http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
27 March
2009
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has vowed to take tough action
against the
perpetrators of the ongoing farm invasions sweeping the country,
stating on
Friday that the culture of entitlement and impunity in Zimbabwe
has 'stained'
the country for too long.
Tsvangirai was speaking to
stakeholders from civil society, the business
community, employment sector,
plus gender and development partners, at the
opening of a one-day
consultative forum in Harare on Friday morning. The
workshop was organised
to give the unity government the opportunity to hear
the views and concerns
of ordinary Zimbabweans, including representatives
from the farming sector,
who were also present. The Prime Minister stated
during his opening speech
that the ongoing farm invasions, "which are being
done in the name of the
land reform process, are actually acts of theft,
using fraudulent offer
letters."
"Those continuing to undertake these activities will be
arrested and face
justice in the courts," Tsvangirai said.
The
comments have highlighted the deep divisions that are present in
Zimbabwe's
so called 'unity' government, as they are completely opposite to
the
sentiments of Robert Mugabe. The ageing dictator, who initiated the
original
land grab campaign in 2000, once again condoned the often violent
action
during his lavish birthday celebrations last month, declaring that
the
remaining commercial farmers are not welcome in Zimbabwe. His comments
saw
the current land attacks intensify, leaving many hundreds of farm
workers
destitute and stopping critically needed production of food. SW
Radio
Africa's Harare correspondent, Simon Muchemwa, explained on Friday
that
Tsvangirai's comments "have come too late for many, especially since
Mugabe
has already encouraged the attacks."
The farming community has been left
reeling by the fresh wave of farm
attacks that started mere days before
Tsvangirai was sworn into the unity
government as Prime Minister last month.
More than 100 farmers are now
facing prosecution on trumped up charges of
'occupying state land illegally',
as part of a two pronged campaign to
remove the remaining commercial
farmers. The second, and more sinister part
of the campaign, has forced many
farmers off their land and into hiding, as
violent farm evictions have
intensified.
How Tsvangirai plans to keep
his word is yet to be seen, as it is not the
first time, since becoming
Prime Minister that he has condemned the farm
attacks - condemnation that
has not sparked any meaningful action. The
offensive against the farmers has
been ignored and in many cases supported
by police officials, and even local
magistrates have been instructed by the
Attorney General to ignore court
orders protecting the farms and fast-track
the prosecution of the farmers.
There is therefore doubt that Tsvangirai
will be able to sway the proven
allegiance of either the police force or
members of the judiciary to secure
the arrest and prosecution of land
invaders, as in many cases, they are
themselves beneficiaries of Robert
Mugabe's land grab campaign.
The
President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), Trevor Gifford,
explained
on Friday that the Prime Minister's comments are welcome, despite
him making
similar promises in the past. But Gifford also acknowledged that
Tsvangirai's comments "are going to be difficult to keep," because of the
involvement in the farm attacks of police, members of the judiciary, and
ZANU PF loyalists in the government. Gifford expressed hope that the land
issue, which was finally raised in Cabinet this week, will start to gather
positive momentum in the wake of Tsvangirai's promises, saying that the
farmers "just want to get on with the business of reconstructing agriculture
and growing food for the nation."
http://news.yahoo.com
Fri Mar 27, 10:06 am ET
JOHANNESBURG
(Reuters) - South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma on
Friday
criticized Western powers for holding back aid to Zimbabwe while
President
Robert Mugabe was still in power.
"This is very unfair to the Zimbabwean
people. Because here is Mugabe, he is
a factor. He is there. He leads a
party that has been in government for over
20 years," Zuma told Reuters in
an interview.
Zuma said the creation of a unity government where Mugabe
and opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai share power had begun Zimbabwe's
stabilization, but
it was only a starting point.
"You cannot say it
has stabilized but it has entered a phase of
stabilization politically,"
Zuma said, adding that the unity government
agreement, pushed by southern
African leaders, "was the only option. There
was nothing
else."
Western powers, who accuse Mugabe of ruining the country and
violating human
rights, are reluctant to begin pouring in aid to repair the
devastated
economy while the veteran leader remains as head of
state.
In the highest-level African criticism of this stance, Zuma said
it was
wrong to hold back aid.
"When there was an election, it is not
as if not a single human being voted
for Mugabe in Zimbabwe. He had a very
big percentage himself. He has a
sizeable support."
Western donors
have made clear they will only provide a large aid package to
help rebuild
the country once economic reforms are in place.
Much will depend on
whether Mugabe and Tsvangirai can work together after
years of animosity.
Any new power struggle that divides the new government
could undermine
efforts to win the confidence of donors and foreign
investors.
(Writing by Barry Moody; editing by Michael Georgy and
Philippa Fletcher)
http://www.state.gov
Bureau of Public
Affairs
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 27,
2009
The following statement was agreed upon by the countries
attending a meeting
held at the United States Department of State on March
20, 2009.
