http://www1.voanews.com
Pretoria stepped up pressure on negotiators in Harare
saying it would not
accept a report from them due March 31 that does not
incorporate agreements
that were reached with President Zuma's help during
his visit last week
Blessing Zulu | Washington 26 March
2010
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and South
African
President Jacob Zuma look to be on a collision course if the
negotiations
between the partners in the power-sharing government in Harare
remain
deadlocked despite Zuma's mediation.
Pretoria stepped up
pressure on negotiators for the three unity government
parties with an
announcement saying it would not accept a report from them
on March 31 that
does not incorporate agreements that were reached with
President Zuma's help
during his visit last week.
The strong language from Pretoria came in
response to a report in the
pro-ZANU-PF state-run Herald newspaper saying
ZANU-PF's chief negotiator,
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, had declared
that the negotiators had
reached no agreements with Zuma. The South African
president said on
concluding his visit that a "package of measures" was
agreed through his
mediation.
The Herald published a similar report
early Saturday in Harare, this time
attributing the position that there were
no agreements reached under Mr.
Zuma's mediation to President Mugabe
himself, in remarks to the ZANU-PF
central committee on Friday. Mr. Mugabe
reportedly insisted ZANU-PF would
not reach agreements with the MDC until
Western sanctions have been lifted.
"The sanctions must go first!," the
pro-ZANU-PF Herald quoted Mr. Mugabe as
saying.
Political sources
said Mr. Zuma secured undertakings from the parties for
the appointment of
provincial governors of the two formations of the
Movement for Democratic
Change, among other outstanding issues. Negotiators
were supposed to wrap up
talks March 29, and report to Zuma by March 31,
upon which Zuma would report
to Mozambican President Armando Guebuza,
chairman of the Southern African
Development Community troika or committee
on politics, defense and
security.
Mr. Zuma is Zimbabwe mediator on SADC's behalf.
Sources
privy to the talks said the latest discussions were proving
difficult as
negotiators grappled with Zuma's demand for a clear
implementation
plan.
The sources said ZANU-PF negotiators were seeking to put off
implementation.
Such difficulties have led the MDC formation of Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to ask Zuma to conduct further
mediation.
But Zuma adviser Lindiwe Zulu, a member of the South African
facilitation
team, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that she and her
associates
would soon be back in Harare to continue work with the
negotiators, and that
it was premature for Zuma to
intervene.
Political analyst Charles Mangongera said that the South
Africans are
clearly turning up the heat on ZANU-PF.
http://news.radiovop.com
26/03/2010 22:07:00
Harare,
March 27, 2010 - Zimbabwe has finally cancelled The London Stock
Exchange
Listed Company, the African Consolidated Resources Diamond mining
licence,
saying it had been pegged in a reserved area.
The company had its licence
cancelled in February but had been given up to
March 10 to appeal, which the
company did.
However on Friday, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu was quoted by
the state-owned
Herald saying he had decided to cancel the licence after
considering the
grounds of appeal by the company.
This came as
President Robert Mugabe told his Zanu PF party's central
committee on Friday
that the mining sector was too white dominated and there
was serious need to
change that.
"I hereby, in accordance with the provisions of Section 50
(4) and (5) of
the Act give directions to you and the Secretary that the
Certificates of
Registration are to be cancelled. In cancelling the
Certificates of
Registration, no concession is made that the ACR
certificates of
registration were ever valid," said the Minister. "The
pegging of claims in
a reserved area is simply a matter that the Secretary,
vested as he is with
the duty of overseeing the administration of the
ministry, cannot ignore.
"I am satisfied that the grounds detailed in the
notice of appeal do not
warrant me exercising my discretion in favour of the
ACR group in general
and the ACR subsidiaries in particular in relation to
the certificates of
Registration," he said.
In 2009 ACR and its four
subsidiaries were given the green light to resume
operations on their
diamond claims in Chiadzwa in Manicaland after the High
Court reversed the
Government's decision to cancel the mining consortium's
permit.
The
court also ruled that 129 400 carats of diamonds which had been seized
by
police in 2007 be returned to ACR.The ruling by Justice Charles Hungwe
came
after ACR challenged the decision by the Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development to cancel its permit in November 2006 and later seized its
diamonds.
Justice Hungwe said the cancellation of the permits was
unlawful.
Illegal mining has been taking place in Chiadzwa area with
accusations that
Zimbabwe security forces have been involved in selling and
smuggling
diamonds, along with human rights abuses.
The Kimberley
Processes has requested the withdrawal of security forces, but
it is not
clear if it is taking place.
Jonathan Samkange, ACR's lawyer has said in
the past ACR will continue its
legal fight to win back its mining rights.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Saturday 27 March
2010
HARARE - International diamond regulation body Kimberly Process
(KP) has
granted Mbada Investments permission to sell 2.5 million carats of
diamonds
mined from the controversial Marange field, a senior government
official
told ZimOnline on Friday.
"It's not yet clear when exactly
the certificate will be signed but it's
going to be sometime next week,"
said the government official speaking on
condition that his name was not
published.
"This is a highly sensitive issue which must be handled
carefully, but
everything is almost in order to allow them to sell the 2.5
million carats
of diamonds they have in stock," he added.
Under an
agreement between the KP and the Zimbabwe government diamonds from
Marange
can be sold only after a monitor from the world diamond body has
inspected
the gems and certified that they were obtained in line with the
watchdog's
standards.
The KP earlier this month sent diamond monitor Abbey Chikane
to assess
operations at Marange, where Mbada and another firm Canadile
Miners were
last year licenced by the government to mine
diamonds.
Marange is one of the world's most controversial diamond fields
with reports
that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government
took over the
field in October 2006 from a British firm that owned the
deposits committed
gross human rights abuses against illegal miners who had
descended on the
field.
Human rights groups have been pushing for a
ban on Zimbabwean diamonds but
last November, the country escaped a KP ban
with the global body giving
Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to
comply with its
regulations. -- ZimOnline.
http://www1.voanews.com
Comments by Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
this week suggested
he is moving closer to President Mugabe's position on
the issue of whether
gay rights should be enshrined in the country's new
constitution
Sithandekile Mhlanga | Washington 26 March
2010
The question of whether Zimbabwe's new constitution should
provide for
protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual
preference is
becoming increasingly politically sensitive as the possibility
of new
elections as early as next year looms increasingly
larger.
President Robert Mugabe long ago made his position on
homosexuality clear,
referring at one point to gays as "lower than pigs and
dogs."
This week at a women's rights function in the Harare satellite
town of
Chitungwiza, Mr. Mugabe declared that as far as he was concerned
there was
no possibility that the new constitution the country is drafting
would
guarantee the rights of gays and lesbians.Mr. Mugabe added that
homosexuals
are "crazy" and "insane."
Comments by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai at the same function gave the
impression that he was
moving closer to Mr. Mugabe's position on the issue.
According to the
state-run Herald newspaper, aligned with Mr. Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party, Mr.
Tsvangirai then said, "I totally agree with the
president."
He added,
in what spokesman, James Maridadi, later described as a
"light-hearted"
remark: "Women are 52 percent of the population. There are
more women than
men. Why should men propose to men?"
A recent statement issued by the MDC
said the party did not prescribe
anything for the Zimbabwean people as to
what the constitution should say,
but would respect the position taken by
Zimbabweans on gay rights.
Maridadi told VOA reporter Sithandekile
Mhlanga that Mr. Tsvangirai was
expressing his personal views, and that
people were free to agree or
disagree with him.
