Foreign Newspapers

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, February 29, 2012- The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has
intensified its onslaught against the Sunday Times by setting the police on
the popular weekly newspaper.

ZMC chairperson Godfrey Majonga reported the Sunday Times and The Zimbabwean
newspaper to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to bar the newspapers from
entering and circulating in the country because they were not registered
with the media regulatory body.

In an affidavit deposed to police at Harare Central police station, Majonga
accused the Sunday Times and other foreign newspapers of carrying out
newsgathering in the country without registration and licensing in
contravention of the country’s obnoxious media laws.

Majonga complained to the police that journalists working for the Sunday
Times were using false names and “do not respect the laws of the land.”

“The ZMC is charges with the national constitutional responsibility to keep
an accurate register of all mass media services operating in Zimbabwe and
all journalists carrying out newsgathering in Zimbabwe at anytime. Those
registers must be accurate and up to date. The ways in which the Sunday
Times, The Zimbabwean and their reporters have operated hinder the proper
operations of the Commission.

Other authorities, such as the Department of Immigration, rely on such
information in order also to meet their mandate. The ways in which the
Sunday Times and The Zimbabwean operate make it impossible for the ZMC to
create and keep accurate registers in terms of the laws of Zimbabwe,”
Majonga wrote in his affidavit to the police, which was seen by Radio VOP.

Majonga also reported Munn Marketing, a subsidiary of Alpha Media Holdings
and the distributors of the Sunday Times to the police for allegedly playing
the role of publisher of the South African weekly.

The ZMC boss charged that Munn Marketing had collected some registration
forms on behalf of the Sunday Times from its offices but the newspaper had
not registered with the media policing body.

“This raises the question whether or not the penalties for operating a mass
media service without registration, as outlined in Section 72, should apply.
The address for Munn Marketing is stand 225, Harrow road Masasa, Unit 3 and
4 Beverley east. I make this statement consciously, believing the same to be
true,” reads part of Majonga’s affidavit.

The ZMC first singled out the Sunday Times before targeting other newspapers
circulating in the country ahead of planned elections early in February, in
the clearest sign that President Robert Mugabe and some Zanu (PF) officials
are rattled by the newspaper’s coverage of local issues. The ZMC’s
predecessor, the Media Information Commission led by media hangman Tafataona
Mahoso presided over the shutdown of several newspaper titles such as the
Daily News, the Tribune and Weekly Times.

Meanwhile Radio VOP and other exiled Zimbabwe radio stations continues to
have constant and loyal audience as compared to the local radio stations
whose listenership fluctuates, a research by Zimbabwe All Media Products
Survey (ZAMPS) has revealed.

This is despite the radio stations being on shortwave which sometimes are
subjected to jamming by authorities who continue to deny them operating
licences.

In an interview with Radio VOP in Harare on Tuesday on the sidelines of
Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS)’s 4th quarter which had a bias
towards the rural areas, Research Board International’s Managing Director
Ellington Kamba, said extra-terrestrial radio stations such as Radio VOP and
Studio 7 had managed to nurture and maintain a loyal listenership.

“What we have realised during the survey is that Radio VOP and other
external radio stations have a loyal listenership that is consistent and
does not fluctuate like other local radio stations whose audience keeps
changing. Yes penetration is there. They have their listeners though few as
compared to local radio stations for obvious reasons such as frequencies and
time of broadcasting which continue to be constant meaning that they have
nurtured their own audiences,” said Kamba.

Kamba said the same applies to regional weekly newspapers like The
Zimbabwean and the Sunday Times.

Radio VOP was last year in November denied operating licence by the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. The BAZ board ruled that Radio VOP had
failed to impress them during public hearings held to consider licensing
them.

It has however petitioned the Administrative Court seeking an order to set
aside the BAZ board’s order and for the broadcasting authority to
re-determine the media house’s application for a commercial radio licence.

Red tape stalls ethanol project

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

By Gift Phiri, Senior Writer
Wednesday, 29 February 2012 16:25

HARARE - Bureaucracy is slowing down an ethanol project that could reduce
the country’s reliance on imported fuel and directly employ 7 000 people,
the Daily News has learnt.

Cash-strapped Zimbabwe is a net importer of finished petroleum products, yet
government is taking ages to okay a policy proposal to boost sales of the 30
percent cheaper and environmentally friendly blended petrol, E10, produced
at Zimbabwe’s first green fuel plant in Chisumbanje — 500km south of Harare.