Begin text:
Representatives from Australia, Canada,
the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom, the United States,
the European Commission, the European
Union Council Secretariat, the World
Bank, African Development Bank,
International Monetary Fund, and United
Nations met on Friday, March 20 in
Washington, D.C., to discuss how best to
support the people of Zimbabwe as
they work to bring peace, stability,
prosperity and democracy back to their
country.
We agreed to maintain and, to the extent possible, increase our
current
levels of humanitarian assistance based on identified needs. In
2008, we
provided over $670 million in total assistance to the people of
Zimbabwe. To
date this year, we have provided an additional $300 million in
assistance.
Our assistance is targeted at the most urgent needs of the
people and
includes assistance for food, health services, water sanitation,
HIV/AIDS
and cholera.
We agreed to work with the transition
government to achieve specific goals
identified in the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), notably the restoration
of the rule of law, economic
stabilization and growth, freedom of assembly
and commitment to the
democratic process, respect for human rights and
personal security, and full
access to humanitarian assistance.
We commend the reform efforts
undertaken by the transition government and
the progress achieved to date
towards these goals. We urge the government to
take additional steps to
demonstrate its commitment to reform such as the
immediate release of all
political prisoners, the end of farm seizures, the
cessation of
politically-motivated violence, the establishment of a credible
and
transparent Central Bank team, an end to harassment and intimidation of
the
media, and a commitment to credible elections in a timely manner.
Provided
positive developments in regards to these political and economic
reforms,
the donor community is ready to support Zimbabwe's rebuilding with
development assistance.
We will work closely with the guarantors of
the agreement - the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) and the
African Union (AU) - to monitor
and encourage swift and effective
implementation of the GPA. Subject to
performance from the transition
government, we will work with the
international financial institutions to
develop an appropriate framework for
reengagement.
End text.
From The Cape Argus (SA), 27 Matrch
Stanley Gama
Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai is to hold a crisis meeting with
President Robert Mugabe
next week to try to resolve the problems that have
prevented the West
bailing out the inclusive government. Local and
international pressure is
mounting on Mugabe to genuinely reform if Zimbabwe
is get the US$2 billion
needed to revive a collapsed economy. Although
Southern African Development
Community leaders are due to meet in Swaziland
on Monday to try to come up
with a rescue package for Zimbabwe, it is
unlikely that they will be able to
raise the amount needed. Tsvangirai,
whose wife died early this month, is
said to have been alarmed by reports of
an imminent collapse of the economy
if aid does not flow in. He is anxious
to discuss the crisis with Mugabe,
one of his aides says. "The Prime
Minister is concerned with the response of
the international community to
calls for assistance. "He believes the
government has to make major
re-forms, especially on the rule of law, if any
donors are to come in. He is
worried about the fresh farm invasions, the
continued detention of political
prisoners, the repressive media laws and
the lack of respect for property
rights. These are the issues he will
discuss with the President when he
returns to work on April 1. Pressure has
been mounting in the past few days
with countries like the US, Norway and
Denmark saying they have to see
genuine reforms if they are to assist us,"
he said. So deep is the crisis in
Zimbabwe that on Wedmesdau Mugabe, Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara
and Finance Minister Tendai Biti made
separate and desperate calls for
assistance to avoid a catastrophe.
http://www.radiovop.com
HARARE, March 27 2009 - The
government will soon reform the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Act before
addressing the appointment of the RBZ
governor Gideon Gono, the deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara has
revealed.
Speaking to civil
society leaders at a meeting on the role of the
civil society in the all
inclusive government in Harare on Friday, Mutambara
also charged that Gono'
s appointment was a violation of the RBZ Act and the
Global Political
Agreement (GPA) signed by the three political parties.
"We are
rejecting Gono as the two MDC formations, his appointment and
that of Tomana
(the Attorney General) was done in violation of the RBZ Act
and the GPA,
there shall be reforms to the RBZ Act and to the central bank
itself and the
issue of the incumbency of Gono is still outstanding,"
Mutambara
said.
He cited fresh revelations from the visiting
International Monetary
Fund (IMF) team that the RBZ owes Zimbabweans an
excess of USd 1 billion in
unaccounted for funds.
He said
the IMF team raised concerns on some 'areas of activity' by
the RBZ, which
the government will deal with.
Mutambara also lashed out at
President Mugabe for saying elections
will be held in two years time and
said the issue of the duration of the
all-inclusive government was not
agreed upon.
"Contrary to claims by President Mugabe that
elections will be held in
two years time after the creation of a
constitution, the issue is that we
did not agree us (MDC-M) and Tsvangirai
wanted elections to held after two
years but Mugabe wanted to complete his
term after five years, so in the end
the issue of the duration of the
government was left like that," Mutambara
said.
Mutambara
said the parties then agreed that they will not speak about
the duration of
the all-inclusive government in public.