Co-Chairman Douglas
Mwondzora of the Parliamentary Select Committee for
Constitutional Revision
said the views of the president and prime minister
have no more weight than
those of any other Zimbabwean in what the revised
constitution should say on
any issue.
Mwonzora said the committee is using a standard questionnaire
for all
pertinent issues, and the issue of gay rights is taken up in the
questionnaire.
He said some oppose the constitutional protection of
the rights of
liberation war veterans, and the questionnaire also takes up
the issue of
land reform, and that in the end the people would decide what
rights should
be enshrined in the new Zimbabwean constitution.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Caroline Mvundura Saturday 27 March
2010
HARARE - Japan, the world's second largest economy said on
Friday it had
extended US$13,3 million in grants to help Zimbabwe's ailing
economy fight
debilitating hunger in rural communities where crops have
failed.
The Japanese embassy in Harare said the grants, which will be
channelled
through United Nations (UN) agencies in Harare, will also aid in
improving
Zimbabwe's education sector, health delivery and capacity building
in
midwifery training.
"The government of Japan has, over the past
few weeks, extended grants
totalling US$13,3 million to Zimbabwe to be
disbursed through five UN
agencies in 2010 in addition to a contribution to
UNICEF of US$1,4 million
in January this year," the embassy said in a
statement.
"It is hoped that this humanitarian gesture from the
government of Japan
will contribute to the improved standards of living to
the more vulnerable
groups in Zimbabwe."
The embassy said it had also
funded the World Food Programme to purchase
cereals, pulses, corn-soya
blend, and other costs to provide food assistance
to 1,5 million
people.
It said the education component will focus on several elements to
improve
the learning environment in primary schools where 40 classrooms at
10
schools will be either constructed or rehabilitated.
Twenty-five
selected primary schools in Buhera and Chegutu will be provided
with a total
of 14 400 desks and chairs for pupils and 360 teachers' desks
and chairs
while US$1 million has been earmarked for the procurement of
learning
materials, among the projects Japan has earmarked for Zimbabwe.
It is
however, in the area of food that Zimbabwe is currently facing huge
challenges.
The southern African country has grappled with severe
food shortages over
the past decade after President Robert Mugabe disrupted
the key agriculture
sector through his chaotic and often violent land reform
programme.
The farm seizures reduced agricultural production by 60
percent resulting in
most Zimbabweans depending on food handouts from
international food relief
agencies.
But Mugabe denies that his land
reforms - that he says were necessary to
ensure blacks also had access to
arable land that they were denied by
previous white-led governments -
triggered the food shortages blaming the
crisis on drought and economic
sabotage by his Western enemies that he says
crippled the economy's capacity
to produce key inputs such as seed and
fertilizers. - ZimOnline
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
11:52
A GROUP of white commercial farmers who were dispossessed of their
land
during the chaotic land reform programme have filed an urgent
application
with the Sadc Tribunal against the government for contempt of
court. The
commercial farmers want the Sadc Tribunal to grant an enforcement
order
urging Sadc leaders to take measures that might include the suspension
or
expulsion of Zimbabwe from the regional bloc.
The Sadc
Tribunal ruling allowed white farmers, whose farms were acquired by
government for resettlement purposes, to remain on the farms because they
had legal title to them.
Justice Luis Mondlane, the president of
the Tribunal, ruled in 2008 that the
white farmers had a clear legal title
to their farms and should receive fair
compensation from government for the
properties lost during the land reform
programme.
The farmers'
application to the Tribunal comes barely a month after the
Pretoria High
Court ruled that the farmers could attach Zimbabwe government
properties in
South Africa and have them auctioned to get their
compensation.
The lawyer representing the commercial farmers,
Norman Tjombe, said in a
statement released on Wednesday that they will push
ahead with the case
until a judgment has been granted in favour of the
farmers.
"The case is essentially another contempt application
against the Zimbabwe
government and against the High Court of Zimbabwe which
refused to register
the Sadc Tribunal judgment on the basis that it was
against public policy,"
Tjombe said. "We were also asking for an enforcement
order from the Tribunal
that would have urged the Sadc leaders to take
measures that might involve
suspension or expulsion of Zimbabwe from
Sadc."
The three white commercial farmers who took the Zimbabwe
government to the
Sadc Tribunal are Louis Fick, Mike Campbell and Richard
Etheredge.
Last month the Pretoria High Court ruled that the white
commercial farmers
have a right to approach courts in South Africa to seek
redress over the
land issue.
Four properties belonging to the
Zimbabwean government were identified and
were set to be auctioned to
recover their money for the land and
developments on the farms acquired
during the controversial land reform
programme.
According to
reports in the South African media, AfriForum, a civil rights
group that
brought the application on behalf of the farmers, the properties
are in
Zonnebloem, Wynberg and Kenilworth in Cape Town.
The properties were
bought for between R525 000 and R1 million by the
government in 1995.
Reports from South Africa said deeds records show that
the properties are
registered under the name of the Government of the
Republic of
Zimbabwe.
The properties are non-diplomatic and are therefore not
protected by any
immunity from legal action. The Pretoria High Court
judgment however does
not affect properties that are being used by the
Zimbabwean Embassy in South
Africa as they are protected by diplomatic
immunity.
Loughty Dube
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
11:36
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday officially opened a
photo
exhibition showcasing gory pictures of the 2008 victims of violence
and
condemned police attempts to ban the display saying that the move was
delusional. “When I heard of a desperate attempt to stifle this display, I
was not angry, but I felt sorry for them,” said Tsvangirai referring to
police and officials who ordered the photos’ seizure. “Anyone who believes
they can deny the truth of our past is delusional. Covering up old wounds
can only make them fester. We must face them so we don’t perpetuate the
wrongs of the past.”
ZimRights, the organisers of the photo
exhibition at Delta Gallery entitled
“Reflections”, had to approach the High
Court to have the pictures returned
after the police detained the
organisation’s director Okay Machisa and
confiscated 65
pictures.
High Court Judge Justice Samuel Kudya granted the order and
the exhibition
went ahead as planned. The raid took place on Tuesday, a day
before the
official opening.
Tsvangirai said the exhibition
showed nothing new but was a true reflection
of what happened in
2008.
“There is nothing new in this story. It reminds us of the
trauma that we
went through as a nation. The reason why we are having this
inclusive
government is because of our desire to end the suffering of our
people and
we say never again should we see a repeat of this,” said
Tsvangirai.
He said he has “heard cries” for revenge from the
majority of people and
Zimbabwe risks sliding into the abyss of political
violence if justice is
not done.
“There is need to strike a
balance between the cries of the victims and the
fears of the perpetrators.
If that balance is not there, there will never be
peace in this country.
When I go around the country I hear cries for revenge
from victims but I
shudder to think how that can bring back the loss of the
loved ones, a
broken limb or leg,” he said.
The PM said he was aware that there are
people who are defending what was
going on because they benefited from the
crisis.
“Forgiveness cannot happen in a vacuum. There cannot be real
forgiveness
without justice. When leaders talk of an end to political
violence it must
cascade down to the grassroots,” Tsvangirai told the guests
who included top
government officials, foreign diplomats and rights
activists.
Macdonald Lewanika, head of Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe,
an alliance of
reform and civic advocacy groups, said the transitional
government was
required by the power-sharing agreement to uphold the rule of
law.
“This is what some people appear to be scared of,” he said, referring to
some members of the security forces loyal to President Robert
Mugabe.