The Daily News understands Green Fuel (Pvt) Limited — a $600 million joint
venture between state-run Arda and a group of private investors — has asked
government, which has given Green Fuel national project status, to introduce
a mandatory blending policy — a decision to make blending of ethanol and
petrol compulsory as an import substitution measure.

Green Fuel says a mandatory blending policy dovetails with government’s
medium term economic blueprint which stipulates that Zimbabwe should
“promote and use renewable energy including ethanol blending”.

Green Fuel produces ethanol from sugar cane. By-products include electricity
enough to light up Manicaland province and stock feed.

Currently, conventional bulk petroleum companies’ facilities and retail
filling stations are designed for petrol and diesel only and the
introduction of blended petrol is posing logistical problems to the
operators of service stations and petroleum companies.

Fuel companies have raised concerns that they need to allocate a third pump
for the blended petrol, separate tanks, as well as separate transport
carriers for the ethanol.

The almost 400 filling stations in Zimbabwe have been reluctant to incur
what they perceive as additional costs to modify or upgrade their existing
pumping and storage facilities.

But if government approves mandatory blending and makes it obligatory for
the bulk of petrol sold in Zimbabwe to be blended petrol, there will be no
need to modify facilities at filling stations, a move that will also
significantly slash government’s fuel import cost.

The Daily News heard that by the end of January, Green Fuel had produced 10
million litres of ethanol, which is currently sitting in storage facilities
around the country.

So far, only 105 000 litres has been sold, just above 1 percent of the total
ethanol produced, meaning  Green Fuel is producing more fuel that it can
sell because of the facilities’ crisis at filling stations and other bulk
petroleum companies.

Zimbabwe Health Officials Scramble As Typhoid Spreads Beyond Harare

http://www.voanews.com

28 February 2012

Epidemiology and Disease Control Director Dr. Portia Manangazira told
Parliament’s committee on health that most typhoid cases were reported in
Kuwadzana, Mufakose and Crowborough

Violet Gonda & Irwin Chifera | Washington

The Zimbabwean Ministry of Health said Tuesday that typhoid, which continues
to be a source of concern for many residents in Harare, has spread to more
suburbs in the city and to other major towns with more than 200 new cases
reported nationally a week.

So far two deaths have been reported out of an estimated 2,000 cases.

Epidemiology and Disease Control Director Dr. Portia Manangazira told
Parliament’s committee on health that most typhoid cases were reported in
Kuwadzana, Mufakose and Crowborough, with most patients receiving treatment
at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

“We have reported 203 new typhoid cases this week only so what I am saying
in terms of the increased magnitude of Kuwadzana outbreak is that then we
were reporting 20 to 30 cases per week, then we went up to a 100 cases a
week. So we actually have an outbreak that is raging,” Dr. Manangazira told
VOA.

She said typhoid, which Harare City Council has said is under control, seems
to be still spreading and that there’s a possibility of outbreaks in 30
towns and districts around the country, such as Bindura in Mashonaland
Central and Kadoma in Mashonaland West.

Dr. Manangazira said it is unfortunate that some people caught typhoid at
hospitals citing cases at Harare's Parirenyatwa Hospital and Bindura
Provincial Hospital.

“What really got me worried was the water and sanitation situation at
Bindura Provincial Hospital," Dr. Manangazira explained. "They said the
hospital has two taps to give the patients and staff running water. So the
hospital staff are using the bucket system to collect water for patients as
well as to flush toilets.”

“The provincial hospital grounds now has sewage flowing [free]," she added.

Manangazira said apart from typhoid there has been an upsurge in common
diarrhea largely due to poor sanitation and the continuing failure by towns
and cities to provide clean water and manage their sewage treatment and
garbage collection.

Harare City Council Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi told Parliament’s Natural
Resources and Environment Committee on Monday that the city was releasing
sewage into its water sources thereby increasing risk for the outbreaks of
diseases.

Lawmaker Blessing Chebundo, a member of Parliament's health committee, said
that his panel has been touring affected areas in Harare.

Chebundo said that the parliamentarians were told by health experts the
epidemic could spread to other towns, so the committee is pressuring the
government to make enough resources available and for Harare City Council to
inform residents of the risk.