"We are quite surprised
when Mugabe indicated that he now wants
elections in two years time because
he refused when we suggested that
elections be held in two years, maybe it
is because he now has the
legitimacy that he needed but he will be butchered
if he calls for elections
in two years," Mutambara said.
Mutambara has not made his dislike of Gono a secret, immediately after
he
was sworn in as deputy Prime Minister, Mutambara told business leaders to
ignore the monetary policy announced by Gono.
Gono reacted
angrily and charged that the monetary policy would not be
reviewed.
Meanwhile the state controlled the Herald on
Friday revealed that the
government has set up a team comprising two
ministers and the State
Enterprises Restructuring Agency (SERA) to carry out
a cost benefit on all
parastatals to assess their suitability for
privatisation or
commercialisation, as Government steps up efforts to
mobilise funding for
its operations.
"The team comprises of
Finance Minister Tendai Biti and the Minister
of State Enterprises and
Parastatals, Joel Gabbuza Gabuza and SERA
officials. Speaking after their
first meeting on Wednesday, Minister Biti
said they had been given two weeks
to come up with a comprehensive report on
the parastatals, which they would
present to cabinet,' said the Herald.
"We will be taking a
scientific approach in order to come up with a
detailed report that we will
present to cabinet," Biti was quoted as having
said.
The
exercise comes at a time Government has recently unveiled a US$1
billion
budget and the Short-term Emergency Recovery Programme that will
require
USd5 billion.
The commercialisation and
privatisation of parastatals started in the
early 1990s but since then only
a few companies have been privatised. These
included CBZ Bank, Dairibord,
the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, Zimre and
Rainbow Tourism Group. The
privatisation of these former parastatals
transformed them into very
profitable entities that are competing favourably
in the
market.
Government however still holds 100 percent shareholding
in the
National Railways of Zimbabwe, Zesa Holdings, Cold Storage Company,
Air
Zimbabwe and the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe.
Others include the Industrial Development Corporation, TelOne, NetOne,
The
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, Minerals Marketing Corporation
of
Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority.
Efforts to
privatise some of these, which continue to be a drain on
the fiscus, has not
yielded any fruit to date.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
Violet Gonda
27 March
2009
Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of the National Constitutional
Assembly, said
his pressure group did not attend the Stakeholders Forum
opened by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday, because it was 'not a
genuine meeting
but a mere talk shop.'
The Prime Minister opened a
consultative forum with stakeholders from civil
society, the business
community and the employment sector, as well as gender
and development
partners, to hear the concerns of Zimbabweans regarding the
crisis in the
country.
But the civic leader accused the Prime Minister and his team of
trying to
undermine the NCA constitutional-making process. Madhuku said the
inclusive
government wants a 'parliament driven' constitution, whereas his
group is
calling for a 'people driven' constitution.
"We now know that
the Prime Minister and his team have an idea of
undermining the NCA so that
they can get their defective process of making a
constitution through. They
are trying to sideline and undermine the NCA and
create some groups in civil
society who will just sing their tune."
A statement from the Prime Minister's
office had said: "The one-day
workshop will afford the inclusive government
the opportunity to hear the
views and concerns of ordinary Zimbabweans
regarding economic stability,
food security, restoration of basic services,
guaranteeing of rights and
freedoms, and improving international
relations."
But Madhuku says the forum was convened by a government which
believes the
role of civil society is just to support it - and not to hear
the other
side.
According to the civic leader, his group was not invited
as NCA but was
invited by the National Association of Non Governmental
Organisations
(NANGO) and not through the Prime Minister's office. He said
the NCA is not
a member of NANGO and therefore cannot be represented by this
group. Madhuku
said there was a misrepresentation that the whole process was
to go as a
cluster, and then NANGO would in turn present their position to
the plenary.
The NCA objected to this.
He maintains the Prime Minister
and Eric Matinenga, the Minister of
Constitutional and Parliamentary
Affairs, are already aware of the NCA's
position and therefore meeting them
again this time will provide nothing
new. He said this was a talking
workshop and no grievances would have been
solved.
Critics of this
approach have expressed disappointment at Madhuku's
attitude, saying that
this was an opportunity to ask tough questions of the
new government - an
opportunity that Zimbabweans rarely have.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
27 March
2009
Sam Sipepa Nkomo, the MDC Minister of Water Resources and
Development, has
confirmed a report SW Radio Africa broadcast on Wednesday,
that Robert
Mugabe is refusing to swear in MDC National Treasurer Roy
Bennett, as the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Nkomo was speaking on
Friday's Hot Seat programme, where he discussed a
number of wide ranging
issues, including the water crisis
The Minister said Mugabe's argument is
that Bennett is facing serious
allegations in the courts, but Nkomo said
this is totally wrong. He said
Bennett is still innocent until proven
guilty. The former commercial farmer
is facing trumped up terrorism charges,
of plotting to acquire weapons.
Nkomo said Mugabe made the statement
about Bennett during a meeting that was
attended by the Deputy Minister
Arthur Mutambara and that it was the Deputy
Prime Minister who told them
about it.