In a banning order, police demanded the organisers provide
“confirmation
from all people appearing in your pictures that they consented
to have their
pictures exhibited”.
The exhibition narrates the
story of Zimbabwe’s political violence from
March 11 2007 when the police
blocked a Save Zimbabwe Campaign prayer
meeting. It will be held for 10 days
in Harare before being showcased in
Zimbabwe's major cities.
One
photo shows former opposition leader Tsvangirai, his face swollen after
he
was assaulted by police two years before he joined the coalition
government
with Mugabe in February last year.
Valentine Maponga
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010 11:34
THE Law
faculty at the University of Zimbabwe yesterday attacked Justice
minister
Patrick Chinamasa for making ridiculous claims that they are
producing
half-baked lawyers. Chinamasa last week criticised the Law faculty
for
producing what he called "half baked lawyers who were denting the
reputation
of the country's legal fraternity".
In his submission to the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice,
Legal, Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs, the minister accused the
lecturing staff of engaging
in politics describing the quality of product as
"dismal".
In a
hard-hitting response, the Dean of the Law Faculty, Emmanuel Magade,
said
the claims by Chinamasa came as "a bolt from the blue" and were
"ridiculous".
"We categorically refute the minister's claims. In
fact we wonder where it
is coming from because over the years we have
produced lawyers who have
represented the country very well, locally,
regionally and internationally,"
he said. "We still have some of the staff
who taught even the minister
himself and our students have won the overall
best team in regional
competitions. This indicates that we are the best
faculty in Africa."
Magade was referring to a team that won the Moot
Court competition that
involved 14 universities from all over the continent
in 2007 and 2009
respectively and two students working at the International
Tribunal for
Rwanda in Arusha and others working at The
Hague.
"Instead of the brick-bats we are getting from the minister,
we are supposed
to be getting Oscars for our efforts. I am not sure where he
is getting the
half-baked lawyers he is talking about," he said. "While it
is possible that
he might have worked with incompetent individuals within
his ministry, it
doesn't mean all are like that. We have highly respected
lawyers in the
legislature, executive and across the political board who are
products of
this institution."
The Law faculty has over the years
turned out individuals who have grown to
be human rights defenders and have
in many cases clashed with Chinamasa over
the country's poor justice
delivery system.
Magade said that Chinamasa's claims on the faculty
producing politicians
instead of lawyers were "ridiculous".
"It
is absolutely ridiculous to allege that the faculty teaches politics to
its
students instead of law. We have never deviated from our primary mandate
of
training highly qualified lawyers," he said. "However, as he (Chinamasa)
might be aware, certain subjects and topics within every law school must
necessarily be taught within particular social and political
contexts".
Magade said they taught their students to analyse whether
the law is working
satisfactorily and encourage them to check whether there
are gaps or
deficits in the law and if they are in need of
reform.
Moses Matenga
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010 09:21
PREVIOUS
owners of River Ranch diamond mine in Beitbridge, Bubye Minerals,
want a
business group led by retired Army General Solomon Mujuru kicked off
the
mine and to be paid 70% of the net profit made since 2004 after they
filed
an appeal with the Supreme Court. The appeal by Bubye Minerals owned
by
husband and wife, Michael and Adele Farquhar, is seeking to quash a High
Court decision that declared River Ranch Ltd the rightful owners of the
disputed mine.
The Supreme Court will finally put to rest a six-year
ownership wrangle with
the business group led by Mujuru, husband of
Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
Bubye Minerals' lawyer Terrence Hussein
successfully filed the application
two weeks ago after a Supreme Court
ruling reinstated the appeal and
suspended Justice Lawrence Kamocha's
judgement dismissing Bubye Minerals'
claim to Special Grant 1278.
Bubye
Minerals claimed ownership of the special grant that gives mining
rights to
River Ranch Ltd and this sparked a fierce legal battle between the
two
mining companies which has been ongoing since 2006.
In his appeal, Hussein is
claiming "an order in terms of Section 118 of the
Companies Act rectifying
the members' register to reflect that 70% of the
shares or any other equity
are owned by the plaintiff (Michael and Adele
Farquhar) and the balance of
30% of the shares being owned by the third
defendant (Saudi Arabia's Adel
Abdul Rahmin al Aujan) from 2004 to date."
It further stated that the board
of River Ranch Ltd that was appointed
without the consent of the Farquhars
was illegally constituted and all
actions and decisions purportedly done by
it are null and void.
Bubye Minerals is seeking an order that nullifies the
statutory returns
purportedly filed by the directors from 2004 and the
Registrar of Companies
to amend that statutory record.
They also want an
audited set of accounts for River Ranch Ltd.
"The first to fourth defendant
(River Ranch Ltd, Rani International,
Al-Aujan and Khupukile Investments
(Pvt) (Ltd) jointly and severally pays
70% of net profit derived from River
Ranch mine from 2004 to date," reads
the application.
Bubye Minerals was
evicted from the mine in 2004, in a move that has
resulted in this
long-drawn legal battle and accusations of diamond
smuggling with the
company claiming that it was militarily and forcibly
evicted by current
operators River Ranch Ltd, in which Mujuru is one of the
directors.
According to the Farquhars, Bubye Minerals was appointed to
run River Ranch
mine in 1998 after government liquidators set to restore the
operations
which had been suspended after previous owners had financial
constraints.
They then brought in investment partners, including Al-Aujan who
own Rani
International, and mining commenced.
However, in 2000, the mine
experienced several problems, including a
hurricane-induced flood that
impacted negatively on production.
Al Aujan brought his stake to 30% after
Bubye Minerals approached him for
more financing. Their relations soured and
this resulted in 2004 with Aujan
calling in past loans of over US$1,16
million, which Bubye Minerals failed
to repay.
Aujan then decided to
bring in Khupukile Investments owned by former Zanu PF
legislator Tirivanhu
Mudariki and Mujuru and took control of the mine,
thereby sparking the
on-going legal battle.
Faith Zaba
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
08:59
ZANU PF is pushing for a new constitution that has a centralised
form of
government as is currently the case, but with devolution of some
powers to
provinces and local authorities, while the MDC-T is proposing
total
devolution of power to communities. In contrast to the two parties,
the
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) is recommending a system of
provincial governments with a provincial assembly in each province and an
executive council headed by an elected governor.
In a document on the 17
thematic areas of a new constitution, Zanu PF said
the system of government
should comprise a national government, provincial,
urban and rural councils
and traditional leaders.
On the other hand, the MDC-T said the government
should be composed of three
tiers - the national government, provincial
councils and local authorities,
made up of urban councils and district
councils.
The district councils would be charged with the responsibility for
managing
the affairs of rural areas.
In its draft constitution, the NCA
said the country should be divided into
five provinces - Manicaland,
Mashonaland, Masvingo, Matabeleland and
Midlands - and there should be a
provincial legislature to be called a
provincial assembly consisting of not
less than 30 members and not more than
50 members, elected on an electoral
system based on proportional
representation.
The provincial assembly
would have power to initiate and pass provincial
laws, which would be
assented to and signed by the governor. It may impose a
tax or levy.
The
NCA said the governor would be elected by the provincial assembly from
among
its members at its first sitting.
The provincial governor would then appoint
not more than 10 members from the
provincial assembly to constitute an
executive council which will act as a
cabinet for the province.
The NCA
draft constitution also provides for urban and rural councils.
