The ZIMBABWE Situation
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Zimbabwe
activists appeal conviction, sentences for Arab Spring video
session
http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, March 27, 3:13
AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Six Zimbabwean activists convicted of conspiring to
commit violence for watching videos of Arab uprisings are appealing their
conviction and sentences, their attorneys said Monday.
Attorney Alec
Muchadehama said he filed appeal papers arguing that if the
group did
actually plot violence at their February 2011 meeting, as the
court found,
they should have been prosecuted for treason, a charge that
carries a
possible death sentence. The group says the court’s ruling is
“misguided.”
If watching videos on Egypt and Tunisia was a crime as
Harare magistrate
Kudakwashe Jarabini ruled, “they were supposed to be
convicted of treason,”
according to the appeal documents submitted to the
magistrate’s court.
Muchadehama said he is also applying for the $500
fines, suspended
imprisonment and community service handed to the group to
be set aside. The
court ruling was also based on evidence of a “dishonest
witness” who lied
about his true identity as a police officer when he
infiltrated group, he
said.
Jarabini said on March 21 he took a
“compassionate approach” by not sending
to the activists to jail.
In
an apparent bid to head off intense local and international outrage over
the
case — along with frequent accusations of bias by the nation’s courts in
favor of President Robert Mugabe — Jarabini said he sought to pass a
deterrent sentence but didn’t want to give Zimbabweans “a sense of
shock.”
Muchadehama said the activists led by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a
44-year-old law
lecturer and former opposition legislator, now want the case
thrown out
altogether.
He said an appeal could take months to be
heard.
Jarabini found that that while watching a video was not a crime,
the “manner
and motive” of the February 2011 meeting showed bad intent. He
ruled that
showing footage of an Arab uprising that included “nasty
scenarios” was
intended to incite violence.
Jarabini said he took
note that the activists were arrested before any
violence had taken place.
They had watched the North African footage at a
time the nation’s political
environment was “conducive to easily inciting a
riot,” his ruling
said.
Police arrested 45 people who attended the Harare meeting, but 39
were later
released after judicial officials said police mounted a “dragnet”
campaign
against alleged participants.
Though Mugabe entered in a
power-sharing deal with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai after disputed,
violence-plagued 2008 elections, Mugabe has said
he has the power to
unilaterally call elections this year to end the almost
paralyzed coalition
government.
Security authorities have said they will clamp down on any
alleged plotters
of “destabilization.”
Gwisai, head of an
international socialist group in Zimbabwe, and other
members of the group
testified at an earlier court hearing that they were
tortured by police and
beaten with wooden planks and iron bars. They said
they were told to confess
that they plotted the ouster of longtime ruler
Mugabe, 88.
Mugabe has
been in power since independence in 1980. Critics accuse him of
violently
suppressing his opponents and giving impunity to his supporters
during a
decade-long breakdown of law and order.
In neighboring South Africa on
Monday, the High Court was forced to postpone
a landmark case brought by the
independent Southern Africa Litigation Center
and the Zimbabwean Exiles
Forum to compel South Africa to investigate and
prosecute high-level
Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity
and
torture.
The postponement came after a new attorney was appointed by the
state
prosecution service just days before the case was due to start amid
claims
of “bullying tactics,” manipulation and reluctance to proceed by the
state
and the government of President Jacob Zuma, the chief regional
mediator on
Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis.
‘Extraordinary’
twist in SA, Zim torture trial
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
26 March
2012
There’s been what has been described as an ‘extraordinary’ twist in
a
landmark court case in South Africa, which will urge the authorities there
to investigate and prosecute high level Zimbabwean officials accused of
crimes against humanity.
The case, filed by the Southern African
Litigation Centre (SALC) and the
South Africa based Zimbabwe Exiles Forum
was meant to get underway on
Monday. The groups are asking the High Court to
review and set aside a
decision made by South Africa’s National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA) and the
police not to investigate Zimbabwean officials
linked to acts of
state-sanctioned torture. This followed a police raid on
the headquarters of
the MDC in 2007.
But the start of the case was
postponed to Tuesday after “stunning” new
testimony from one of the key
respondents. Anton Ackermann, the head of the
NPA’s Priority Crimes
Litigation Unit, last week lodged his testimony before
the court –
indicating that he had recommended an investigation, had
disagreed with the
police’s reasons for not pursuing the case and had been
“manipulated and
misled” by both his colleagues within the NPA and the State’s
Advocate.
“The contents of Ackermann’s affidavit cast serious doubt
over the reasons
that the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police
Commissioner gave
for not initiating an investigation into these crimes
against humanity,”
said Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of
SALC.
Fritz told SW Radio Africa that Ackermann’s new testimony “also
calls into
question the very independence and impartiality of the NPA and
its
prosecutors.”
“Ackermann is in law responsible for the management
and direction of
investigations and prosecutions of international crimes and
he was the
original recipient of SALC’s request to initiate an
investigation. According
to his sworn testimony, he called for a docket to
be opened, SALC to be
consulted, the Priority Crimes Unit to be approached
for guidance and for
the docket to be submitted to the NPA for a final
decision. None of these
recommendations were followed,” Fritz
said.
Fritz also explained that Ackermann’s new evidence demonstrates
“his
attempts to provide his version of events were met with persistent
resistance on the part of his colleagues, and even threats.”
In
correspondence between Ackermann and the State Advocate Christopher
Macadam,
Ackermann was warned to “very carefully and seriously consider the
implications of including a statement that you were not satisfied… which has
very important consequences for both the Applicants and the Respondents. I
also believe that the court would be required to make findings on your
ethical conduct which could result in further action being taken against
you.”
Fritz meanwhile applauded Ackermann’s decision to come forward
with this
testimony because of the precedence it sets for the rule of law in
South
Africa. But she warned that Ackermann could now be “punished” for
coming
forward.
“It is prosecutors such as Ackermann that inspire
confidence in the justice
system and the rule of law so we really hope this
does not happen and the
NPA proceeds properly in dealing with this,” Fritz
said.
The case will now get underway on Tuesday.
Outrage
over hefty allowances for ZESA executives
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
26
March 2012
The director of the Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has condemned
the recent
hefty allowances awarded to ZESA executives, saying the pay deal
is an
insult to the hard-pressed consumers who have to deal with daily power
cuts.
The top hierarchy at the utility power company has increased their
allowances by up to 75 percent, backdated to 2009, according to the
Financial Gazette.
However the weekly paper said allowances for
non-managerial staff have been
slashed by 35 percent. Precious Shumba the
director of HRT told SW Radio
Africa on Monday that this is the reason why
his organization has repeatedly
criticized ZESA holdings for poor management
and incompetence.
‘Our criticism has been without malice. It has been
informed by the
situation on the ground. ZESA has been able to mobilize
resources to
rehabilitate the electricity distribution network. They also
had the
capacity to reform the billing system, but the challenge they face
is what
to prioritize with the money they have,’ Shumba said.
He
added: ‘They are now more focused on personal interests rather than
institutional interests. The economic revival of Zimbabwe is based on ZESA’s
ability to generate enough power to meet the demand of various stakeholders,
including industries.’
The country produces about 1320 megawatts of
electricity and requires 2100
megawatts. The balance is imported from
Mozambique, Zambia and the DRC.
Until March last year South Africa’s Eskom
supplied 400 megawatts.
ZESA’s development manager, Ikhupuleng Dube, revealed
that the country will
continue to have serious load shedding and power
outages until 2014.
The power company is struggling to raise the US$125
million needed to repair
the outdated Hwange Power Station generators, with
US$8 billion needed for
the country, to restore optimum power production
levels.
There has been growing outrage in the country following the
disclosure of
the names of top government officials who have defaulted on
their power
bills. The Daily News has named and shamed several cabinet
ministers and
Robert Mugabe and his wife.
The outstanding payments by
several top government officials, is believed to
be over $500 million.
Mugabe and his wife Grace owe ZESA over US$300,000 as
of December 2011.