Nkomo said Prime Minister Tsvangirai has a right to appoint his
own
Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers, and Mugabe's job is only to
formalise
the appointments. "We will not accept it. Bennett is our man and
he will
have to be sworn in whether Mugabe likes it or not," said the water
Minister, who is also the MDC's Secretary for Home Affairs.
He said
the biggest challenge he is currently facing in his ministry is the
issue of
funding, to buy much needed water purification chemicals, for
sewage
management and borehole rehabilitation.
But Nkomo admits the problem of
funding will remain a problem if ZANU PF
does not accept reform. The
international community has refused to come to
Zimbabwe's aid until there
are clear signs of change. Minister Nkomo said he
does not blame the west's
stance on Zimbabwe, saying there are some 'hygiene'
issues that still need
to be resolved in the coalition government.
Major outstanding issues
revolve around the distribution of governors,
permanent secretaries,
ambassadors and the ongoing farm invasions, plus the
continued detention of
political prisoners.
Nkomo believes his party should get South Africa and
SADC involved, since
they are the guarantors of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA).
"I think the MDC itself must put its foot down and say
this is an agreement
and we must follow that agreement to the spirit and
latter of the agreement.
And I think until that happens we could be playing
games."
He went on to say: "I think until we do that they will just
believe that
because we are already in government, therefore everything is
alright.
Everything will be alright - once we comply with the GPA."
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 27 March 2009
JOHANNESBURG-The influential Congress of South African Congress of
Trade
Unions (COSATU) remains skeptical of the unity government in
neighbouring
Zimbabwe.
COSATU president Sidumo Dlamini mentioned South
Africa's northern
neighbour in the same breath as politically volatile
countries such as
Swaziland, Western Sahara Democratic Republic of Congo and
Burma.
He said this had put a damper on achievements that have been
made in
the region and the continent as a whole.
"Despite many
other achievements, there is still a lot to be done,
which is why we say
that working together we can still do more on such areas
as; Zimbabwe,
Swaziland, Western Sahara, Burma, Congo and many other such
places where
serious challenges remain. In relation to Zimbabwe, our
Polokwane
resolutions and manifesto are clear that we must intensify efforts
to find a
democratic and lasting solution to the crisis.
Addressing the
International Strategy workshop towards the
International Solidarity
Conference, held in Johannesburg, He added, "No
doubt in Swaziland, the
release of PUDEMO President, Mario Masuku and the
speedy transformation of
that country into a multiparty system and not
royalist monopoly system, is
urgent. No doubt the region for us is a matter
of priority, hence the high
premium we place on the Swaziland-Zimbabwe
issues and will work with the ANC
to ensure that these are dealt with
immediately."
COSATU, part of
the tripartite that also includes the ruling African
national Congress and
the South African communist Party, has said previously
refused to endorse
Robert Mugabe as the democratically elected president of
neighbouring
Zimbabwe.
Dlamini's comments come amid reports some senior officials
from Mugabe's
ruling ZANU (PF) were bent on derailing the unity government
while farm
invasions by ZANU (PF) supporters continue unabated.
http://www.radiovop.com
BULAWAYO, March 27 2009 -
The Ministry of Local Government, Public
Works and Urban Development is
reportedly terminating lease agreements of
some Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle
beneficiaries and allocating them to other
Bulawayo
residents.
A former beneficiary who spoke to RadioVOP said
he received a letter
informing that his lease was being terminated on
Thursday.
"When I got home I found a letter informing me that
my lease was being
terminated for three reasons, the first being that I had
failed to occupy
the house, that I have not developed the house and have not
been paying my
monthly rentals to the Bulawayo City
Council.
"What is shocking to me is that when we were given
these houses, we
were told that they were for the poor and that since we had
no money to pay
for them we could take our time to repay and build. I have
since approached
my lawyers who are looking into the issue," said a Bulawayo
resident.
He said he had also been informed by the Bulawayo
Progressive
Residents Association that more than a 150 other residents had
been issued
with the eviction letters.
The Garikai/Hlalani
Kuhle programme was mooted after the government
destroyed thousands of homes
during Operation Murambatsvina. The houses were
meant to benefit society's
underprivileged but have only benefited a few who
are aligned to the ZANU PF
party.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
27
March 2009
Almost 10 000 students from the University of Zimbabwe have
failed to pay
their fees for the first term of the 2009 academic year, and
this has forced
the institution to postpone opening its doors on Monday next
week.
The UZ initially resumed lectures in January this year but was
forced to
close, following demonstrations by students after authorities
asked them to
pay their fees in foreign currency.
Clever Bere, the
President of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
told us each
student was being asked to pay at least US$800 for this
academic term. He
told us government's attitude towards students was
creating ground for
conflict.
'Our parents are being paid US$100 a month so where do
authorities think we
get that sort of money from,' asked Bere.