While Zanu PF
still believes that provincial governors to chair 10
provincial councils
should be appointed by the president, with rural and
urban councils elected,
the MDC-T is advocating democratically elected
provincial councils and local
authorities, which it said would ensure as
much autonomy as is compatible
with good governance.
MDC-T said: "Functions and responsibilities must be
decentralised and
transferred from the central government to provincial
councils and local
authorities in a coordinated manner."
It said a
provincial council would be responsible for coordinating
governmental
activities in its province.
MDC-T said each province should be entitled -
through its provincial council
or its local authorities - to raise
sufficient revenue or to retain the same
percentage of monies raised from
resources and taxes in its area or both to
enable such authorities to carry
out their functions and responsibilities.
It said a provincial council should
make some provision for the inclusion of
or liaison and co-operation with
MPs from the provinces and may permit
elected officials to hold
posts.
The party also proposed that no minister should have the power to
either
dissolve an elected local authority or to dismiss an elected official
of a
local authority.
Provincial councils, Zanu PF said, should have a
provincial governor, all
members of both Houses of Parliament within the
province and such
representatives of each local authority in the province as
may be determined
from time to time.
It said a provincial council would
be responsible for coordinating
government's activities, planning
development, encouraging tourism and
developing facilities for that purpose,
planning and implementing measures
for conservation, and improvement and
management of natural resources in its
province.
Zanu PF said: "There
should be different taxes that can be levied at
national, provincial and
local authority levels to ensure that all the
levels in the government
structure have reliable sources of revenue."
It said central government
should provide adequate financial and other
resources to provincial councils
and urban and rural district councils.
Zanu PF also wants traditional leaders
to be incorporated in local
government structures.
It said there should
be decentralisation of power to provincial, rural and
urban
councils.
"Decentralisation must be a principle applying to all levels of
local
government to enable participation by the people and democratic
control in
decision-making," said Zanu PF.
"Yes, there should be
provincial governments called provincial councils.
Zimbabwe should remain a
unitary state in which there is decentralisation of
power from the national
government to the provincial councils."
Although Zanu PF talks of provincial
and local authorities having as much
autonomy as is compatible with good
governance, analysts said Zimbabweans
should not be fooled because the
appointed governors would serve the
president's and their party's interests
as is the case now.
Constitutional lawyer and chairperson of the NCA,
Lovemore Madhuku said:
"Zanu PF uses language which is tricky like
'decentralising', 'autonomy'.
They want to retain the current system where
the president makes
appointments. They have taken Zanu PF provincial
structures and are not
really talking about devolution. Varikutamba nesu
(They are playing games
with us)."
Faith Zaba
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
07:54
ZIMBABWE’S national healing process is not clear and is perceived
by victims
of political violence as an exercise in futility. The failure by
the unity
government to come up with transitional justice mechanisms adds to
the
growing disappointment of victims who have lost faith in the organ of
national healing set up under the terms of the global political agreement
(GPA).
Victims and analysts contend that wounds inflicted and
trauma experienced
during politically-motivated violence surrounding
elections and other
episodes of human rights violations can only heal when
government embarks
upon effective transitional
justice.
Transitional justice is defined worldwide as a response to
“systematic or
widespread violations of human rights and it seeks
recognition for victims
and to promote possibilities for peace,
reconciliation and democracy”. It is
justice adapted by societies
transforming themselves after a period of
pervasive human rights
abuse.
Dogged by tension-filled elections since Independence in 1980,
Zimbabwe’s
human rights record before and after polls has been appalling,
despite
constitutional guarantees of protection from such
abuse.
After signing the GPA, which gave way to the formation of the
inclusive
government, the new administration put in place several
institutions that
would help redress human rights
violations.
Firstly, there was an Organ on National Healing and
Integration to calm
political tension and then more recently the long
overdue Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission which came out of the 19th
Constitutional amendment.
Critics however argue that the national
healing organ has not fulfilled its
mandate of pacifying the animosity
between Zimbabwe’s rival political
parties.
The organ last
weekend had a rude awakening when scores of MDC-T supporters
protested in
central Harare, demanding justice for politically-motivated
offences that
took place during the countdown to the bloody June 27 2008
presidential
election run-off.
The protesters submitted a petition to the
Attorney-General’s office
demanding the arrest of the perpetrators of the
violence.
The MDC-T claims that over 200 of its supporters were
killed during the 2008
elections, thousands injured and
displaced.
Dennis Murira, the MDC-T director of elections who came
face-to-face with
political violence in 2008, feels the national healing
organ is passive.
Chronicling his alleged assault at the hands of
state agents, Murira
questions the effectiveness of the national healing
process.
“The problem with the Organ on National Healing and
Integration is that it
is a toothless bulldog with neither a bark nor a
bite,” says Murira in a
book titled Cries From Goromonzi: Inside Zimbabwe’s
Torture Chambers.
For him, the process is targeting the “wrong
people” such as chiefs and
church leaders who were not the
perpetrators.
Instead the exercise should target state institutions
such as the army,
intelligence and police which the MDC blames for fomenting
violence during
past elections.
Murira said: “We want to know who
was supplying all the unmarked vehicles
and who was commanding them. There
should be total disclosure and truth
telling and an element of justice. Some
crimes are pardonable but others
including rape and torture are not. Those
who perpetrated these crimes
should be brought to and must stand trial. We
cannot continue sweeping these
crimes under the carpet as the cycle of
violence will continue…As long as
there is no total disclosure and justice
and as long as people do not own up
to any wrongdoing the national healing
process will be a charade.”
Some of the wives and children of
political activists allegedly slain in
cold blood continue to bear the brunt
of losing their spouses to Zimbabwe
callous politics. Any mention of
elections and every second that ticks
towards polls, sends shivers down the
spine of the electorate.
Plaxedes Mutariswa, wife of the late MDC-T
activist Tonderai Ndira, says she
continues to live a nightmare since her
husband was gruesomely murdered in
the countdown to the run-off election. No
one has been charged with Ndira’s
murder.
But with disclosure and
transitional justice, exposing the truth of what
happened on the fateful day
her husband was slain could set her emotionally
free.
“I do not know
what these people did to my husband,” she says. “I do not
know the pain and
suffering he went through and I do not know what his last
thoughts and words
were. But I want whoever murdered my husband to face
justice. Perpetrators
should be arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.
You cannot take life
and live your life as if nothing happened. As long as
it is protecting these
people, the inclusive government cannot bring healing
to
me.”
Apart from compensation, the International Centre for
Transitional Justice
says transitional justice can also be achieved through
truth commissions.
Zimbabwe could learn a lesson on this from
neighbouring South Africa, which
set up a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission after gaining democratic rule
in 1994.
These
commissions of inquiry have the primary purposes of investigating and
reporting on key periods of recent past abuse. They are often official state
bodies that make recommendations to remedy such abuse and to prevent its
recurrence.
That Mashonaland Central was one of the worst
affected provinces affected by
the 2008 elections is indisputable. To
recognise the violations on victims,
government can set up memorial sites in
such areas.
After the Sharpeville massacres where many black South
Africans were killed
for protesting pass laws, the post-apartheid government
established a
memorial site to honour the victims of the bloody police
attacks.
The GPA assures justice on politically related crimes but
implementation
thus far has been lethargic. Some victims continue to cry in
the wilderness
hoping and in some cases without hope that justice will
prevail.
The anguish of those living like hermits fearing impunity is
untold. All
they have to live with are cosmetic efforts to let bygones be
bygones.