More
investment inroads from China into Zimbabwe
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
26
March 2012
China is making no secret of its desire to engage even further
with
resource-rich Zimbabwe, as they seek new ways to fuel their booming
economy.
With ties to Zimbabwe that already go back to the days of the
liberation
war, the Asian giant has been ratcheting up its investment push
into the
country in recent months as they look to forge new trade routes and
expand
on existing alliances.
A Chinese Communist Party delegation,
led by politburo member Lui Qi, was in
Zimbabwe last week and visited
various places, including the prime tourist
destination, the Victoria Falls.
It’s believed the Chinese intend to invest
heavily in tourism and plan to
build 5-star hotels in Harare, Masvingo and
Victoria Falls. The delegation
also met President Robert Mugabe for talks.
Very recently the ZANU PF
leader also met the Head of the Chinese Navy,
Admiral Tong Shiping, who was
on a visit to Zimbabwe.
There are concerns the Chinese Peoples’
Liberation Army is supervising the
diamond mining in Marange, with reports
suggesting Chinese military planes
are transporting the diamonds exploited
from Marange, to China.
The Marange diamond fields are believed to be one
of the largest alluvial
diamond fields in the world and in return for the
diamonds the Chinese
military are allegedly supplying weapons and other
essential materials to
help keep Mugabe in power.
Bank
blamed in GMB rot
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Lloyd Mbiba, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
01:45
HARARE - Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (Agribank)
has
contributed to the rot in the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) by exposing
the
state parastatal to losses of funds through a weak banking system,
according
to an audit conducted by a local accounting firm.
The audit
report by Ruzengwe and Company (chartered accountants) copied to
the
Comptroller and Auditor General for the year 2010 reveals that Agribank
failed to help GMB manage its account.
The audit report reads “The
board is exposed to the Agribank in relation to
farmer deposits and depot
input payments. A total of $7 627 866 worth of
input sales proceeds for the
year under review are expected to come through
this bank.
“Apart from
the above, at least $40 million worth of government inputs were
being
distributed around the country with proceeds being expected to come
through
this bank and other banks."
“Agribank has failed to assist the board in
identifying the origin of
deposits getting into the board bank account. The
GMB, as a result has
failed to accurately account for input proceeds as it
is difficult to
establish the origin of deposits. The board could be losing
funds through
this weakness.”
Apart from the exposure risks emanating
from Agribank, GMB is exposed to
inefficiency risk as it is carrying too
many employees with no related
activity something which is costing the
company.
The Daily News last week revealed that the parastatal’s wage
bill is more
than twice the revenue generated from commercial
activities.
Furthermore, the board also has inefficiencies embedded in
the system as key
decision-making functions are not performing to set
standards.
The audit noted that the production and marketing sections led
the board
into losses, through production of mealie-meal with no related
demand and
entering into a flawed toll milling contract with Centra Private
Limited.
The finance section has compounded this situation by failing to
accurately
and timely account for funds being generated as well as inputs
and intake
sale proceeds.
GMB’s internal control system covering the
accounting system, management
attitude to internal controls, co-ordination
and control of operations has a
weakness in reviewing evaluation and
identification of any leakages.
The report said GMB is not fully
utilising the Systems Applications and
Products (SAP) accounting system and
is instead making use of excel spread
sheets to keep its
accounts.
The use of spread sheets is not suitable for organisations as
big as GMB,
the audit report stated.
“Spread sheets are easy to
manipulate in the absence of tight monitoring
controls, since editing could
be done at ease without any authorisation. The
use of spread sheets makes it
difficult to identify incomplete entries as
single entries can be accepted
for processing,” the audit noted.
GMB has ineffective management control
and monitoring tools as provincial
accountants failed to produce basic
accounting records and reports.
Provinces are the main source of
information for management and financial
reporting processes.
This
has compromised GMB’s financial reporting because of the failure of
provincial financial departments to avail basic accounting data, noted the
report.
The loss-making parastatal has a duplication of efforts and
inappropriate
duty allocation says the report.
The audit observed
that the operations manager had duties which coincided
with the procurement
and administration manager and the logistics and
distribution
manager.
Due to a weak management structure, there is negligence in the
execution of
duties by GMB employees the auditors said.
“There has
been evidence of negligence in the execution of duties by some
employees
including management. For example about 120 tonnes of rice
(translating to
$95 771) was lost as a result of negligence of duty by an
officer in the
logistics department who contracted a transporter without
proper background
checks and capacity checks on the transporter.
The then logistic manager
should have checked the authenticity of the
transporter,” read the audit
report.
Shamva
cop attacks fuelled by illegal gold deal gone bad
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
26 March 2012
The door-to-door attacks by police that
left one miner dead and several
severely injured in Shamva South last week
were the result of an illegal
gold deal that had gone bad, according to
local villagers.
Ten police officers are in custody, accused of the
brutal attacks that
killed Luxmore Chiwambo and sent nine others to
hospital. They were arrested
only after the provincial governor Martin Dinha
interfered during angry
demonstrations by the local villagers.
It was
initially believed the attacks started after the wife of police
Inspector
Shumba was robbed of $1 and a cell phone at the Ashley Mill
compound. But it
has now been revealed that Chiwambo was targeted after
Inspector Shumba’s
wife realized she had been cheated.
Trusted sources told SW Radio Africa
that she had been sold brass instead of
gold. She then told her husband, who
went back to Ashley Mill with nine
junior officers late that night and broke
down doors.
The incident angered villagers from Ashley Mill, who say they
are tired of
abuses by the police. In response to last week’s attacks, the
Bindura
Magistrates Court was last Friday swamped with dozens of villagers
calling
for the ten police officers to be prosecuted to the full extent of
the law.
MDC-T organizing secretary for Shamva South, Leman Pwanyiwa,
told SW Radio
Africa that the local gold mines and commercial farms which
used to provide
jobs all closed down some years ago and people are
struggling to make ends
meet.
“So it’s not surprising that we have
people involved in illegal activity
just to try and survive. In particular
people are lucratively engaging in
these gold dealings,” Pwanyiwa
explained. He added that ZANU PF controls
the gold and only party members
with strong financial backing get access.
“ZANU PF uses illegal
activities to control the means of survival,
especially for the youth in the
constituency. You need to have ZANU PF
history,” Pwanyiwa
said.
Reports said officials now fear for the safety of the police
officers
accused of last Saturday’s violent and tragic attacks. Inspector
Shumba was
named as one of the more abusive police officers in the Shamva
South
district and vllagers said he has been looting with impunity and
closing
down shops at will.
According to the Daily News newspaper,
the case may be transferred to Harare
to protect them.
Proposal
For Parliament In Bulawayo Tabled
http://www.radiovop.com
Nompumelelo Moyo - Bulawayo, March
27, 2012 - The Minister of Industry and
Trade Welshman Ncube has said he has
tabled his proposal to have a new
parliament built in Bulawayo to the
Minister of Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs Eric
Matinenga.
In an interview Ncube said he is now planning to meet his
counterpart to
discuss the move he believed will help stem underdevelopment
in Bulawayo.
In April last year, the state-owned Herald reported that
plans to construct
a new parliament building near Harare's kopje area were
on course. A Chinese
delegation was expected in the country to start
preparations for the
construction of a new building for
Parliament.
The newspaper reported that the new parliamentary complex
will eventually
also include flats for Parliamentarians representing
non-Harare
constituencies.
But Ncube said it made sense to build a
new parliament in Bulawayo.
“There was a proposal by us to the Ministry
of Constitutional Affairs to say
now that parliament is mooting building a
new parliamentary building ... it
does not make sense to put it in Harare We
thought if you are going to spend
money to put a new building you might as
well put it in Bulawayo.
“We submitted our documents to the minister of
constitutional affairs and l
said l will also make time to meet him
(Minister of Constitutional
Affairs),” he said.