The
student leader said 95 percent of students at the UZ had failed to pay
for
their fees. He said this represents about 10 000 out of 13 000 students
registered with the institution.
'When we demonstrated against the
high fees in January, they had asked us to
pay US$200 but that amount has
since gone up to US$800. It's unfortunate
that most of us can't afford that
amount,' Bere said.
He added; 'We are actively involved in talks with the
stakeholders but so
far these negotiations have not yielded anything
positive. In fact, the
higher education minister Stan Mudenge has been
avoiding us, so how do you
hope to solve this problem when the major player
is not sincere.'
The student leader said the hold up to the academic year
was a major blow to
many students who were hoping to graduate this year.
Already many students
have lost a year of studies following a series of
clashes with university
authorities.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 27 March 2009
HARARE - The Dutch Farmers Association has been involved in a long and
tortuous process to secure justice for its nationals whose property in
Zimbabwe was invaded and stolen by agents of the Mugabe regime as part of
the violent and fraudulent misnamed "land reform programme".
Proceedings at the international ICSID closed on February 25th, and
the
farmers are awaiting a decision. The ICSID proceedings brought them one
step
closer to the beginning of the end of a four year process that was
formally
started on April 15th 2005 and is the direct result of farm
invasions
followed by expropriations some four to five years earlier in
2000/2001.
"All in all it has been a very difficult eight or nine
years," says a
statement from the farmers issued this week.
"As
Dutch investors we have maintained confidence in the
internationally legally
binding agreement between the Government of Zimbabwe
and the Government of
the Netherlands, which guarantees bilateral protection
and due compensation
in the case of compulsory acquisition of nationals of
either country
investing in the other," the statement continues.
"Although the process
was extremely long and costly, the GOZ
recognised both the legality of the
process and the fact that compensation
was due, the main area of contention
being in the details and the actual
valuation. At this stage we cannot say
how the tribunal ruled as we have yet
to be informed of the outcome; we can
however confirm that at all times the
communications between the claimant
and the respondent were cordial and in
good spirit."
The farmers
said they were encouraged by the current changes that are
taking place in
Zimbabwe and hoped that things would continue to improve
sufficiently to woo
investors back into a wonderful country which can do so
much better for its
people.
"We trust that the GOZ will honour its responsibility by
accepting and
fulfilling the decisions of the tribunal, thereby proving to
the
international community, donors and future investors that Zimbabwe is a
country where future investment may be safe. No doubt the investment
environment in Zimbabwe will be a topic of consideration at the forthcoming
donors' conference."
http://www.tmcnet.com
Harare, Mar 27, 2009 (The Herald/All Africa Global Media
via COMTEX) -- ZESA
Holdings has fixed the electricity tariff for
January-February at US$4,1c
per kWh, spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said
this week.
He said the January-February compromise tariff was arrived at
after
consultation with the Confederation of Zimbabwe and all various
stakeholders.
Meter readers, said Mr Gwasira were already on the
ground and consumers
should start expecting January-February bills next
week.
The January-February bill was based on a tariff of below the
approved
average tariff of US$7,5c kWh. The March tariff is the one based on
the
US$7,5c per kWh approved by the Government.
"Consumers are
therefore urged to settle all outstanding and current bills
so as to avoid
the inconvenience of possible disruption of services," he
said.
Mr
Gwasira said the tariff would be reviewed further in June this
year.
Domestic electricity users will benefit from a lifeline tariff for
the first
50 kWh which are charged at a lower cost of US0,31c
kWh.
The measure is designed to cushion low income domestic customers and
provide
electricity to them for basic household
requirements.
Mr Gwasira noted the Zesa bill would now reflect
the actual consumption of
power and customers are urged to conserve energy
to cut costs.
"If consumption is not contained, the cost can actually be
significant."
Zesa has been charging tariffs, which were not cost reflecting
for years
resulting in poor services resulting in households going for days
without
power.
Load shedding by Zesa has been a blow to the
economy.
Mr Gwasira assured customers there would be corresponding
qualitative
improvement in the quality of service with the new forex
billing.
"Recovery is a process and not an event given that the
organisation was
charging uneconomic tariffs for over a decade. The new
tariffs will enable
Zesa to stock up on materials such as cable kits, fuses,
poles, transformers
and transformer oils which will mean shorter waiting
periods or faster
turnaround responses to faults on network." There would
also be greater
ability to pay for power imports from regional suppliers
with greater
supplies, thereby reducing load shedding.
Zesa is
understood to be owing regional power utilities in unpaid power
bills.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 27 March
2009
A Harare magistrate has further remanded three University of
Zimbabwe
students to 23 April 2009. The three Vitalis Mudzonga, Tawanda
Katsuro and
Justice Chikanya appeared before the magistrate on routine
remand hearing
this morning. The magistrate also altered their bail
conditions by deleting
reporting conditions. Since 09 February they were
reporting at Harare
Central Police station every Friday.