Article XVIII (j) of the GPA speaks on the role of the state
to prosecute
perpetrators of politically-motivated violence.
It
states that “while having due regard to the Constitution of Zimbabwe and
the
principles of the rule of law, the prosecuting authorities will expedite
the
determination as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence to
warrant
the prosecution or keeping on remand of all persons accused of
politically
related offences arising out of or connected with the March and
June 2008
elections.”
Analysts say the culture of impunity in Zimbabwe is
nurtured by the
politicisation of government institutions and hate-filled
pronouncements by
political players some of whom have boasted of having
“degrees in violence”.
Apart from the bloody 2008 elections, Zimbabwe
has had numerous episodes of
human rights violations. Gukurahundi atrocities
in Matabeleland and some
parts of Midlands provinces and the displacement of
people in ill-advised
government policies such as the land reform exercise
and Operation
Murambatsvina are cases in points.
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights national director Irene Petras contends
that the process of
transitional justice should be holistic and reflective
of the victims’
needs.
“It should be holistic,” Petras said. “It is important to go
back in time to
include past violations but I think it is important to go
out there and
gather what the people want and what time
frame.”
Reports of intimidation and harassment have also reportedly
resurfaced in
some parts of the country following pronouncements by
President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that elections
should be held
next year.
NGOs, ZimRights and ZLHR recently
appealed to co-Home Affairs ministers and
police Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri to guarantee their safety
citing an escalation of
intimidation and harassment against civil society.
Bernard Mpofu
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010 07:22
INDIGENISATION and Empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere has slammed
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor
Gideon Gono for criticising government
regulations compelling foreign
shareholders to cede a 51% stake to blacks in
their businesses saying the
central bank boss is exploiting the issue to
"seek
relevance".
Kasukuwere told the Zimbabwe Independent yesterday that
he is not going to
accept what he described as "megaphone advice" from
Gono.
He also threw down a challenge to Gono saying his ministry would be
approaching the central bank with a view to re-opening indigenous banks
closed under the governor's administration.
Gono closed
several black-owned banks when he took office in 2003 accusing
them of
reneging on their core banking business and engaging in speculative
behaviour, among other allegations.
"We have seen the criticism
from the Reserve Bank governor this week again
and will only take note of
(him) when the governor stops his megaphone
criticism," he said. "When they
are ready to talk we will listen. But in the
meantime we will not listen to
this kind of megaphone criticism. We remain
determined to empower our people
and we will not accept such criticism from
individuals seeking
relevance."
Gono, who was the key government advisor on economic
policies before the
formation of the inclusive government, was rendered
powerless by the
introduction of multi-currencies last January. His powers
are set to be
trimmed further if President Robert Mugabe assents to the
Reserve Bank
Amendment Bill, which has been passed by
parliament.
Kasukuwere said his ministry would soon be meeting with
parastatal heads and
hear their contributions and engage the central bank to
hear how best
indigenous banks Gono closed can be reopened.
The
minister's comments come after Gono attacked government's empowerment
policy
for the second consecutive week.
Gono says he is against the
"content, style and approach" of the policy. He
added that he had consulted
with the principals - President Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara - and
accused those engendering
this policy of being unpatriotic.
Gono said: "I stand by what I said
in October 2007 and what I also said last
week. I see no reason to shift
positions. We should move away from allowing
political expediency to get the
better of our sense and sensibilities.
"I repeat: There should not be
and will not be farm-type jambanja (gang
violence) this time around as we
indigenise and empower our people. We are
all witnesses to what can
inadvertently happen when that is allowed to take
place and we cannot be a
people who do not learn from yesterday's
implementation
shortcomings."
Gono added that: "Fortunately, all players who have
the country at heart,
including my principals, are all seized with the
matter and assured the
governor that there will be no such
thing."
He claimed in the interview with the Financial Gazette that
work would be
underway to "re-look" at some of the
clauses.
Already business organisations have raised concern over
words such as "cede"
in the regulations arguing that the word denotes giving
away for "free".
Instead, businesses want "cede" substituted with
"sell".
Gono said: "I have also been assured that work is currently
underway to
re-look at some of the not-so-flexible clauses of the
Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment Act so as to make them more
responsive to the dictates
of modern finance as well as to sharpen their
modes of intervention and
transparency when it comes to empowering our
youths, empowering the women,
who make up to 52% of the
population."
He blasted the regulations saying a "one-size-fits-all
and indiscriminate"
empowerment policy will not work for non-agricultural
sectors of the
economy.
Gono added that: "All I am arguing for is
order, order and more order! For
the record, this governor should be the
last one to be accused of being
anti-empowerment or indigenisation as my
record in these areas speaks for
itself. So anybody wanting to politic by
suggesting that the governor is
being too emotional or that I am speaking
against my principals, is simply
engaging in a game of intellectual
dishonesty and pettiness akin to siblings
fighting for their mother's
attention."
The latest standoff between Gono and Kasukuwere mirrors
deep divisions in
government pitting those fighting to block the empowerment
policies and
those rallying behind Kasukuwere and empowerment.
A
senior Zanu PF official who supports the indigenisation policy labelled
Gono
an "attention-seeking lame-duck governor" keen on scoring political
points
"whenever he gets an opportunity".
Others are keenly waiting to pick
up various business opportunities that
would emerge if government follows
through on its wealth redistribution
policy.
The empowerment regulations
were gazetted on January 29 this year to compel
white-owned businesses to
cede 51% stakes to blacks and previously
disadvantaged
groups.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai announced that Kasukuwere
gazetted the
regulations without consultation rendering the pronouncement
"null and void".
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube also said
Kasukuwere did not seek approval
from the cabinet committee on legislation
saying he had "prematurely"
announced the regulations.
Kasukuwere
defended himself in an interview with the Independent early this
month
saying he did not need to consult the committee.
"I am empowered to
publish (regulations). When I became Minister of
Indigenisation the Act was
already there. What was I supposed to do, sit
around and not gazette the
regulations? I only consult when there is need,"
he said.
The
Zanu PF politburo and Mugabe have approved the empowerment drive which
has
caused investors to rush for the exits.
Chris Muronzi
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010 08:09
It
was useful to have Patrick Chinamasa’s views on what he claims is an
abuse
of justice by white farmers who have appealed through the courts
against the
seizure of their farms. He was giving evidence to the
parliamentary
portfolio committee on Justice. “Those farmers that are
challenging the
acquisition are abusing the justice delivery system,” he
declared. “Upon
gazetting, the farms become state land and if anyone
occupies state land
without a permit it is criminal.”
So those farmers who seek relief through
the courts against the arbitrary
acquisition of their homes and businesses
are “abusing” the justice delivery
system? Meanwhile, Chinamasa made it
clear there was nothing wrong with
judges being allocated farms. As
Zimbabweans they are equally entitled to
land, he said. Being allocated land
has not compromised the judges’
professionalism, he said, because the law
was clear on the procedure once a
farm had been gazetted for
settlement.
Really? President Mugabe has been warning that farmers who do not
conform to
Zanu PF policy on land will lose it. No worry about “gazetted”
conditions
there. It will just be redistributed, he made clear.
And don’t
we recall a judge losing his farm not so long ago because somebody
more
important had taken a fancy to it?
EU diplomats based in Harare need to
inform their governments of Chinamasa’s
views. Here we have a Minister of
Justice calling the right to pursue
appeals through the courts an “abuse” of
the justice delivery system. What
does that tell us about Zanu PF’s
attachment to the rule of law?