“If you live in
a country such as ours, where you have challenges in terms
of economic
activities in some parts of the country and de-industrialisation
in
Bulawayo, bringing one strong arm of government to Bulawayo will help
solve
the problems. That way, we will make Bulawayo the City of Parliament,
just
as in South Africa, Cape Town is the city of Parliament and Pretoria,
the
City of Government.
“It will mean elected officials will have an
appreciation of issues and
challenges in Bulawayo, which is not the case at
the moment. Some of them
have never been to Bulawayo. If we genuinely
believe in equity, it is
appropriate that different sectors of government
are located at different
regions,” he said.
Zanu
PF interference ruining parastatals
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Pindai Dube
Monday, 26 March 2012
23:01
BULAWAYO - State Enterprises minister Gorden Moyo says
continuous
interference by Zanu PF politicians is making it difficult for
the inclusive
government to revive most of the state-owned companies’
commonly known as
parastatals, which collapsed under President Robert
Mugabe’s regime.
National carrier, Air Zimbabwe’s collapse is the latest
in a long list of
failed parastatals in the past decade, among them, Zesa
Holdings,
Ziscosteel, Zupco, GMB, TelOne National Railways of Zimbabwe
(NRZ) and Cold
Storage Company (CSC).
“We are making efforts to
revive most paratastatals that collapses under the
previous government but
political interference has become one of our major
stumbling blocks,” Moyo
told journalists after meeting farmers in Bulawayo
on Friday.
Moyo
picked out National Railways Zimbabwe (NRZ) as one of the parastatals
which
continues to give him a headache, saying the board of management of
the
state-owned company is not properly constituted.
The NRZ board is being
led by controversial Zanu PF-aligned army chief
Brigadier General Douglas
Nyikayaramba, although his term of office expired
in 2008.
Another
former soldier, retired Air Force of Zimbabwe Air Commodore Mike
Karakadzai
is running the parastatal as the general manager.
“If there is something
which is making us lose sleep, it is the NRZ. I think
the best solution is
to split it into three entities, because it is too big.
We can split into
Freight Company, Passenger Company and Infrastructure
Company. In that way;
I think it will be easier to run.
“Some of factors that are making us
fail to revive NRZ are that, the railway
company has no properly
constituted board of management, the company is in
serious debts and has
dilapidated equipment ,” Moyo said.
The Zimbabwe coalition government
came into office with many promises of
reviving the country’s ineffective
and loss-making parastatals, but very few
improvements have been
made.
Instead, their destruction has been accelerated as Zanu PF
politicians seek
to benefit from the crumbs of the once thriving
entities.
Out of the 10 state companies placed on the privatisation list,
only
steel-maker Ziscosteel has found a taker.
NRZ
gives govt restructuring ‘headache’
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Bulawayo Correspondent
Tuesday, 27
March 2012 01:52
HARARE - State enterprises’ restructuring is
“agonisingly” going on with the
National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) giving
the government more challenges,
Parastatals minister Gorden Moyo
says.
In an interview with BusinessDaily, Moyo said restructuring the
troubled
rail transport company was giving government nightmares due to its
expansiveness.
“Our headache is the NRZ. If there is something that
is making us lose sleep
it is that company. The thinking in government is
that we use the strategies
that we used with Noczim and others, that is, to
split it,” Moyo said.
“We are thinking of splitting the NRZ because it’s
a big company. We need to
split it into an infrastructure, passenger and
freight company and in that
way it would be easier to manage,” revealed the
minister.
“It would be easier for somebody who is dealing with the
passenger company
or the infrastructure company to manage it but we still
have a nightmare
because we have not made any meaningful decision and
progress,” said Moyo.
He reiterated that the major challenges dogging the
NRZ were dilapidated
equipment and capital constraints.
“There is
also a big debt overhang which is affecting NRZ. Again the company
has been
operating without a properly constituted board that is supposed to
make
decisions that I apply immediately. There is a problem of
micromanagement of
the entity and that kind of management has never worked
anywhere in the
world,” he said.
Moyo added that there was no synchronisation between the
activities at NRZ
and the number of people employed.
He however said
the process of restructuring Agribank and Air Zimbabwe was
going on well
with the former already in full swing. The minister said the
process of
restructuring GMB was already in motion.
He said the restructuring
proposal seeks to unbundle the entity into a
strategic grain reserve (SGR)
and a special purpose vehicle.
The latter will have five commercial
strategic business units will enter
into partnership with investors for the
re-capitalisation of the companies.
The SGR would remain the
responsibility of GMB to ensure there is food
security. He said the
restructuring of Noczim was the most successful
exercise.
“Fuel in
Zimbabwe is no longer a problem because we have restructured Noczim
by
unbundling it into two companies, namely Petro Trade and the National Oil
Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe. We now have one company dealing with the
infrastructure of Noczim and the one that deals with the trading of fuel and
this has improved efficiency and profitability as they are being run
commercially,” he said.
He further said government would soon begin
to restructure Tel One and Net
One.
Moyo said players in
communication should partner with Tel One and Net One,
which he said were
legging behind in acquiring latest technology. There are
about 78 state
enterprises and parastatals in Zimbabwe.
Ten have been marked for
restructuring and possible privatisation namely
Zisco Steel, Noczim,
Agribank, Zimbabwe Power Company, Grain Marketing
Board, Cold Storage
Company, Air Zimbabwe, NRZ, Tel One and Net One.
Already 53,4 percent
shareholding in Zisco Steel has been sold to Mauritian
firm Essar Africa
Holdings.
In the last decade, parastatals and state enterprises have been
a burden to
the fiscus relying on government bail out.
Analysts say
lack of good corporate governance, coupled with inept
management has
contributed to their down fall.
They also say when operating efficiently,
state enterprises have the
potential to contribute around 40 percent of
Gross Domestic Product.
Energy Minister Promises Improvement Soon in Delivery
http://www.voanews.com
23 March
2012
Energy
Minister Elton Mangoma said power utility, ZESA, will soon ease load
shedding after successfully upgrading generation capacity at Hwange and
Kariba power stations.
Violet Gonda | Washington
Energy
Minister Elton Mangoma said load shedding will ease across the
country in
the next few days after the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
upgraded
generation capacity at Hwange and Kariba power stations.
The minister,
who was speaking Thursdays at an investment conference in
Harare, also said
plans are underway to disconnect defaulters who owe the
power utility a
total of $550 million in unpaid bills, money that can help
ZESA settle huge
debts owed to neighbouring countries for electricity
supply.
Meanwhile, legislators traded insults in parliament Thursday
following
recommendations by Heya Shoko from the Tsvangirai-led MDC that
defaulting
lawmakers be barred from parliament.
There was an uproar
when the Bikita West lawmaker went on to name and shame
the major defaulters
who he described as “ZANU PF MPS land grabbers”, such
as Chivi Central MP
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana and Manicaland provincial
governor Christopher
Mushohwe who allegedly owe ZESA $74 000 and $367 000
respectively.
Director Precious Shumba of the Harare Residents Trust
said poor management
of public resources across the political divide, and a
culture of impunity
is contributing to the weakening of state
institutions.
“It also exposes the failure of the debt collection system
in ZESA Holding.”
Shumba asked: “How could they allow such a situation to
prevail where a
consumer who is using electricity for free goes unchecked
for such a long
time, and wait for this outcry?”
Shumba said state
establishments have to be strengthened as many officials
fear victimization
and abuse of power by senior civil servants, “but we have
very weak
institutions where people are only safeguarded because of who they
know or
which political party they belong to. That is the tragedy.”
ZANU
PF youth militia removed from government payroll
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
26 March 2012
A total of nearly 6,000 youths from ZANU
PF’s militia squads, who have been
paid for unspecified jobs since 2008,
were recently removed from the
government payroll following a government
ordered audit.
The Public Service Minister, Lucia Matibenga, told SW
Radio Africa that the
move resulted from a “payroll and skills” audit of
government workers, which
showed many of the youths had been hired
“irregularly” and had no
qualifications.