“Let’s identify the gaps," Chebundo said. "If the gaps are to do with
resources let’s reason with government because government is supposed to
come in when we have problems that threaten the lives of the people and the
city council itself also has to put its priorities in order." Since the
outbreak of typhoid in the capital, central and local government officials
have appeared to shuffle blame back and forth.

The government and the United Nations Children's Fund have extended an
emergency program to help local government rehabilitate water and treatment
systems.

The Emergency Rehabilitation and Risk Reduction was set up during the
2008-2009 cholera epidemic which claimed some 4,200 lives. It was to expire
in March.

Harare and other cities were to take over full management of water treatment
but the typhoid outbreak led Harare officials to ask that the program be
extended.

UNICEF has provided $64 million in funding for the program so far.

UNICEF Chief of Mission Dr. Peter Salama said the program was an emergency
response as his agency does not normally support water treatment programs.

Another Zimbabwe Legislator Detained in Probe by Anti-Corruption Commission<

http://www.voanews.com

28 February 2012
BR>
Ndambakuwa is the second legislator to be arrested, following the detention
of Saint Mary's, Chitungwiza, lawmaker Marvelous Khumalo of the MDC
formation headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai

Blessing Zulu | Washington

Zimbabwean police arrested Magunje legislator Franco Ndambakuwa of President
Robert Mugabe's former ruling ZANU-PF party on charges he abused a $50,000
constituency development fund for the Mashonaland West area he represents.

The development Monday came as the Anti-Corruption Commission and the
Ministry of Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs turns up the heat on
cabinet officials and legislators who have failed to account for the use of
such funds.

Ndambakuwa is said to have failed to account for US$39,000 from the
US$50,000 that he received from parliament to pay for projects benefiting
his constituents.

He was being held at Rhodesville police station in Harare and was to be
arraigned in court on Wednesday, sources said.

Ndambakuwa is the second legislator to be arrested, following the detention
of Saint Mary's, Chitungwiza, lawmaker Marvelous Khumalo of the Movement for
Democratic Change formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has warned that a number of ministers and
members of parliament might be arrested for abusing public funds.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has sent auditors to all provinces to
verify the existence and status of projects legislators say they have
undertaken.

The audit exercise is still under way and the ministry has asked for 12 more
auditors to augment the five already in the field.

Audit reports have revealed unsatisfactory use of the funds from four
constituencies: St Mary's and Magunje, Hurungwe North and Kariba, all in
Mashonaland West.

Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Stanford Chirindo said several lawmakers
are under scrutiny, but declined to comment about Ndambakuwa’s arrest.

Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga confirmed
that teams are on the ground physically assessing the projects lawmakers say
they launched.

Political analyst Gladys Hlatshwayo said parliamentarians who abuse funds
must be permanently banned from holding public office.

Dairy plant for Gushungo

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

The First Family is building a factory in Mazowe to′process milk from its
Gushungo Dairy Estates, The Zimbabwean learnt′this week.
29.02.1202:24pm
by Staff Reporter

Authoritative sources said the proposed dairy processing venture, to′be
called Alpha Dairy, has been on the cards since the 2009 debacle′when Swiss
food giant, Nestle, suspended milk purchases ′under pressure from
international human rights groups.

“The state-of-the-art plant is the real reason why more than 80
newly′resettled farmers were forcibly removed from farms in the Mazowe
area′last month,” a source said this week.

The official explanation for the evictions was the affected farmers′were
destroying the environment by engaging in gold panning activities,

The sources said equipment for the dairy had already been imported′from
South Africa at an estimated cost of about $15 million.′′When completed, the
plant is expected to manufacture dairy′products such as milk, cheese, ice
cream and yoghurt.

Nestle bowed to international pressure in October 2009 after a
global′consumer boycott. Problems for the Grace Mugabe-run Gushungo were
compounded by the′failure by former parastatal, Dairibord Zimbabwe Limited,
to satisfy′demand for dairy products due to cashflow problems.

EU keen on lifting beef ban

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Bulawayo Correspondent
Wednesday, 29 February 2012 13:11

HARARE - The European Union (EU) says it is keen to lift a ban on beef
imports from Zimbabwe, a decade after it was imposed following a foot and
mouth outbreak.

Zimbabwe, through the Cold Storage Company (CSC), used to supply the EU
market with tonnes of beef, generating a lot of foreign currency for the
country.