Will EU officials who are due to meet a
delegation led by Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi seeking to have sanctions lifted
ask him why there has been no
progress in the pursuit of the killers of
David Stevens, Martin Olds and
Tonderai Ndira?
What had their offence
been except to challenge Zanu PF’s authority?
Mumbengegwi also needs to be
tackled on selective justice. Zanu PF won’t
recognise the Sadc Tribunal
ruling because it doesn’t suit them. What sort
of judicial system is that?
And why were Zimbabwean judges assigned to the
tribunal if the government
proposed to ignore its findings?
Let’s not hear any more nonsense about
ratification. Would Zanu PF have
minded if the ruling had gone their
way?
We warned some months ago that any delegation with Mumbengegwi at its
head
would be unlikely to be taken seriously abroad. Let’s see how he gets
on in
Brussels.
The Herald slipped a paragraph into its report on
Chinamasa’s evidence to
the parliamentary portfolio committee saying
“Zimbabwe’s laws require the
government to pay for improvements for farms
while for land acquired (it)
rests on Britain, the former colonial
power”.
It omitted to mention that the laws in question were firmly rejected
by
voters in the 2000 referendum. And how many farmers have been compensated
for improvements? The EU should ask for the figures.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF
continues to seize land and then can’t understand why the
EU won’t lift
sanctions. It obviously needs to be spelt out for these slow
learners. EU
governments cannot be expected to fund policies that lead to
agricultural
collapse. Zimbabwe 10 years ago was a self-sufficient country
which exported
a surplus of crops to the region. Today it is a regional
beggar with the EU
supplying it with food. And investors won’t put their
money in a country
where property is not secure.
We can understand Zanu PF not grasping any of
this. They are economically
brain dead. But what dismays us is the MDC going
along with these
expeditions abroad which they know can only result in
failure unless there
is a sea change in thinking at home. Zanu PF sanctions
need to be removed
first. Then international sanctions.
President
Zuma’s intervention has been helpful in certain respects. For
instance while
in Harare he met the three individuals at the heart of the
“outstanding
issues” dispute despite opposition from Mugabe’s office. In
particular they
didn’t want him to meet Roy Bennett.
But Zuma pressed ahead with his own
agenda and was able to gain movement in
respect of all three. Full details
are yet to be disclosed.
Zuma also spoke to Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Security minister
Sydney Sekeramayi. Again, details have not
been released but we recall the
visit to Zimbabwe of South African military
officers last year and their
revealing findings presented to Zuma. The
National Security Council is yet
to function regularly while the sinister
JOC, blamed for the 2008 electoral
violence, continues to function as if
nothing has changed.
Does anyone know this organisation called the World
Federation of Democratic
Youths? The Herald told us on Saturday that “the
World Federation of
Democratic Youths has hailed the land reform programme
for economically
empowering indigenous Zimbabweans”.
We were told that
after touring Lagnha and Raty farms (dubious spellings) in
Mashonaland
Central WFDY secretary-general Cde Jesus Mora said: ‘There is no
economy in
the history of this world that has thrived without full ownership
of
land.
“This move by the government of Zimbabwe is commendable and we hope
other
African states will also learn some lessons from this
programme.”
Obviously the delegation did not tour Kondozi! “Cde Mora took a
swipe at
Western governments for maintaining illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe”,
the
Herald said. Obviously “Cde” Mora does not know that sanctions were
imposed
on President Mugabe and his Zanu PF party as a way of persuading
them to
restore democracy in the country and to respect human rights.
Is
this the same outfit that condemned the repression in Burma? In October
2007
the organisation posted on its website a statement condemning the
regime in
Burma for violating human rights.
“The World Federation of Democratic Youths
is deeply concerned about the
ongoing repression against the peace-loving
youth and people in Burma
(Myanmar) and their struggle,” read their
statement.
“The past weeks’ people’s struggles have been posing a serious
challenge to
the Burmese military junta, which has responded with thousands
of troops
pouring onto the streets killing, injuring and detaining many
people.
Internet facilities and communication networks have been cut. We
strongly
denounce this regrettable, inhumane and brutal attempt to quell the
fair
protests of the Burmese people.
“In Burma the ruling military regime
called the State Peace and Development
Council, despite resoundingly losing
power in a democratic election, has
shown no willingness to hand over power
to the people and elected party.”
Only in Burma?
Meanwhile, the Herald
told us “Zanu-PF’s Harare Province has given MDC-T
leader Mr Morgan
Tsvangirai a grace period to ‘take practical steps’
regarding the lifting of
sanctions”.
“The youths had given him a March 24 ultimatum to start lobbying
for an end
to the widely-discredited embargo in line with his Global
Political
Agreement obligations,” the Herald reported.
It quoted Harare
youth chairperson Jim Kunaka reiterating the youths would
take “unspecified
action” against the PM if he did not lobby for an end to
the sanctions that
he and his party supposedly invited on Zimbabwe.
Who is behind these threats
against the PM? We want to know. Obviously,
this is not an initiative by
Kunaka and his colleagues. There is an
invisible hand behind all these
threats against Tsvangirai, probably the
same hand that controls the state
media.
And has Tsvangirai raised this issue with President Mugabe when they
have
tea and pancakes together?
Has he made it clear to the president
that sanctions were brought about as a
result of Zanu PF’s failure to
respect human rights?
The best illustration of that was the police raid on
Delta Gallery on
Tuesday. Photograhs of election violence were removed.
Although later
returned, this episode represented a serious assault on
freedom of
expression.
So African National Congress Youth League
leader, Julius Malema, thinks a
free press is a threat to a sitting
government?
Malema vowed at a Human Rights gathering in Bushbuckridge,
Mpumalanga, never
to allow the country to be “run by journalists”.
City
Press, reporting on Sunday, quoted him saying: “If you are not careful
of
journalists, they will bring down the government. We will never allow
this
country to be run by journalists.”
He again sang his controversial “Shoot the
Boer” song and accused reporters
of picking on ANC leaders and prominent
black politicians.
While Malema was threatening the free press in South
Africa, the ANCYL’s
secretary for international relations, Abner Mosase, was
praising the
gazetting of indigenisation laws in Harare saying South African
youths
supported the new regulations.
He perhaps had not realised that at
the same time Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono was denouncing
the laws as damaging to investment. We
are happy he has finally woken up to
reality. Just a pity that ANC youths
are keen to impose the same failed
policies on their own country.
We should remind Gono that it is not only the
new laws that scare off
foreign investment. Raiding and emptying bank
accounts of organisations
without their consent also frightens off
investors.
Muckraker has previously lamented the quality of sports
journalism in the
local media but ZTV takes the award for sheer lack of
depth.
Reports are riddled with clichés, lack substance and are to a great
extent
mere reportage that so and so has left the country for this or that
tournament without knowledgeable analysis to prove the reporter’s command of
the topic or sporting discipline.
During Monday’s main news bulletin it
was reported that the Zimbabwe cricket
team, still smarting from their 4-1
series defeat by West Indies recently,
were seeking to regain “lost pride”
when they face West Indies “A” in a
four-day warm-up match ahead of April’s
ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.
“A” sides are in fact the second-string
teams from the Test-playing
countries and warm-up matches (known as tour
matches) — usually played
between a touring international team and an
invitational side put up by the
hosts — are for the purpose of match fitness
and acclimatising ahead of the
main itinerary. Accordingly results are not
the major concern and matches
normally end in dreary draws.