Mai Matibenga said the
youths were listed as “ward officers” but said she
did not know what they
actually did. She added that the Minister of Youth
and Indigenisation,
Saviour Kasukuwere, would know specifically what the
youths were hired to
do.
According to the Daily News Kasukuwere told a parliamentary
portfolio
committee last year that the “ward officers” coordinate government
activities in wards. But Zimbabweans know the youth militia as the violent
“green bombers” responsible for assaulting MDC supporters.
Nearly
7,000 were recruited by the Mugabe regime just weeks before the 2008
presidential runoff between Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The youths were implicated in the violent campaign against
the MDC and any
perceived enemies of ZANU PF, committing brutal acts of
assault, torture and
murder. This led to a decision by Tsvangirai to pull
out of the race, in
which Mugabe was controversially declared the
winner.
Minister Matibenga confirmed reports that she had told parliament
last week
that the youths were “not hired above board” and proper procedures
had not
been followed. She said a total of 5,662 have already been removed
from the
list.
Verification of the audit done by Ernst & Young is
about to be completed by
the Public Service Commission, and according to the
Minister more workers
found to have been irregularly hired will also be
removed from the payroll.
Donated
school books being sold in Harare streets
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
26 MARCH 2012
TAKAVAFIRA
ZHOU
ETF TEXTBOOKS ON SALE IN HARARE STREETS
The PTUZ President,
Takavafira Zhou and Secretary General, Raymond Majongwe
today confiscated
textbooks which were being sold by vendors in Harare
streets. The textbooks
were donated to primary and secondary schools under
the Education Transition
Fund.
This raid on the vendors was after a tip off from the union’s alert
members.
Some of the seized textbooks had the following titles; New
Primary English
Grade 3 Pupils’ Book, Rurimi Rwaamai Book 3, Step in New
Primary Maths
Pupils Book Grade 5, Step in New Primary Maths Pupils’ Book
Grade 7, New
Primary English English Pupils’ Book Grade 6, Focus on Junior
Certificate
Science Students’ Book 2, Geography Today: A Complete Course for
Junior
Secondary Schools and New General Mathematics Book 2. The vendors had
defaced the textbooks to remove essential details linking the books to the
ETF project.
The Union has since advised the Minister of Education,
Sport, Arts and
Culture, Senator David Coltart of this disturbing
development. The union has
implored the Ministry to recover textbooks which
are on sale in the streets.
The union has always been on record saying
that loss of textbooks from
schools will always be a challenge because of
politics and policy
shortcomings and the existence of a lucrative market for
the books in
unregistered schools and private colleges which are
proliferating without
restraint.
ENDS//
Zim's
Russian Embassy Not Paying Rent, Faces Eviction
http://www.radiovop.com
Professor Matodzi -
Harare, March 27, 2012-A Zimbabwean man has asked the
High Court to evict
the Russian embassy from his premises, which he is
leasing to the foreign
mission after failing to pay rentals.
In a summons in the high court
recently, James Brennan accused the Russian
embassy of failing to pay
rentals at a residential property he has been
leasing to the embassy since
April last year.
Brennan claims that the embassy has defaulted on rental
payments for three
consecutive months and had refused to leave the Chisipite
property in
contravention of a lease agreement signed between the two
parties.
The Russian embassy was supposed to vacate Brenna’s residential
property in
December after the expiration of the lease agreement but had
refused to do
so and continued to occupy the place without paying
rentals.
Brenna said the embassy’s illegal actions had cost him $10 800
and $8 100
for the three months from January.
“The defendant has
failed to vacate the leased premises and pay the arrear
rentals for the
month of October, November and December 2011 together with
damages for
holding over in respect of the month of January 2012 in the
total sum of $10
800. As a result of the defendant’s continued occupation of
the leased
premises, the plaintiff continues to suffer damages in the sum of
$2 700 per
month, being the market rental at which the plaintiff would have
been able
to re-let the leased premises,” reads part of the court papers
filed by
Brennan.
President Robert Mugabe’s administration considers Russia as
long time ally
which supported the liberation war in the 70’s. Recently, the
Zimbabwean
government unsuccessfully attempted to shield the Zambian embassy
from
settling its mobile telecommunications bill with Econet after informing
the
telecoms operator’s lawyers that the embassy enjoys diplomatic immunity
that
saves its assts from being seized and auctioned to recover debt.
Zesa
scam divides government
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Monday, 26 March
2012 11:59
HARARE - Sharp divisions have emerged in government over
huge Zesa Holdings
debts owed by President Robert Mugabe and his allies in
Zanu PF which they
now say have been used by the MDC to prop its electoral
chances in future
polls.
A seething Mugabe and his colleagues in
Zanu PF last week reportedly
targeted Energy minister Elton Mangoma for
“breaching confidentiality”
clauses by “leaking” to the Daily News their
ballooning Zesa bills which run
into millions of dollars.
This
followed a stinging expose by the Daily News which named Mugabe and
his
officials among the top defaulters at a time when the majority of the
poor
Zimbabweans were living in darkness following massive disconnections by
Zesa
for not paying their bills.
Mugabe and several Zanu PF ministers last
Tuesday reportedly confronted
Mangoma over the Zesa bills demanding answers
why their debts were published
in the Daily News.
Mangoma however
said he was unaware how the bills reached the Daily News. He
told an
investment conference in Harare last week that he respected client
confidentiality.
The Daily News was told yesterday that Mangoma now
feels unsafe after the
fierce confrontation while senior employees at Zesa
are said to be also
living in fear over the published list of VIP
defaulters.
The Zanu PF side of government’s anger was reflected on
Saturday in the
state media when a top government official writing under the
pen name
Nathaniel Manheru claimed that the Zesa scandal was carefully
designed by
the MDC to create havoc in Zanu PF.
In a column
headlined, Inventing a matching scandal, Manheru partly wrote:
“Out of
desperation, MDC-T today pushes its ministers, some of them
previously
arraigned before the courts for questionable conduct, pushes them
hard to
invent matching scandals to incriminate other players so the ugly
spotlight
is shared.
Its thrust is to democratise blame, so judgment is shared. It
is a posture
of a party convinced about its own incorrigibility.
“Is
it not incredible that a whole accountant is pushed to re-classify a
well
documented debt into a screaming scandal? And does so the same weeks
his
counterpart, Finance minister Biti, is publishing a debt settlement
strategy
for Zimbabwe?"
“Or is he about to name and shame Zimbabwe for the scandal
of defaulting on
its debts the same way Zesa clients have? Is owing in
business a scandal
mister accountant? Which business does not carry
obligations?"
“Clearly here is a man sidestepping professional knowledge
to serve a cause,
in the process becoming quite stupid by standards of his
profession. I
suppose next week we will read about Sable
Chemicals,
itself the biggest single user of power it cannot always pay for
in time."
“More dramatically, Mangoma will name and shame Zesa for the
scandal of not
paying its Mozambican counterpart to the tune of well over
US$40 million.
The whole thing does not make sense at all.”
Nathaniel
Manheru is also believed to be one of Mugabe’s top aides.
But a senior
MDC official yesterday dismissed the notion that the Zesa
scandal is being
used for political mileage for their party.
“The issue here is simple.
They must just simply pay their bills. They all
confirm that they owe Zesa
lots of money so what is the problem. Since
independence, they were grabbing
things for free and now the ball game has
changed and they are crying,” he
said.
The scandal also revealed multiple ownership of farms as most bills
emanate
from the grabbed properties.
The conspiracy to bleed state
power firm Zesa by not paying bills running
into millions ran through the
President’s Office and state institutions to
ministers, the military, MPs
and Zanu PF district offices.
A few of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and Welshman Ncube’s people were
also in the mix with smaller amounts. But
the impunity was shocking.
Top ministers — some who claim to hold vast
riches — and just about everyone
and state institutions connected to the
system amassed huge bills at a time
when Zesa was enforcing a punishing load
shedding schedule on the majority
poor due to cash flow problems.