In an interview in Bulawayo, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’ Ariccia
said the EU is willing to resume beef inports from the CSC.

“The EU is keen to negotiate with Zimbabwe. Our wish is that this issue
could been solved and trade restarted because Zimbabwe has  the best meat
that I have ever had,” said ambassador Ariccia.

Ambassador Ariccia however, said Zimbabwe could resume exporting beef on
condition that it meets the EU sanitary standards.

“The issue of exporting meat to the EU is centrally due to the sanitary
condition. The EU has to protect the market from getting meat that is
contaminated with foot and mouth disease,” he said.

Accricia was adamant that the country should ensure that its beef was
disease free if it wanted to re-enter the EU market.

“As long the foot and mouth disease is not under control for safety reasons
the EU will not import from Zimbabwe,” he said.

Before CSC faced challenges, its sophisticated and integrated facilities,
which included abattoirs in Chinhoyi, Marondera and Masvingo had a slaughter
capacity of up to 600 000 head of cattle per year.

Since the EU suspended beef imports from Zimbabwe in 2001, the company has
been the brink of collapse. The company used to supply about 9 100 tonnes of
beef annually to EU countries.

Economist Eddie Cross said the revival of the company through resuming
exports to the EU was critical for the revival of many companies especially
in Bulawayo were the company has its headquarters.

“The CSC is still critical to the stability, recovery and growth of the
industry and will have to be revived in order to restore Zimbabwe’s
potential,” Cross said.

He said Matabeleland is still remained the largest supplier of cattle and
small livestock to the local market.

Mutambara Top Ally Resigns

http://www.radiovop.com

Masvingo, February 29, 2012 – The Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur
Mutambara’s national organising secretary in the MDC-M party Robson Mashiri
is believed to have recently resigned citing lack of co-ordination and
united effort to make the party vibrant as reasons.

Mashiri did not deny or accept the allegations as he insisted that it was a
bit premature to discuss the issue with the press.

“Who leaked that story to the press? We cannot discuss our problems with the
press, if there is something then you will hear it through normal channels.
The national chairman (Mudzumwe) will give a press conference in due time,”
said Mashiri.

National chairman Jourbert Mudzumwe could not be reached for a comment.

Close sources told Radio VOP on Tuesday that Mashiri’s resignation has sent
shock waves in the party as Mutambara is reported to be organising an
emergency meeting to make sure that they stop Mashiri from dumping the
party.

Mashiri secured the post of national organising secretary in the party after
he tirelessly fought side by side with Mudzumwe in defending Mutambara’s
legitimacy.

However, party officials reiterated that Mutambara should be very careful if
he is prepared to have a political party.

“Mashiri's case is just a teaser; a lot of people are disgruntled, they
might all soon fall out and join Tsvangirai. There is lack of co-ordination
in the party as Mutambara seem to be too much in government business and
nothing else,” said a source that declined to be named.

Pride of lions loose in Zaka, Bikita

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

 

Kings of the jungle ... Loose lions have avoided capture by Parks and Wildlife rangers

28/02/2012 00:00:00
	by Staff Reporter

A PRIDE of lions is causing terror in Zaka and Bikita districts after escaping from the adjoining Save Valley Conservancy, officials said on Tuesday.

The lions have so far attacked livestock, particularly in Zaka, Masvingo province, where families have been left counting the cost after losing cattle, goats and donkeys.

Save Conservancy officials blame the escape on a dilapidated 330KM electric fence surrounding the 3,200 sq km conservancy – the last line of defence for communities in neighbouring settlements.

National Parks and Wildlife rangers have been camped at Nyika Growth Point in Bikita since February 18 trying to track down the lions without success.

Bikita district administrator Edgars Seenza said the fence on the conservancy was failing at various points, leaving communities to deal with dangerous animals which roam freely into the adjoining districts of Mwenezi, Zaka, Chivi, Bikita and Masvingo.

The Save Valley Conservancy is home to some 70 lions, 800 elephants, 5,000 buffalo, 1,400 giraffes, 150 black rhinos, 50 white rhinos, 2,000 eland, 2,000 zebra, 2,000 wildebeest and nearly 400 different bird species.

Seenza said: “I went to the place and talked to the owners of the conservancy who said they could no longer afford to repair the fence as they have run out of money.

“The fence was not torn down; it is in a dilapidated state. We are trying to negotiate with owners of the conservancy so that they can repair the fence.”