The three
were part of a group of eighty students who were arrested on
05 February at
the University of Zimbabwe when students demonstrated against
a new fees
structure that was announced by the University authorities. The
demonstration was part of the National Campaign against Dollarisation of
Education in Zimbabwe (NACADEZ).After a screening process at Avondale police
station the three were transferred to Harare Central Police station for
further interrogation. The University of Zimbabwe is set to open on 30 March
following its closure on February 06 after the demonstration.
Meanwhile, former University of Zimbabwe student leader and
spokesperson of
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Madock Chivasa,
Farirai Mageza,
Simbai Chivasa, Hillary Zhou and two others are set to
appear before a
Bikita magistrate on charges of public violence which arose
during the March
Harmonized Election. The six were arrested on the eve of
the 29 March
harmonized election when they were concluding the "G o Vote
Campaign" at
Chaduka business center in Bikita.
Please can all our readers reconsider using Homelink to send money home. Homelink is an RBZ facility - to avoid your money being swallowed up by Gono’s bad practices, please send your money home by telegraphic money transfers instead. Alert others to do the same.
We’ve received information from a credible source that Gideon Gono purchased a fleet of vehicles prior to Tendai Biti imposing new regulations on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). We’ve been told that there are four parking lots in Harare that are already filled brand new luxury vehicles.
We wonder what their purpose is?
The one good thing Tendai Biti has done is remove the 5 - 7.5% retention by the RBZ of export proceeds and all forex transactions. This money was previously used to fund the RBZ.
There are approximately 1,800 people employed by the RBZ and we are told there is a monthly medical aid bill of US$1mill. As a result of Biti removing the 5 - 7.5%, the bank now can’t afford to pay its medical aid bill. Apparently 10 pregnant women on the pay-roll have protested - how will they pay for their deliveries?
In addition to this, we’ve been told that funeral benefits at RBZ have also been dropped. Funerals are extremely expensive so this will hit those affected very hard.
But despite the fact that Gideon Gono is already extremely unpopular among the public, and despite the fact that he is the architect of our economic collapse (and now probably not that popular among RBZ employees either), Bob Mugabe has said Gono is there for keeps.
Maybe Gono should consider selling all those cars on the open market to pay for his employees benefits. (We’d like to think he’d put the money towards the needs of starving Zimbabweans, but we know that such a humane gesture is a fantasy when it comes to Gono).
What would you have done? Taken the merc, or said ‘no thank you’…?
I hope, faced with the decision that all our new Ministers were faced with - to accept the Mercedes Benz which comes as a ministerial perk or not - that I would have refused.
Senator David Coltart declined his and hats off to him for doing so.
Unfortunately, our enquiries seem to suggest that every other minister accepted theirs - including the new guys, the MDC-T and MDC ministers.
Nelson Chamisa, our youngest Minister at the age of 31, said that, “It’s a symbol of authority and power … If you don’t have it, people will think you don’t have power. They feel good when they see one of their own in power.”
Why stop there Nelson? Why not accept a farm or two as well, wrap your wife in gold and diamonds, and jet around the world after commandeering Air Zim planes? That will really show the poor how much power you have - they’ll be under no illusions who’s the boss then.
By the way, does an E-Class Mercedes come with really big doors, Nelson? I hope so, because if your head keeps growing at this rate it may not be long before you can’t fit it into the car.
Eric Matinenga at least had the grace to be slightly shame-faced when he accepted his. He said, “I know it’s not a good excuse, but will I make a difference if I turn this down?”
You’re right, Eric, its a thoroughly lousy excuse.
As to the question about whether it would have made a difference… perhaps we can help out there. We did a bit of research on the Internet and we estimate that an E-Class Mercedes Benz is worth approximately US$50,000. There are 40 ministers (including Zanu PF) which means the government spent US$2,000,000 on cars while our people are starving and dying from cholera.
How many drips is that? How much mealie-meal does it buy? How many school books? How many prisoners, who are currently receiving no meals and dying of starvation, will that feed? Perhaps one of the Ministers could be kind enough to swish up to the prison in their new E-Class Mercedes Benz and find out and let us know…?
Tendai Biti recently said in Parliament that government revenue was running at US$30 million for March. So these cars seem to represent a spend of nearly 7% of the revenue coming in for that month. The issue here is not how you justify this to yourselves, but how you justify to us, the people, spending 7% of one month’s revenue on luxury vehicles for your goodselves when the majority of Zimbabweans are unemployed and most are depending on outside aid for food.
Furthermore, how can you go to the International Community and bawl about how bad things are, and beg for money, when one of the first things the new government did was take ownership of brand new luxury vehicles. It’s absolutely insane.