The
First Family through their many farms owed Zesa nearly $345 000 as at
December 31, 2011.
Manicaland governor Chris Mushowe led the pack
with an astounding bill of
$367 606, 07.
Didymus Mutasa, the minister
of State in Mugabe’s office owed State
parastatals a massive $179 590, 31,
Saviour Kasukuwere, who as
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister
is leading Mugabe’s
campaign to “spread wealth to the people”, raked up $100
602,22 in unpaid
Zesa bills as at December 31, 2011.
Sydney
Sekeramayi, Marondera-Wedza Zanu PF Senator, who is also State
Security
minister and a long time Mugabe loyalist, owed $108 296.
The Daily News
yesterday could not get in touch with Mugabe’s spokesperson
George Charamba
or Agriculture minister Joseph Made, who acts as the
President’s farm
manager to check if the First Family had managed to settle
their
bills.
However, sources at Zesa said a number of VIPs named in the
scandal were
last week making inquiries on their bills with some making
payment plans to
clear their debts.
Zesa on the other hand owes Hydro
Cahora Bassa (HCB) $80 million accrued
from imported power from the
Mozambique power company and this has resulted
in HCB reducing its supply to
Zimbabwe demanding payment.
Mangoma told the Daily News yesterday that he
will be travelling to
Mozambique this week to try and negotiate for an
increase of power exported
to Zimbabwe by HCB.
“I will be travelling
to Mozambique this Thursday to negotiate with
authorities from that country
so that we can have an increase in supply,”
said Mangoma.
Call
for govt to introduce human rights education
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Staff Writer
Tuesday, 27
March 2012 01:42
HARARE - Government has been called upon to
introduce human rights education
in the schools’ curriculum to raise human
rights awareness among the youth
in order to conform to international
trends.
The call was made by Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZHRA)
during the
launch of a book entitled; The state of the Zimbabwean Education
Sector in
the 21st Century, last week.
Education, Sport, Arts and
Culture minister David Coltart was guest of
honour. ZHRA national director
Okay Machisa said: “The call resonates with
the Youth for Human Rights
International’s (YHRI) global request on this
year’s International Day for
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which
is observed annually on March
21.”
He added that: “YHRI invites all its supporters and volunteers to
organise a
petition to drive and implement human rights education into the
school
curriculum so that our youth learn their human rights.
The
argument is that when young people know what their human rights are,
they
become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.”
The publication, a
ZimRights project, seeks to contribute to the development
of the education
sector.
“The publication was born out of the genuine need to contribute
to the
discourse and development of the education system in Zimbabwe that
has, due
to a decade long of political and economic irregularities, ended up
in
limbo. It explores the development of the country’s education sector;
highlighting all the successes and challenges that it has encountered over
the years. The idea was spirited by the desire to contribute to the
excellence of the education system,” Machisa said in a press statement
presented at the launch.
Speaking at the launch, Coltart acknowledged
that there were some
irregularities challenging the operations of the
Education ministry.
He also noted that the ministry had since made
submissions to Parliament on
a five-year recovery plan which cabinet is
expected to deliberate on soon.
Parks
authority says Trump sons' hunt legal
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
26/03/2012 00:00:00
THE
national parks authority has said US property magnate Donald Trump's
sons
were licensed to hunt game on a trip two years ago, after photos of
their
trophies sparked online outrage.
Trump's sons, Donald Junior and Eric,
made a hunting expedition in Zimbabwe
in 2010. Their pictures went viral on
social media this month, showing them
posing next to carcasses of a leopard,
an elephant, a crocodile and an array
of other animals.
The images
drew condemnation on Facebook and Twitter, where their hunting
trip was
slammed as unethical. Donald Trump Jr has insisted on Twitter that
he did
nothing wrong.
“They were accompanied by a professional hunter, and we
have done a
background check on him and his licence is still valid,”
Caroline
Washaya-Moyo, spokeswoman for the parks authority said in a
statement.
“Also with the Trump brothers was a ranger from the parks
department who was
monitoring the hunt. The animals they hunted are
available for hunting in
Zimbabwe.”
Although leopards are endangered,
she said they can be hunted under strict
conditions set by the Convention
for the Trade in Endangered Species.
Zimbabwe's parks have a quota of 500
leopards that can be hunted each year,
she added.
The statement came
after Johnny Rodriguez, chairman of the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force,
said his organisation was investigating whether the
Trump brothers' hunt was
legal.
"We have people on the ground investigating. We want to find out if
the
hunting was ethical," Johnny Rodriguez said.
"There is a lot of
corruption and unethical conduct going on in the safaris.
We want to find
the truth and where the money generated from the hunting
went to.
"We
have been told that the Trump brothers were saying they gave game meat
to
locals who were starving, that's an insult to local people.
"These people
are wealthy. If they wanted to help the people of Zimbabwe,
why didn't they
build schools or something like that, than to say that they
gave meat to
starving people. The area they are said to have hunted is
Matetsi and there
are no people who live there."
The trip was organised by Pretoria-based
Hunting Legends International,
which specialises in big game hunts for the
wealthy. The company has also
insisted that the big game hunt near Victoria
Falls was done by the book.
Mobile
Phone, Internet Use Increasing
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, March 27, 2012 – Zimbabwe’s
cell phone penetration rate has surged
to 72 percent this year, up from 13
percent in 2008 while the internet rate
is now sitting at 22
percent.
This was revealed by Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Minister
Nelson Chamisa while briefing journalists on Monday afternoon
during which
he also hinted the possible slash on the high tariffs being
charged by local
mobile phone service providers.
“Our penetration
levels are very good. We are standing at about 72 percent
mobile, said
Chamisa, adding that his ministry was targeting a hundred
percent
penetration rate. In terms of internet, we are at about 22 percent
which is
a conservative figure but we are actually going beyond that.”
Chamisa
said government was targeting at supplying all the country’s schools
with
not less than 80 computers per school plus internet access as part of
expanding internet access among citizens.
This he said would also be
extended to police stations, hospitals, clinics
and other institutions that
are still lagging behind in terms of internet
use.
The ICT Minister
further dismissed claims by some Zanu (PF) sympathisers who
accuse MDC-T
ministers in government of accelerating access to the internet
among
Zimbabweans as a way of creating a conducive climate for the Arab
style
revolution which climaxed as a result of internet communication among
citizens.
“An uprising does not exist on the internet. An uprising
exists in the
people out of their own objective and subjective condition,"
said Chamisa
while responding to questions from journalists.
"People
have a right from time to time to do whatever they want. You don’t
need to
look at ICTs as an opponent. A lot of people look at ICTs as a
weapon. ICTS
are tools of business. They are not weapons against
government."
Zanu
(PF) sympathisers, led by Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe chairman
Tafataona Mahoso and Tsholotsho North legislator Jonathan Moyo, have accused
Finance Minister Tendai Biti of pursuing an ulterior motive by scrapping
duty on all ICT products.
The
man behind bid to thwart Zimbabwe torture probe
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By NIREN TOLSI - The
Guardian 8 hours 54 minutes ago
Suspended prosecutions boss Menzi
Simelane appears to be at the centre of an
attempt to thwart the prosecution
in South Africa of Zimbabwean government
officials accused of
torture.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been accused of
blocking police
investigations into the claims of torture made by Zimbabwe
opposition
members against high-ranking officials of that country, who visit
South
Africa from time to time.
An affidavit by Anton Ackermann, a
senior NPA member, singles out Simelane,
the suspended director of public
prosecutions, as being behind a campaign to
stop Ackermann from telling the
court how his bid to have the Zimbabwe
officials investigated was
stymied.
Simelane was placed on special leave by President Jacob Zuma in
December
after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that his appointment was
"inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid".
South Africa is
obliged under the Rome Statue, which established the
International Criminal
Court, and is part of our domestic law, to enforce
international criminal
law domestically. This includes war crimes, torture,
and crimes against
humanity.