Seenza said an Air Force helicopter was being used to scan thousands of square miles of landscape to track down the lions, whose exact number remains unknown.

Bikita Rural District CEO Johannes Mpamhadzi said the council was providing road transport for the Parks and Wildlife rangers who had so far failed to locate the pride, which usually strikes during the night and is gone by daybreak.

“We have been providing vehicles and fuel for the officers from the Parks and Wildlife department for the past two weeks and our budget is now being strained,” he said on Tuesday.

“The rangers have not seen any lions, and everyone is anxious that they are located very soon before humans become victims.”

Women face maternity horror at public hospitals

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Tendai Rakabopa-Musadaidzwa has vowed never to go to any public clinic or
hospital again following a harrowing experience with her first pregnancy at
Harare General Hospital last year.
28.02.1211:13am
by Grace Chirumanzu Harare

She has come to believe that midwives and doctors at public hospitals “don’t
treat people well and they don’t value lives” after the treatment she
received there.

The 26-year-old was admitted at Glen View Polyclinic hoping to walk out with
her baby girl the following day.

This is her horror story: “I spent two days there with the nurses telling me
my time was due. But my placenta was still only 1cm. One nurse spoke to me
privately and told me that my baby was going to die from fatigue if I could
not get my husband to rush me to hospital. She told me the ambulance would
take ages.

“On arrival at Harare Hospital, the staffs were very slow - from the
reception area throughout. Two ladies who arrived at the same time as I did
were told that their babies had already died in their wombs. I was so hurt.

“I remember kneeling down because I was in great pain and the nurses started
shouting at me. Later during the night I asked for a doctor to check on me
but they said there were only two of them and they were sleeping.

“When a doctor finally came I tried to talk to him about an operation.But he
insisted I had used juju which was stopping the baby from moving. My
explanation that I was a Christian and do not do juju was not heard. The
nurses joined in with the malicious accusations after the doctor left.

“One of the nurses injected me with a drug -but never told me what it was
for. She just said I was making too much noise and she had to make me sleep.
I felt so dizzy and slept –but I don’t know for how long.”

On the third day, her husband came looking for her and he could not find her
name on the list of patients at the reception. He had to ask two nurses to
help him find her before they could agree.

“I was later induced after my father and my husband had hunted for the
doctor to do so around 4pm. I finally delivered at midnight – after my
fourth day in labour. The baby did not cry at once, only after a bit of
spanking. The other lady’s baby fell in the bucket as the nurses ignored her
calls while enjoying their tea.”

Bertha Nyakonda, mother of three girls, delivered her youngest 19 months ago
in the Avenues Clinic.

Despite the inevitable labour pains, Nyakonda believed she was in a little
heaven because of the treatment from the midwives and the health services
provided.

“The food was good and the general hygiene impressive. Nurses would come and
check if the bed sheets needed to be changed every now and then. They were
friendly and sympathetic,” she said.

According to the Maternity and Perinatal mortality study done in 2007 by the
Ministry of Health, Zimbabwe’s maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 725
per 100 000 live births.

Some of the major causes of maternal deaths recorded are conditions related
to HIV/AIDS, abortion complications, postpartum haemorrhage and obstructed
labour.

Last week the United Kingdom committed $120million to improve the health of
mothers and babies and decrease maternal mortality.

Although the care at private hospitals is remarkable, the $500 to $700 fees
are just beyond the reach of most women. Many cannot even afford the public
sector fees of $25 (polyclinics) and $100 (hospitals).

While slashing maternity fees will lessen dangerous home deliveries, there
is also need for the ministry to motivate midwives and doctors to see such
warm care offered in the private sector coming to public hospitals for free.

The Minister of Health, Henry Madzorera, told The Zimbabwean “Some people
are not born kind (referring to nurses and doctors at public hospitals) but
our duty is to make sure that we improve the service delivery at public
hospitals.With the training and retraining we are having you should
seeservice levels changing.”

Surviving Chikurubi horror

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Legal Monitor
Wednesday, 29 February 2012 14:41

HARARE - Rebecca Mafikeni (RM) and Yvonne Musarurwa (YM) spent nine months
in Chikurubi Prison on charges of killing a policeman in May last year.