We’re only referring to the Ministers cars here; apparently the Deputy Ministers will all receive Pajeros, luxury 4×4 vehicles. The MPs have yet to be given their cars but they will and we don’t know yet what those will be but somehow we doubt they will be no-frills practical vehicles designed to get MPs with bags of maize out to their starving constituents in rural areas! And so the money for cars for an extremely bloated government (one which, incidentally, exceeds the numbers outlined in the Global Political Agreement) piles up and up and up. It’s disgusting. It’s a vulgar insensitive African cliche and I feel ashamed of our new Ministers.
Yes, US$2,000,000 is a drop in the ocean compared to our country’s needs, but its priceless as a gesture of good-faith, as a symbol to the people that this government will be different. The cost is the loss of credibility and diminished respect from the people.
Matinenga said he tried to talk other Ministers into turning theirs down:
“I said, ‘Look, how would we justify getting these luxury vehicles when there is a humanitarian crisis out there? … To my disappointment, we were not able to come up with a single position.”
All I can say is they didn’t try very hard. I hope this is a hiccup, and not the first step on a slippery slope.
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/3839
MR. SPEAKER, Sir, Cabinet Ministers, Honorable Members
of Parliament I rise
to make my maiden speech in this august
House.
We are at a stage in our country where we are building bridges. We
are at
that juncture where we have found each other. We have come together;
we must
stay together, work together and deliver on the promise of our
revolution.
This is national interest time.
We have embarked on an
irreversible process of inclusiveness with the clear
understanding that the
GPA of 15th September 2008 is the only workable
arrangement in our country.
There is unprecedented unanimity among our
citizens on this position. Mr.
Speaker, Sir, this was clearly amplified by
the vote in this august house
for Constitutional Amendment No. 19, where 184
out 184 members endorsed it,
and the 72 out of 72 Senators did the same.
As I present my views, let me
emphasize that my intention is to build, and
not to destroy; unify, and not
disunite. However, I will seek to challenge
us as Zimbabweans by speaking
frankly on the matters we are facing. Is it
not that they say a problem
realized is half solved? Moreover this august
house is the distinguished
arena of both rational disputation and robust
democratic dialogue.
Consequently, I will be remiss in the discharge of my
duties if I did not
deliver a no-holds-barred maiden speech.
There will be no prisoners taken
today.
Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Government that I am part of, this inclusive
institution, is a creature of abnormal circumstances. We are a product of
the SADC dialogue process. But why did we have to negotiate? Honorable
Members, lest we forget, we were forced to talk to each other in this manner
because we had some problems with our elections, to put it politely. If we
are to be candid and brazen about it, we have to accept that we had
fraudulent elections on March 29th 2008.
What is worse is that the
run-off Presidential election on June 27th 2008
was a complete farce, a
nullity. Understanding this background allows us to
clearly articulate the
agenda of our inclusive government. The sum total of
our mandate is to
ensure that at the next elections Zimbabweans can vote
freely and fairly.
This means that creating conditions for free and fair
polls is the
overarching duty and obligation of this inclusive government.
The question
is then how do you achieve this?
This is done by carrying out radical
political and economic reforms
underpinned by five key activities; healing
the nation, adopting a new
constitution, resolving the humanitarian crisis,
recovering and stabilizing
the economy, and transforming our economy. Our
people and country went
through trauma and brutality in the June 27 2008
elections. The national
healing process must achieve a never again
framework. Never again should
Zimbabweans slaughter each other over
political differences.
Never again should Zimbabweans question each
other's patriotism because of
political affiliation. Most of the challenges
that confront us as a nation
are due to a dysfunctional, ineffective and
undemocratic constitution. In
adopting a new constitution, it is important
that the process of developing
it is as important as the final contents.
Hence, this inclusive government
seeks to facilitate the development of a
truly people driven, democratic
constitution, with total buy-in, and
ownership by the entirety of civic
society, in particular the NCA, ZCTU, the
student movement, the churches,
the business community, and other political
parties not involved in the GPA.
By definition a constitution is a
consensus document, and not a contested
piece of paper produced by three
political parties. In addition to the
constitutional reforms, there must be
other political reforms including the
removal of AIPPA and POSA from our
statutes and drastic media reforms. Our
local media should be sufficiently
empowered to report freely without bias.
The international media, such as
BBC and CNN must be immediately allowed
back into the country. On economic
recovery and stabilization we are
stepping in the right direction with
STERP. Beyond recovery and
stabilization we must seek to transform our
economy through establishing a
long term economic vision and strategy. Let
us lay the foundation for this
ambition during the tenure of this
government.
Mr. Speaker Sir, there are three themes that we must grasp in
order to
deliver on the agenda that I have outlined. The first one is that;
"Change
has come to Zimbabwe and we cannot behave as if it is business as
usual."
All of us, Zimbabweans and those external players interested in the
matters
of our nation, need a paradigm shift in the way we think, and
operate. The
days of a unitary government driven by one party are gone. We
now have an
inclusive government with three political parties in
cabinet.