Crimes against humanity
The affadavit was lodged in the
North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria late
last week by Ackermann, head of
the priority crimes litigation unit tasked
with "managing and directing the
investigation and prosecution of crimes",
especially crimes against
humanity.
In the affadavit, Ackerman claims he was refused separate
representation,
frozen out of the drafting of affidavits and threatened with
disciplinary
action for holding views contrary to those of the NPA on why
the South
African Police Services (SAPS) refused to investigate the matter,
which
relates to an application brought by the Southern African Litigation
Centre
(SALC) and the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum that was due to be heard in
the high
court on Monday morning, but was postponed until an unspecified
date after
Simelane appointed new counsel.
SALC is asking the high
court to review and set aside an NPA and SAPS
decision not to investigate
Zimbabwean officials linked to acts of
state-sanctioned torture following a
police raid on the headquarters of the
Movement for Democratic Change in
2007.
According to Ackermann, he referred the matter to the SAPS for
investigation
in 2008. This was refused. In the affidavit, Ackermann states
that he was
unconvinced as to the reasons given by the police for not
investigating and
expressed concern that they had not even opened a docket
or consulted the
applicants on the matter.
Ackermann says that after
the SAPS had formally notified the NPA in May 2009
that they would not
investigate the matter, he had notified then acting-NDPP
Mokotedi Mpshe that
he "was not satisfied with the reasons advanced".
He was then apparently
blocked in his attempts to file papers to air his
views in court as to why
the matter should have been investigated.
'My version of the
facts'
Ackermann states in the affidavit that he "sought to be separately
represented in this matter" since February 2010 when it became "clear to me
that my version of the facts and the reasons for the decisions in this
matter would differ from that of the NDPP".
But he was then "refused
separate representation" on "the basis that my
version of events was
irrelevant and inadmissible and later that it would be
incorporated into the
NDPP's answering papers".
In a January 2010 email from the NPA's
advocate, Chris Macadam, who is
representing Simelane in the matter,
Ackermann was notified that his views
on the police decision were
"inadmissible opinion" and that he had to "very
carefully and seriously
consider the implications" of his attempts to file a
statement -- as second
respondent in the matter -- at odds with the NPA's
position.
When the
matter was raised with Simelane, the NDPP expressed the opinion in
an email
dated March 2010, that the "NDPP's affidavit will have to cover all
the
issues that affect the NPA and its role in the matter" and that the
issues
raised by Ackermann "can and will be raised by the NDPP [Simelane] in
his
affidavit".
However, what followed appears to be attempts to keep
Ackermann, and his
views, out of the court proceedings.
Refused
access
Ackermann states that he "was not kept abreast of developments in
the
matter" by the NPA, despite being a second respondent and that
Simelane's
offer to meet and discuss the NPA's submissions before the filing
of papers
never transpired.
Ackermann's proposed counsel for separate
representation, NPA prosecutor
Shaun Abrahams, was also refused access to
Simelane's record with Macadam
citing privilege on the matter.
In
exasperation, it seems, Ackermann sought independent counsel outside of
the
NPA and filed his affidavit on Thursday last week.
On Monday the case was
postponed until Tuesday morning, after the NPA's
counsel decided that
Macadam, who is mentioned extensively in Ackermann's
affidavit, would
present arguments concerning all facts unrelated to
himself.
Celebrating a Fearless Human Rights Defender,
Jenni Williams
Jenni leading protest march in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe,
February 2012. Jenni was arrested for the 40th time that day. Photo courtesy of
WOZA.
Every year on March 8th we celebrate International Women’s Day. I have been blessed to
know many amazing women in my life: my mom, my sisters, my aunts, my friends.
It’s nice there is a day of the year set aside to honor and remember strong,
powerful women who make a difference in our world.
Ginetta
Sagan was one of those women. Ms. Sagan, once a political
prisoner herself, was a fearless and outspoken human rights defender who
tirelessly worked to improve the lives of others. Amnesty International USA
established a fund in her honor which annually recognizes a woman who, often at
great personal risk, dedicates her life to improving the lives of
others.
It was my honor and privilege to nominate this year’s
winner, Jenni Williams of Women of Zimbabwe Arise. Jenni co-founded WOZA to
inspire and educate women to embrace and demand their human and civil rights in
Zimbabwe. The organization is now 80,000 strong; men and women who practice
strict non-violence as they urge the Zimbabwe government to take measures to
improve the lives of all citizens.
Perhaps the best
testament to the power of Jenni and WOZA occurred this year on International
Women’s Day. In past years, WOZA members often took to the streets that day,
dancing and singing as they demonstrated and delivered their demands to
government officials. This year WOZA didn’t march; however, on their Facebook
page, WOZA commented the central business district of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe was
full of riot police, anticipating a march.
And how did the
riot police know it was International Women’s Day? Because Jenni and WOZA taught
them. Commemorating the day by gathering in armed groups might not be the
best way to celebrate, but because of Jenni and WOZA, the
police spent the day thinking about powerful women struggling to make the world
a better place. And that, my friends, is a
victory.
Hanging On to Dollars in Zimbabwe
By PATRICK MCGROARTY
in Johannesburg and FARAI MUTSAKA in
Harare, Zimbabwe
Street hawker
Yvonne Chikotsa last visited a bank in 2008, near the zenith of Zimbabwe's
hyperinflation. She would wake each morning at dawn to beat long lines and
withdraw more than one trillion Zimbabwean dollars, which was what a loaf of
bread cost at the time.
Zimbabwe's cash-starved banks, and a central bank that
has lost control of its currency, have reached a different level of dysfunction.
Patrick McGroarty reports on Markets Hub. (Photo: AP/Tsvangirayi
Mukwazhi)
"I still have
mortal fear of banks," said Ms. Chikotsa, who sells used clothing at a market in
Harare's impoverished Mbare district. She blames the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
for allowing the runaway inflation that destroyed the value of her modest
income. Now, she says: "My pillow is my bank."
Zimbabwe's economy
is growing, in part because the government in 2009 discarded the country's
currency in favor of the U.S. dollar. The move tamed inflation and slowed a rush
to the exits for investors. Yet deep-seated distrust of the government's
handling of money matters lingers among ordinary Zimbabweans, depriving banks of
the deposits they need to drive a faster economic expansion that might ease some
of the country's tensions.
The uncertainty
has turned Zimbabwe into a nation of hoarders. The grubby graying American
dollars on Zimbabwe's streets—including bountiful supplies of $2 bills, last
printed by the U.S. Treasury in 2006—attest to a robust cash economy that
largely bypasses the country's banks. Deposits in Zimbabwe's banks have
recovered from $1.25 billion at the beginning of 2010 to some $3.3 billion since
"dollarization," but people hold more than that amount—or about $3.5
billion—outside of banks, according to the Bankers Association of
Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's
cash-starved banks, and a central bank that has lost control of its currency,
mirror challenges in other countries, including Greece, Malawi and Swaziland.
But troubles at Zimbabwe's central bank have reached a different level of
dysfunction.
Over the past
decade, the reserve bank lent $1.5 billion to President Robert Mugabe's
government for pet projects. The bank now owes $1.1 billion to a cast of
regional development and central banks that it says it can't repay because the
government hasn't reimbursed it.
Gideon Gono, who
has led the reserve bank since 2003, is also battling allegations he has
embezzled millions in central bank funds for personal use. Mr. Gono hasn't
publicly addressed the allegations, and in an email response to The Wall Street
Journal, Mr. Gono declined to comment in detail. He said he would "respond to
pressures" about the allegations "at the appropriate time."
In the meantime,
the bank can't even serve as Zimbabwe's lender of last resort. The government is
in talks with the African Export-Import Bank to create a $100 million program to
restart the lender-of-last-resort facility.
Associated Press
Alex Vaviro runs his dirty U.S. dollars through a
washing machine in Harare, Zimbabwe, in July 2010, in an effort to keep them
fresh.