Below they tell The Legal Monitor (LM) about their misery in prison:

LM: You were first locked up in the Chikurubi prison female section and then
transferred to the maximum prison. Were you told why you were transferred?

RM: We were told “you are Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists so
you cannot stay here because we have some Zanu PF activists serving their
sentences so if you stay here there will be fights.” So we were taken to the
maximum prison and kept in solitary confinement.

LM: Was there any difference in terms of living conditions?

RM: The conditions at the female prison were a bit better because of it
being an open prison.

At the maximum prison we were isolated. We were being isolated from things
like exercising, socialising, laundry and even bathing. We were kept away
from essentials to life such as sunlight.

Anything a normal human needs to survive was kept away from us. We were
being treated like caged animals.

We were only allowed 20 minutes out of 24 hours to do our laundry, socialise
and bask in the sunlight, exercise and bath.

YM: It was terrible. We were not allowed to see each other as co-accused
persons. We were confined and the chief prison officer there was a woman who
told us in no uncertain terms that she would give us 20 minutes outside of
our solitary confinement per day to do everything.

LM: What was it like confinement?

YM: It was hell. Even yourself, if you are alone, your head will be
spinning. You will be in hell because being alone, psychologically it
torments you. You will be thinking a lot.

I don’t even have enough words to explain it but it was painful.

It was so hard that if we had not dedicated ourselves to the MDC and the
struggle for change we could have died there.

We might have committed suicide but the fact is we dedicated ourselves to
achieving democracy. We want to change the nature of politics in Zimbabwe.

That is why we survived. It is life threatening torture to be forced to
spend more than 23 hours confined to a prison cell, locked up and all alone.

The cell was a tiny little room with no space to manoeuvre.

LM: What was the food situation like?

YM: We were receiving our food from relatives and friends from outside. But
Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) provided inmates with food like porridge and
sadza and beans donated by organisations such as Red Cross.

RM: Before we left Chikurubi Maximum Prison we heard that some donors had
pulled out. There is no sugar and cooking oil right now. Things are so bad.

We heard this from other inmates who were bringing us some water because we
were not allowed to go out and fetch water. We were only given 40 litres a
day for everything like flashing and bathing.

You can imagine the situation for a lady. So the other prisoners who were
bringing us water were the ones who told us that they had run out of these
rations and were only eating vegetables.

LM: What kind of treatment were you getting from prison officers?

YM: The Officer-in-Charge politicised the matter and was hard on us because
she knew we were in the MDC. The other junior officers were professional.

RM: Imagine she would give us only 20 minutes to leave our cells and did not
allow us to interact with each other.

There were people there sentenced for murder and other crimes and they were
allowed a lot of time to be in the exercising yard or to do their laundry.

But she treated us as people who had not been convicted, as if we were the
country’s biggest threat.

YM: We were not supposed to stay at the maximum prison. Some people
sentenced for serious crimes were living better lives yet we were innocent.

For example, inmates in the male section who had been convicted had all the
time to exercise, socialise and even read. They were enjoying yet we were
being treated like dirt.

She (officer-in-charge) told us she was in charge and she would do what she
wanted.

She was so harsh that at one time she didn’t want us to go out and meet our
visitors. It is not a privilege. It is a right yet she denied us that right.

RM: We couldn’t stand it any longer. Imagine sewer flowing in the cell. The
plumbing system is old and she told us it was from Ian Smith’s time and ZPS
had no plumbers to fix it as it was beyond repair.

Yet when we told Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights’ Irene Petras about it,
she engaged senior people at the regional office.

Within hours, the plumbing system had been fixed... after seven months and
we had been touching the sewer with our bare hands because at one time they
ran out of gloves.

When we asked her (officer-in-charge) about the situation she said “It is
not my health. It is your health and I don’t care”.

She pointed out that even prison officers were living under similar
conditions and we insisted that this was because the officers didn’t know
their rights. We knew our rights.

LM: How did you manage to put up with all this?

RM: At first we were behaving as people who believed in discipline and
resolving issues through talking. We sought audience with her on January 27
and told her enough was enough.

According to the law and prison regulations she was supposed to visit us
once a week but she visited us four times only during the time we were in
remand. So we started a mini-resistance.

Water was brought in at 9 am and that was the time we were given our 20
minutes out of solitary confinement. So from January 27 to February 3 (2012)
we would refuse to return into the cell.

YM: We would get our water and tell the junior prison officers that “we want
your bosses here”.