Just how the
TV reporter thought our vanquished cricketers can possibly
“regain lost
pride” in such a match beats us.
Then we had the other reporter fuming at
Caps United’s poor showing in the 1
all draw with South Africa’s Moroka
Swallows in the first-leg of the Caf
Confederation Cup first round, boldly
declaring that “the writing was on the
wall for them” (Caps).
His qualm
was that Caps ought to have utilised home advantage and won the
rubber. At
least they had the knowledgeable Stanley Katsande, interviewed as
a studio
guest, educating the guy that a 1-1 draw was not a disaster and can
actually
be overturned, especially in South Africa against a team that does
not have
a big support base.
The saddest thing is that there are a lot of sports
fanatics out there who
know their stuff but do not have the privilege of a
pen or mike like the
journos.
Muckraker’s attention has been drawn to
a curious development. Grace
Kwinjeh, who will be remembered in the trenches
during the political battles
of 10 years ago, has resurfaced in the depths
of central Africa.
She is now (or at least was last year) a senior reporter
with the New Times,
a Rwandan government mouthpiece.
We know this because
last year Human Rights Watch took issue with her for
refusing to give them
the right of reply to an attack she made on their
executive director,
Kenneth Roth, in the New Times.
She accused HRW of (among other things)
“sanitising those attempting to
negate the 1994 genocide in Rwanda”.
When
Georgette Gagnon, executive director of HRW’s Africa Division, wrote a
response and submitted it to the New Times, they refused to publish it. HRW
was obliged to publish its response Online alongside Grace’s piece.
They
made the point that New Times should have referred to the points raised
by
Roth before rebutting them.
Roth had observed in his piece that even a
government that does many good
things does not have license to ignore human
rights when it finds them
inconvenient. Political pluralism, free
expression, and genuinely
competitive elections are not optional in a
genuine democracy, but
essential, he wrote.
In a clear reference to the
Rwandan government he argued that “no one should
be allowed to manipulate
the 1994 genocide to play on the heartstrings of
the international community
and thereby justify repression”.
All elementary stuff you would think, but
Grace stood guard for the regime.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
08:01
MINISTERS Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma not only deserve to be
commended for
their determination to formulate a Medium Term Programme (MTP)
for Zimbabwe's
economic recovery, and to do so imminently, but they will
also need to be
given unequivocal support from government as a whole, and
from the private
sector. That support must be two-fold; the provision of
constructive input
to the MTP, and also in the implementation thereafter of
the programme.
Although many, having been economically whipped and beaten for
more than 12
years, deny it, the reality is that some real progress was
achieved in 2009
under the Short Term Economic Recovery Programme (STERP).
The economy moved
from hyperinflation of many zillions percent to
deflation. Commodity
scarcities virtually disappeared, real growth (albeit
not great) was
achieved in many sectors, including manufacturing and mining,
and government
reduced its expenditure, although not sufficiently so.
These are but some
of the economic transformations achieved in 2009.
Nevertheless, those
achievements cannot, and must not, fuel complacency, for
the hard and tragic
fact is that the economy is still one of the most
distressed in the world.
More than four-fifths of the population struggle to
survive, at levels
tragically below the poverty datum line, unable to meet
essential costs,
deprived of health care, education, and much else. Over
half of the
population suffers from malnutrition, having incomes below the
food datum
line. Most of the Zimbabwean infrastructure is derelict and
unable to serve
the critical needs of the economy and of the
populace.
Government, on its own admission, is bankrupt. These are but a few
of the
appalling economic circumstances that still prevail.
No matter how
diligently Biti and Mangoma apply themselves to bringing into
being the MTP,
that programme will be doomed to failure in the absence of a
substantive
enabling environment. Key elements of such environment include:
l Political
stability. In the absence of a genuinely stable, democratic,
political
background, there is no prospect of any substantial economic
recovery.
First and foremost, the so-called government of national unity
must become a
fully unified entity, with constructive collaboration between
the respective
political entities of which it is constituted. Therefore,
without further
delay, posturing, manipulation and self-centred manouvering,
they must
forthwith implement the totality of the global political agreement
(GPA),
and work together in a partnership which pursues national interests,
instead
of interests of politicians. They must ensure the expeditious
development
of a genuinely democratic constitution for Zimbabwe, followed by
indisputably free and fair, and internationally monitored elections. These
are prerequisites for any rebuilding of economic and business confidence,
motivation of foreign direct investment and domestic investment, access to
international lines of credit, and development of continuing trade
linkages.
l Investor security. Any major economic recovery is contingent
upon
significant new investment into existing, highly under-capitalised,
enterprises, and into new ventures. But in the absence of assured security
of investments, investment will not be forthcoming. Elements of such
security include belated and grievously overdue compliance with the numerous
Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements to which Zimbabwe
is a signatory, assured access to profits and to return of capital, and
creation of a free-market environment, created by major deregulation. One
of the foremost issues to be addressed is comprehensive modification of the
presently investment-destructive indigenisation and economic empowerment
legislation.
l Fiscal discipline and frugality. In 2009 Biti laid the
groundwork for
containment of state expenditure, seeking to limit outflows
to available
resources, and is deserving of praise for that which he has
achieved.
However, not only does government continue to "live" beyond its
means, but
much of its expenditure cannot be credibly justified, whilst
other essential
expenditures fail to be made. Spending on defence continues
to be
excessive, for such forces are far greater than needed, whilst
expenditure
on infrastructural maintenance and development is grossly
inadequate, and
numerous other fields of unnecessary expenditures are
readily identifiable,
as are other areas that critically need to be
funded.
If the necessary, very extensive economic recovery is to be
forthcoming, the
MTP will need to include, in addition to much else:
l
Assured retention of the multi-currency basket until the economy has
continuing stability.
Any return to a national currency, or linkage to a
single currency, would be
potentially disastrous;
l Intensive efforts to
achieve rapid enhancement of infrastructural service
delivery, with
especial emphasis upon energy generation,
telecommunications, water
procurement, purification and delivery,
transportation, and health and
educational services. Much of these efforts
should be pursued by partial or
total privatisation of parastatals;
l Vigorous endeavours to reverse the
"brain drain", and rebuild the
Zimbabwean skills' resource;
l Reform of
the land reform programme, ensuring productive operations of the
agricultural sector;
l Facilitation of investment, inclusive of
minimisation of bureaucracy,
effective investment incentives, and a
"friendly" and regionally comparable
taxation system;
l Constructive
progammes of indigenisation, including support for new
enterprises and ready
enablement of transition from informal to formal
sector;
l Ensuring a
"level playing field" between local manufacture and imported
competitive
products;
l Rationalisation of Zimbabwe's partially conflicting membership of
Sadc and
Comesa.
Pursuit of all these objectives, and the many others
needed, with especial
emphasis upon the mining, agricultural, tourism and
manufacturing sectors,
the focus on the latter including strong pursuit of
value-addition to
Zimbabwean primary products.
Eric Bloch
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010 08:51
SOUTH African
President Jacob Zuma’s working visit last week brought renewed
hope for
long-suffering Zimbabweans that the deadlock on outstanding issues
between
the two main partners in the inclusive government, Zanu PF and
MDC-T, would
finally be resolved. This was heightened by Zuma’s comments —
after meeting
the main players — that the parties had agreed on a package of
measures to
be finalised by the negotiators with a report being submitted to
the
facilitator by next Wednesday.