Short of that, if
the central bank can't step in to guarantee bank lending, liquidity will dry up,
which is what has happened.
The string of
troubles has left Zimbabwe's financial system gasping, depriving businesses of
capital at a time of sky-high unemployment. Zimbabwe officials estimate 90% of
the country's working-age population is unemployed.
After Zimbabwe
abandoned its currency in favor of the greenback, the economy grew at an annual
rate of 6% in 2009 and 9% in 2010. But growth dropped back to a rate of 6% last
year and will fall to 3.1% this year, the International Monetary Fund
predicts.
The crippled
banking sector is contributing to the eroding growth rate, said Yvonne Mhango,
Renaissance Capital's economist for sub-Saharan Africa.
"Basically there
is no monetary policy. I think they're out of ideas," Ms. Mhango
said.
The banking
troubles have dimmed an already bleak investment picture.
The country has
untapped deposits of platinum and rich agricultural land. But few are willing to
risk losing their investment to the "indigenization" agenda of President Mugabe,
which aims to transfer farms and control of businesses and mines to
blacks.
The Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe's ideas for shoring up the financial sector have had a similar
effect, economists say. In February, the central bank demanded that foreign
banks, including Barclays BARC.LN +1.29% PLC
and Standard Chartered STAN.LN -0.19% PLC,
keep at least 70% of local deposits and assets in the country. Mr. Gono has
promised meetings with banks and unspecified punishment for those that don't
comply.
A spokeswoman for
Standard Chartered in Harare, Lillian Muchafara Hapanyengwi, said the bank
always tries to comply with local laws. "All regulatory issues are given the
highest attention," Ms. Hapanyengwi wrote in an email. Barclays didn't respond
to requests for comment.
The demands have
made banks hesitant to lend in Zimbabwe, hurting small domestic ventures that
need capital to expand.
Tofara Kwenda, who
earns $1,000 a month as a field officer for a democracy-advocacy group, applied
last year for a $2,000 loan from Standard Chartered to open a candle-making
business.
He says the bank
never ruled on his application, even after a bank official called to scold him
for complaining on his Facebook page about the slow process. Eventually, he got
a loan from one of the many for-profit microfinance firms that have proliferated
in Zimbabwe as traditional banks have pulled back.
"The banks are not
grateful," Mr. Kwenda said. "I am just using my bank account as a conduit to get
my salary, which I immediately withdraw and keep at home."
Associated Press
MONEY LAUNDERING: Zimbabweans, distrustful of the
government, clean and recirculate their U.S. dollars instead of depositing them
in banks.
The distrust of
banks is a problem for small domestic lenders that haven't been able to rebuild
deposit bases enough to expand their businesses, economists say. Many of
Zimbabwe's local banks have merged or sold majority stakes after struggling to
meet capital requirements. The government is pushing for more
consolidation.
Meanwhile,
Zimbabweans are trying to get by without traditional loans and bank
accounts.
Ms. Chikotsa, the
33-year-old clothing merchant in Harare, said she had never heard of Mr. Gono or
Zimbabwe's reserve bank until her small deposits started losing their value so
rapidly.
"We were only
taught to count to a thousand when we were in primary school, but that man,
Gono, got us to know figures that we never thought existed," Ms. Chikotsa
said.
The government
says it wants to compensate depositors for the money they lost. But three years
have passed, and Ms. Chikotsa is still waiting.
Write to
Patrick McGroarty at
patrick.mcgroarty@dowjones.com
Robert
Mugabe, Britain and the agony of Zimbabwe
http://www.africanews.com
Posted on Monday 26 March
2012 - 12:30
Article by James N. Kariuki
The elongated plight
of contemporary Zimbabwe is nothing short of a
crime against humanity; it
should not be happening in the 21st century. Yet,
it may be feeble-minded of
us to believe that the country's woes are due to
one 'madman', Robert
Mugabe. Great Britain is just as implicated in the
disaster as
Mugabe.
mugabe
There is a widely held belief that Mugabe will
never voluntarily
surrender power because, if he ever does, the sins of his
past will come
back to haunt him. And there is good evidence to cling to
that view.
Memories of Zaire’s former President Mobutu Sese Seko
dying and being
buried in Morocco in 1997 as a dejected, tormented and
stateless person
still linger. Similarly, Mugabe is mindful of the tormented
Charles Taylor.
He has been on trial for five long years at The Hague for
his misdeeds as
Liberia’s head of state.
Equally unnerving are
the woes of Frederick Chiluba in neighboring
Zambia. He relinquished power
democratically to his former protégé, Levy
Patrick Mwanawasa, fully assured
of exemption from prosecution for his
missteps as head of state. However, it
did not take long for that immunity
to fizzle; Chiluba endured an agonizing
international case of graft before
his death in June 2011.
Mugabe
has been in power for much longer than Taylor or Chiluba were.
The winding
road that he has travelled is much longer, doubtlessly much
bloodier and
more intriguing. He owes it to himself to shield the skeletons
in his
closet as long as he can. After all, who on the African political
landscape
can he entrust with such an awesome task? Poor Robert Mugabe is a
caged man:
there is no place to hide.
In short, Mugabe has been found guilty in
much of the world’s
conscience. The case against him, we are told, is so
overwhelming that his
political rhetoric should be dismissed with the
contempt it deserves.
Another perspective, while regretting the
Zimbabwe debacle, insists that
Mugabe must be granted a fair hearing. How
can the national hero for the
liberation of Zimbabwe simply turn around and
tear the country to shreds?
A Mugabe protagonist once protested that,
short of a shooting war,
international economic sanctions are the worst
thing that can happen to any
country. Zimbabwe has been under
Britain-sponsored international sanctions
for many years.
It is
generally accepted that the British mindset towards Zimbabwe is
driven by
bitterness over Mugabe’s land reforms policy. The stated objective
of that
policy is to repossess land owned by whites in Zimbabwe and
redistribute it
to the ‘rightful owners’, indigenous Africans. Since the
launch of the
so-called ‘forceful land-seizures,’ relations between the
Mugabe regime and
Britain have deteriorated from bad to worse.
In his view, Mugabe is
locked in a deadly fight to affirm Zimbabwe’s
right to engage in such a land
redistribution scheme. He faces an adamant
opponent in Britain whose
interest is defined by the fact that the disputed
white farms were owned by
kith and kin in Zimbabwe. It is a situation of
zero-sum-game.
In
addition to abhorring the British intensely for deeply personal
reasons,
Mugabe sees organized political opposition in Zimbabwe as a proxy
of the
British on a mission to execute its agenda. That mission is to get
rid of
Mugabe by whatever means necessary and give back the repossessed
farms to
the whites. Such a mental scenario Mugabe finds impossible to
contemplate;
indeed he considers it treasonable.
To Mugabe, relinquishing power to
the opposition would be tantamount to
abdication of his duty to the people
of Zimbabwe: to protect them from a new
form of neo-colonialism, that of
penetrating Africa through indigenous
politicians. That is not dictatorship,
it is ultimate patriotism.
The pro-Mugabe perspective may sound like
self-serving rhetoric, but it
strikes a sympathetic chord among African
political elite, even in South
Africa. During his days of political glory,
the deposed ANC Youth League
President, Julius Malema, advocated
nationalization of mines and land
repossession in SA. Those ideas derived
inspiration from Mugabe’s actions in
Zimbabwe. Hence, Thabo Mbeki’s
‘go-softly-softly’ diplomacy toward the
Zimbabwe issue. Political ‘Black
brother’ syndrome in action?
Mugabe is widely condemned for the
collective pain visited upon his
people. He dismisses such charges on the
grounds that his actions are
directed at the enemies of the all Zimbabweans.
To the extent that the
Movement for Democratic Change is seen as an ‘agent’
of forces external to
Zimbabwe, it is portrayed as the enemy of Zimbabwe;
its members are
traitors, not innocent Zimbabweans.