The officer-in-charge later agreed to increase the amount of time and we
were allowed an hour for our chores but on condition that we would not meet
as co-accused.

LM: How does it feel being outside?

RM: I don’t feel free at all. I can only be free after I am acquitted. What
I for now want is a trial. This matter has to be concluded so that I can be
truly free.

YM: It is not easy for the pain to just vanish just because we have been
released on bail.

The damage done is irreparable. I lost a boyfriend in the process. He is not
that into politics and when he heard about the case, he just shunned me. He
didn’t even want to see me and now I am single, desperate and searching.

LM: Any last words?

YM: The support we received from different groups, churches, civil society
groups and ordinary people who were praying for us and giving much needed
support was tremendous.

RM: I wish human rights groups could do more in prisons.

They need to run programmes for prisoners. When we were inside, most
prisoners who are not charged on political grounds were unaware of their
rights. They are abandoned and need information about their rights.

Music Freedom Day a Challenge in Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com/

February 29, 2012

Sebastian Mhofu | Harare

Zimbabwean pop star Thomas Mapfumo, a hero of Zimbabwe's liberation
struggle, performs in Chitungwiza, south of Harare, Zimbabwe. (File Photo)
Photo: AP
Zimbabwean pop star Thomas Mapfumo, a hero of Zimbabwe's liberation
struggle, performs in Chitungwiza, south of Harare, Zimbabwe. (File Photo)

This week, Zimbabwean musicians join their colleagues from around the globe
in celebrating Music Freedom Day. But Zimbabwe still applies old laws to
censor artists and composers.

Praising Mugabe

Listening to Zimbabwe’s state-owned radio stations, one could get the
mistaken impression that all is well in this impoverished country. This song
praises President Robert Mugabe crediting him with being a liberator, a
visionary and a statesman.

Traditionally, music has been an artistic avenue to express - among other
things - political dissent rather than approval of mainstream politics.

Artists here say there is plenty of music in Zimbabwe questioning the
government and the order of things. But they say they are being silenced
because the only broadcasters, which are state-owned, refuse to air music
that is critical of the government, of Mugabe or his ZANU-PF party.

Broadcasting

One of them is Raymond Majongwe who has published 20 albums. But, despite
his music being popular in nightclubs, it is rarely featured on local radio
stations.

“Nothing much has been played from my stable. Many a time I have tried to
have shows, I have been frustrated," said Majongwe. "My posters have been
pulled out. People who are predominantly [ZANU-PF] they are not happy with
me performing because my music is deemed anti-ZANU-PF. I have critiqued the
tribulations people of this country have gone through. That has not gone
well with [ZANU-PF].”

Majongwe is not alone. His mentor Thomas Mapfumo got frustrated and left the
country in the late 1990s. Mapfumo created and popularized radical struggle
music, which he called Chimurenga, and in which he called for the overthrow
of the minority white government led by Ian Smith. But today his music is
not aired in Zimbabwe.

Old laws

This is one of his popular songs denouncing corruption by senior government
officials in Zimbabwe and is typical of the music he wrote in the early
1990s. Singer Majongwe says draconian laws enacted by the Ian Smith
government to restrict dissent are the same ones being used against
dissidents by ZANU-PF officials today.

“It is quite sad that we are still using the products of white supremacists
on blacks by people who claim to have brought independence unto us," said
Majongwe. "These are necessary contradictions of our times. When liberators
start using the laws promulgated by the people who were oppressing them… It
is quiet sad …”

Board of Censors

Majongwe is referring to the 1967 Censorship and Entertainment Control Act.
It established the Zimbabwe Board of Censors to which musicians and artists
must apply for certification.  Without this they cannot perform or publish
their work.

Solomon Chitsunga, an inspector from the Board of Censors, says the law is
in the public interest.

“Musicians are supposed to get [a] certificate that allows them to provide
entertainment to the public," said Chitsunga. "So any musician who wants to
entertain the public must have that certificate which will guide him - the
dos and don’ts - especially on the moral, decent aspects, since that is the
other function of the board. Recording companies must check if the art they
are recording is coming is from a registered member with the censorship
board. There might be chances that the music might be banned.”

Chitsunga says there are many valid reasons why certain music might be
banned, but when pressed to explain he would only say some music might cause
a public outcry.