Alas these hopes were shattered on Wednesday
when Zanu PF spokesman Rugare
Gumbo revealed that one of the party’s
negotiators, Patrick Chinamasa, had
told the politburo there was no package
of measures agreed to during Zuma’s
visit.
“He (Chinamasa) reported that
nothing was agreed upon during the past visit
by President Zuma contrary to
what some sections of the media have
reported,” Gumbo was quoted as saying
in yesterday’s Herald.
This means we are back to square one: the global
political agreement signed
by President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his deputy
Arthur Mutambara is far from being
consummated.
This entails that these talks about talks will continue to drag
on with no
clear solution in sight.
The main political players continue
to fiddle as the country burns — faced
with severe food shortages that
threaten millions of Zimbabweans.
The negotiations continue to drag on as the
violence that characterised the
June 27 presidential runoff is beginning to
resurface in some parts of the
country with reports of resuscitation of the
feared torture camps. Reports
of fresh human rights violations abound.
A
case in point is the seizure by the police of photographs for a ZimRights
exhibition focusing on political violence at the Delta Gallery this
week.
The parties continue to natter away as the registration of new media
houses
remains a dream despite utterances by the recently appointed
commission that
this would be done timeously.
The negotiations hobble
along as Zanu PF youths recently threatened Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
with unspecified action if he did not call for
the removal of sanctions
imposed by the United States and the European Union
The talks limp on as
Mugabe recently stripped four MDC ministers of their
powers, virtually
leaving them to be placeholders in the fragile inclusive
government.
We
have no doubt that more problems will surface as talks stagger along,
which
makes the pronouncement by Gumbo deeply disturbing.
It means the status quo
remains with no solution in sight, especially as
Zanu PF continues to insist
on the removal of sanctions as a prerequisite to
any concessions in the
talks. Of course Gumbo may be hanging tough for the
benefit of his audience.
But the prospects of the two sides agreeing on the
way forward are not
encouraging.
The EU and the US have made it abundantly clear that they would
only
consider removing sanctions if the GPA was fully fulfilled. It would
therefore be futile for the MDC-T to go on a globetrotting campaign to have
sanctions removed.
Farm invasions continue with the takeover of
productive farms which include
those supposedly protected by Bilateral
Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreements. Laws that suppress
democratic freedoms are still in place. There
is no land audit in sight to
check multiple farm ownership. There is still
no movement on the
constitution-making process which was supposed to have
started early last
year because of continuous bickering among the parties.
The threatened
expropriation of foreign-owned companies through the
implementation of the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act that
stipulates a 51%
shareholding by indigenous Zimbabweans adds another
dimension in the
fractious relationship within the inclusive government. The
law became
operational in March without the input of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
All this weakens the call for the removal of sanctions.
It
is for those reasons that Zuma’s call for the lifting of sanctions
remains
hollow and will fall on deaf ears as he found out when he visited
the United
Kingdom recently.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told Zuma point blank
that there would
be no removal of sanctions unless Zanu PF adheres to the
letter and spirit
of the GPA.
Zanu PF’s intransigence will not affect the
US and EU but the very
Zimbabweans they purport to serve.
This stubborn
attitude by Zanu PF threatens to reverse the little progress
that has been
made since the signing of the GPA and risks alienating South
Africa which
will sooner or later run out of patience.
Zanu PF cannot demand the removal
of sanctions and brazenly ignore its
obligations to the GPA. They cannot
have their cake and eat it.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 26 March 2010
08:16
BELEAGURED central bank governor Gideon Gono last week crept out of
his
cocoon to attack as "reckless" and racist government's Indigenisation
and
Empowerment Regulations gazetted in January to coerce foreign investors
to
cede their majority shareholding to blacks within the next five
years.
The Reserve Bank czar strongly argued that the regulations would
scare off
badly needed investors to revive our economy which for the past
year has
been emerging from a vegetative state.
Gono, a
key government policy advisor on economic issues, told a local
weekly that
way back in 2007 he advised government against crafting
indigenisation laws
antithetical to investment and which encourage capital
flight, but the
advice was ignored.
I was at the Harare International Conference
Centre on October 1 2007 when
Gono presented his mid-year monetary policy
statement and advised government
that a "fine balance should be struck
between the objectives of
indigenisation and the need to attract foreign
capital", but government
proceeded to enact the Indigenisation and
Empowerment Act in 2008
categorically stating that foreign investors must
cede 51% stake to blacks.
Three years later, Indigenisation minister
Saviour Kasukuwere gazetted the
regulations that have resulted in would-be
investors putting on ice their
plans, operating companies freezing expansion
programmes and a bearish run
on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
(ZSE).
The ZSE -- the barometer of functionality of our economy --
retreated when
the regulations were gazetted with the bourse's benchmarks
losing up to 25%
on trade as 79 listed companies face a sanitised
expropriation.
According to the bourse, last year's market was
foreign-investor driven,
contributing between 45% and 50% of the US$200
million turnover.
This negative impact of the regulations has
strangely been largely ignored
by government -- especially by those from
Zanu PF, hence it came as a
surprise last week when Gono broke ranks with
his colleagues and assailed
the regulations.
"The last six months
have seen a flood of interest in both friends and foes
and we must not
disturb the momentum by reckless, inconsistent and
self-contradictory with
our pronouncements or with what we say or do," Gono
said. "You don't shoot
yourself in the foot during a time of scarce capital
availability and
neither do you start any new wars before concluding battles
of
yesteryear."
Gono warned that like the chaotic land reform programme
a decade ago, the
indigenisation drive may benefit a powerful elite at the
expense of the
majority.
There are countless reports that
ministers and senior government and party
officials already have a shopping
list of companies they intend to
expropriate under the guise of the
indigenisation drive. Among the companies
are big corporates who have
operated and supported our economy for over half
a century in good and
difficult times.
What is striking about the empowerment drive is
Kasukuwere's unequivocal
stance to be impervious to the voice of empirical
logic and reasoning that
the regulations should be revisited if we are to
avoid chasing away
investors we desperately need.
As in the land
reform programme, sensible people -- citizens and investors
alike -- support
economic indigenisation but are against the methodology
Kasukuwere and his
colleagues intend to use in executing it given that our
economy cannot
sustain such a revolution. The capital needed to undertake
the
indigenisation drive is not there and is not likely to garner any
support
outside our borders because of its antagonistic nature.
The drive
also smacks of naked racism and Gono was dead right when he said:
"We must
realise that the subject of indigenisation and empowerment is in
fact
intrinsically a supreme debate that has its roots in the
constitution.
"When one looks at the Constitution of Zimbabwe and
look at who is being
defined as Zimbabwean, one sees the coverage of black
Zimbabweans, Indians,
and mixed races that are also
Zimbabweans.
"This inclusivity and diversity dictates that we
de-politicise both the
constitution-making process, and we must also
de-politicise the
indigenisation and empowerment process itself. We must
consider objective
facts that shun racial discrimination or political
polarities that do not
move the country forward."
Gono's advice
must be taken seriously by government and it is also my hope
that Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should press hard for the revision of
the
regulations for the benefit of this country. We do not want a repeat of
the
damaging land reform programme which ended up benefiting a
few.
Kasukuwere should not be impervious to the voice of logic and if
his
intentions are good, he should take Gono, and other people's, companies'
and
organisations' advice seriously and have a re-think on the regulations.
This
will be a test of his maturity.
Let's hope that the
indigenisation drive is not yet another campaign tool
for Zanu PF with
elections now expected next year!
Constantine
Chimakure