Finally, it
is the West that chose collective punishment against
Zimbabweans. By
introducing economic sanctions, the United Kingdom launched
the meltdown
process against Zimbabwe as a viable state. This was the
ultimate collective
punishment that did not discriminate between the guilty
and the
innocent.
The people of Zimbabwe certainly deserve better. But the
shadowy
‘intrigues’ of that country raise a critical question that should be
of
vital concern to all Africa. To what extent should ‘outsiders’ be allowed
to
meddle so deeply into our domestic matters?
Zimbabwean Exile Makes ‘A Thousand Pieces of
Joy’
March 08, 2012
Zimbabwean exile’s toys and drums prove popular across
southern Africa
They make light
work of the tough wire which he twists and bends into the shape of a wheel, his
thick fingers blurring together because of the speed at which he works. He grabs
a hammer and bangs a chisel. Chips of wood fly through the
air.
Darren TaylorIrrepressible Zimbabwean ‘recycler artist’ Admire
Munyuki selling toy tractors from his wheelchair at a festival in Cape Town,
South Africa
His hands are big
and hard and stained with red, blue, yellow and green paint.
Admire Munyuki’s
in a wheelchair, but he’s never still, never at rest. “I’ll sleep when I’m
dead!” he says. “Some people like to say I am ‘confined’ to this chair. But they
don’t know that I am so free, I actually have wings! Can you see them? Look!” he
shouts, casting his anvil aside and flapping his arms manically.
The
eccentric Zimbabwean with the smile that never fades is surrounded by children.
“They keep me young!” he laughs. “They make me strong; bless them.”
Munyuki sells his wares at public events throughout southern Africa.
“Wherever I think children will be, I go. I go everywhere except Zimbabwe,” he
told VOA at a food festival in Cape Town. “That is very sad, because it is my
home country. But unfortunately economic opportunities are very limited there,
even though I think the situation there is improving.”
Youngsters watch,
wide eyed, as he carves yet another miniature tractor from a block of wood. With
wire, he fashions rear and front axles and a steering wheel and column. He cuts
wheels from a bald tire and screws them into his creation.
Munyuki passes
his finished work to a boy, who beams in appreciation and rushes to test it on a
nearby gravel path, a gaggle of screaming friends snapping at his heels.
Grinning, he said, “I make the kids’ dreams; I like it when they’re
happy.”
‘I do things for myself’
Munyuki
described himself as a “recycler artist. I am proud because I have actually
never bought anything that I use to make my toy tractors – except sometimes I
buy the paint from a man I know, but even that paint is extra paint from jobs he
does….”
Darren TaylorJust a
few of the many toy vehicles Munyuki makes from scrap that he collects all over
southern Africa
He said he spends
his life at places most people avoid – on dumps and scrapheaps. “That is where I
get my riches,” Munyuki commented. “Wherever I am, the first place I visit is a
(city or town) scrapheap.”
Given recent events in the man’s life, one
would be forgiven for suggesting that the scrapheap is exactly where his life
has been consigned. Evicted from the tobacco farm he worked on and loved 10
years ago, and shortly thereafter diagnosed with a spinal condition that
paralyzed him from the waist down, Munyuki’s position seemed a hopeless one. But
he was at pains to insist that he never saw it that way.
“I just said to
myself, ‘When something hard comes into your life, you just have to accept it
and move on.’ If I did not have this attitude I would have ended my life a long
time ago. I have learned to survive with what I have,” he
said.
(PHOTO: AFP)In
2002, ‘war veterans’ supporting President Robert Mugabe drove Munyuki away from
the farm where he’d lived and worked all his life
Munyuki
acknowledged it’s difficult for him to do the physical work he does. “It is very
tough; it’s quite challenging. But a man has got to do what he’s got to do to
survive, otherwise no one will give you bread on the table. You’ve got to do it
(for yourself).”
He’s been independent ever since he can remember. “I am
proud to say that I have never begged for a coin in my life. When I see all
these other lame and blind beggars from Zimbabwe on the streets, I feel sorry
for them. I could not survive like that, by accepting handouts from others. I
would not be able to live with myself,” he said.
War veterans
light his fire
To Admire Munyuki, the tractors he makes are much
more than mere toys for children. They represent his hold onto a past he said is
“always” with him.
“I grew up on a tobacco farm in Marondera district
(in eastern Zimbabwe). But (President Robert) Mugabe’s war veterans attacked and
took that farm in 2002. They didn’t only kick the farmer off the land but also
all his workers, also me,” he explained.
He added, “As a child, I was
always attracted to those big vehicles on the farm. I loved tractors especially.
Nothing would make me happier than when my father or one of the other workers
would give me a lift on a tractor. Later, I even learned to repair those
tractors. Now I make them as toys, as I remember them from when I was
young….”
Darren taylorThe
artist has experienced a very hard life, but he remains optimistic and proud of
his achievements
The land seizures
which began in 2000 precipitated Zimbabwe’s decline. They also helped to destroy
a once-thriving agriculture sector…and to extinguish Munyuki’s life as he knew
it.
But where others would perhaps have seen only adversity, the
Zimbabwean crafter said he saw opportunity. “I was sad to stop my work on the
farm. I loved that land,” he said. “But I knew I had the skills to carry on in
life. Those so-called war veterans, they tried to take my light away. But they
only made another kind of fire inside me.”
Together in peace
It’s the beat of Africa that helps to fan the flames burning
inside Munyuki. He also makes djembe drums. He lines his instruments – made from
the hardest wood he’s able to find – with ropes.
“It is the ropes that
actually tune the drums,” he explained. Djembes originated in West Africa and
are played with bare hands. According to the Bamana people of Mali, “djembe”
comes from the saying “Anke djé, anke bé,” or “Everyone gather together in
peace.”
Munyuki makes his drumheads from goatskin and pigskin. “Djembes
are one of the best drums because they can do so many things and can be used in
so much different music,” Munyuki said.
Traditionally in Africa, djembes
are played by men. But Munyuki encourages women to play it. “Why not,” he asked.
“These are new times and women should be able to do everything that men do. In
fact, I have seen women who are much better djembe players than men. Men try to
beat the djembe as hard as possible, but drum playing is not about loudness; it
is about sensitivity to beat and it is about creating the proper
rhythms.”
Darren TaylorMunyuki
has liked tractors ever since he was a boy on a farm in
Zimbabwe
But ironically it
wasn’t an African experience that began Munyuki’s quest to create “perfect”
djembes. Being Zimbabwean, he’d grown up listening to the mbira thumb piano –
not djembe drums. But, as a teenager in the early 1980s, he said he heard a
recording of British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel’s “Biko,” a song about the
killing in custody of South African black consciousness activist Steve Biko by
apartheid police in 1977.
“The powerful way in which Peter Gabriel used a
djembe to drive that song really moved me a lot, and it drew me towards the
drum,” Munyuki explained.
With Paul Simon’s landmark recording Graceland
in 1986, for which the American artist extensively employed the djembe drum,
Munyuki said the worldwide embrace of it as an international, and not just an
African, musical instrument was complete.
Darren TaylorMunyuki
was inspired to play and make djembe drums when he heard the instrument in a
song about slain anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
That’s continued
until today, with modern pop and rock music bands employing the djembe,
including Irish super-group U2.
‘They fall in love…’
Wherever he goes, Munyuki’s warmth and friendliness ensure he’s
a popular presence. There are always people around him, always children begging
their parents for a tractor, or pleading with him for a chance to beat his drums
with their tiny hands.
But he emphasized, “When the people are near me,
it’s got nothing to do with me; it’s because of my products. People they come
with kids, then they tend to fall in love with my things, then they love me also
– so we make friendship together.”
Munyuki doesn’t know how many
tractors and drums he’s sold across southern Africa since 2002.
Keeping
those kinds of figures, he said, isn’t in his nature. Then he added, “Maybe I’ve
sold a thousand…a thousand pieces of me, a thousand pieces of joy.”