Because of the censorship, many musicians have resorted to praising Mr.
Mugabe and his policies. Such music enjoys unlimited airplay.

This song which applauds Mugabe’s policy of requiring that all foreign
foreign-owned firms give a majority stake to Zimbabweans, has enjoyed lots
of play on all Zimbabwe’s state-owned stations.

But as Music Freedom Day approaches, protest musicians like Majongwe hope
for political change that will bring them the creative freedom for which
they yearn.

Zimbabwe in no hurry to reform the media before elections

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 29/02/12.

As Zimbabwe’s ‘media reform ultimatum’ draws near, there is nothing to show
that Media Minister Webster Shamu will implement key media reforms, which
could bring the long awaited freedom in the country’s media space.

There is nothing to show that the Media Minister is in a hurry to
reconstitute the boards of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the Mass Media Trust.

This comes at a time when media reforms have taken a centre stage in
Zimbabwe’s democratisation process, in the wake of a controversial
declaration by George Charamba also known as Nathaniel Manheru that ‘the
next election will be fought in the airwaves’.

The importance of credible and transparent opening of the airwaves before
elections which are being aggressively called for by Zimbabwe’s “sit-tight”
ruler Robert Mugabe, can not be overemphasised.

Despite the so-called GNU, Zanu-pf men head ‘key media policy nerve centres’
in government, therefore, “any comprehensive media reform can only happen if
it gets the blessing of that party” (Wallace Chuma, “Media reform under the
unity government – A critical assessment June 2010,” Solidarity Peace Trust,
02/06/10).

Except for the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) which is jointly
‘controlled’ by Zimbabwe’s coalition partners, Zanu-pf has virtual control
over the Potraz, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(Aippa), the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) and the Interception of
Communication Act (ICA).

Hopes that the Zimbabwe Media Council could have done a better job in
licensing radio and television stations rather than the BAZ have been dashed
following ZMC’s clampdown on foreign newspapers forcing critics to draw
parallels with its predecessor the Media and Information Commission (MIC)
led by Mahoso.

In an affidavit, ZMC Chairperson Godfrey Majonga reportedly accused the
Sunday Times and other foreign newspapers of carrying out newsgathering in
Zimbabwe without registration and licensing.

Some people would be disappointed by the MIC’s move especially as Zimpapers
publications The Herald and The Sunday Mail are viewed as having adopted a
‘belligerent line of reporting’ by allegedly operating as “a site of
struggle between imagined bona fide nationalists (Zanu-pf) and imagined
traitors (MDCs) ”

MDC moves to seek the nullification of the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe would appear hamstrung by legal and procedural challenges after
some experts contended the BAZ was legally constituted.

Meanwhile, Zimpapers which received a commercial FM radio license has
indicated the imminent launch of its broadcasting station which detractors
have already named ‘Chipangano Radio’ after the infamous Mbare-based
political gang.

Zimpapers Chairman Paul Chimedza has confirmed his group’s interest in TV
broadcasting amid revelations that ‘newspapers worldwide are a dying medium’
and read by less than a tenth of the population.

It is significant to note that The Herald on Wednesday 29 February 2012
acknowledged a slip in its readership and what it called a small rise in
penetration of internet cafes from 4 percent to 5 percent.

“Daily newspaper readership in Zimbabwe fell modestly in the last quarter of
last year but The Herald, which still has almost twice as many readers as
its nearest competitor, slipped the least according to the Zimbabwe All
Media and Products Survey,” said The Herald.

Despite agreeing to repeal Aippa and Posa according to the Government Work
Plan, the GNU has failed to meet one of the benchmarks of the
democratisation process.

Several bodies including SADC and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
have called on the Zimbabwe government to repeal the repressive Posa, ‘which
would be in line with media reform pledges made under the power sharing
government’.

However, it is now unlikely the Posa amendment Bill will be resurrected soon
due to the absence of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa abroad until 20th
March attending the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

While an acrimonious debate is expected on MDC-T Senator Komichi’s motion in
the Senate condemning hate speech and the abuse of freedom of speech by the
“partisan media” it is unlikely the Zanu-pf dominated chamber will
investigate his allegations.

The GNU has been rightly criticised for lacking “a coherent plan of action
on reforms” against a background of a “series of half measures meant to
placate a restive civil society and the international community.”

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Constitution Watch of 29th February 2012 [New Time Frame for Constitution-Making Process]