There used to be, for all intents and purposes, one center of
executive
authority in our constitution, the Presidency. The Cabinet was
essentially a
compliant rubber stamp institution. In the new dispensation,
executive
authority now clearly resides in three locations; the Presidency,
Premiership, and Cabinet. Masamba asiyana. There are only three things that
the President can constitutionally do without consulting the other two
centers of power, that is; declare war, declare martial law, and appoint his
two deputies. On any other decisions there has to be discussions with the
Premiership and Cabinet. Any behavior outside this framework is illegal, and
will be challenged, institutionally, politically and in the
courts.
Honourable members, even your work here in Parliament has to
change. You
need a paradigm shift as well. There are no longer any
opposition benches,
or ruling party ones. You can no longer operate on a
partisan basis, as we
are all now in one government together. So how are you
going to do your
work? When a Cabinet Minister brings a position or policy
to Parliament, it
will be after the inclusive Cabinet has agreed by
consensus. When Minister
Biti or Minister Mumbengegwi comes to Parliament
with issues they will be
having the backing of the leadership of the three
political parties. How are
you going to respond? Obviously, you cannot do it
as you used to do it, on
partisan basis. You have to argue each issue on its
merit. Honorable
Members, now you have to put your thinking caps on all the
time.
Masamba asiyana.
The new dispensation also means we cannot
continue with the destructive
behavior of politicizing national institutions
and activities. For example
you cannot have the organ of one political party
determine and declare
national heroes. When you do so two things happen, you
undervalue and
cheapen the heroism of the recipient of the status; and more
importantly you
leave out other deserving heroes.
The deaths of two
distinguished Zimbabweans two weeks ago serve to
illustrate this matter. No
one in this august house doubts or questions the
heroism of General Vitalis
Musungwa Gava Zvinavashe. He was a soldier of
soldiers, a commander of
commanders. However, when you have him declared a
hero by the Zanu-PF
politburo, you devalue his heroism.
You make him half a hero.
On
the other had let us consider the death of Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai. If
one
considers her role in our nation, and the number of people who mourned
her
in the country, region, continent and the world, she deserves to be
accorded
heroic status. Yet, she was not even considered for such
recognition.
This is a travesty of justice in our country.
By
any measure and judgment of heroism Mrs. Tsvangirai is a heroine of
heroes,
the mother of our struggle, and the mother of our nation. Going
forward, we
want Cabinet to develop a policy on the determination and
declaration of
national heroes, and set up a Cabinet Committee that will
consider potential
recipients of such honors.
With the inclusive government in place it is
important that all behaviours
associated with a unitary government be
challenged in our public and private
organizations; government institutions,
media houses, educational
institutions, local authorities, universities, and
business entities. We
need a paradigm shift and a new way of doing things
across the breadth and
length of our country. What informs and drives our
polity must change. A new
value system rooted in inclusiveness is
imperative.
The second theme we have to embrace is that in whatever we
do, "Zimbabweans
must take charge of their lives. We must be masters of our
destiny." This
should be the clarion call. As we develop our economic
recovery plans, and
address matters affecting our nation, we must be driven
by the
Kennedy-Gandhi doctrine.
Mr Speaker, Sir, we must paraphrase
Kennedy and say "Ask not what other
nations can do to salvage Zimbabwe, but
rather what we can do as citizens to
drive our country." The primary
financing of STERP, our recovery plan must
come from us through improving
exports, increasing capacity utilization,
economic growth, revenue
generation, increased trade and then collection of
taxes and tariffs.
Domestic investment, including Diaspora efforts, should
lead and drive
foreign direct investment.
Yes we need humanitarian assistance, budget
support, and balance of payment
support; but these external inputs should
only come in to buttress our own
efforts. In any case, in the long run, it
is investment driven economic
development that will sustain our radical
transformation into a globally
competitive, prosperous and democratic
nation. Only we, working together as
Zimbabweans, can achieve this. Let us
listen to Gandhi as he encourages us
"to be the change we seek to see in
Zimbabwe".
Mr Speaker, Sir, this brings me to the thorny issue of
sanctions. It is my
considered view there are two types of sanctions. There
are sanctions we
impose on ourselves and those imposed on us by others. For
the past 10 years
Zimbabweans have been imposing sanctions on themselves
through corruption,
poor governance, incompetence, mismanagement, fraudulent
elections,
political violence, and the breakdown of the rule of law. Before
we even
begin to ask others to remove whatever measures they have imposed on
us, we
must remove these sanctions we have imposed on
ourselves.
Charity begins at home, Mr Speaker, Sir. If these destructive
activities and
transgressions we have been inflicting on ourselves, were all
in the past, I
could say we are making progress. No, No, No, it is getting
worse!! As I am
speaking right now, there are fresh farm invasions,
abductions, illegal
arrests, disregard of court orders, wanton violation of
the rule of law,
violence among our supporters, the language of hate and
division, and
general disregard of the rule of law.
To add insult to
injury, there are unresolved outstanding issues in the
implementation of the
GPA. The matters involving provincial governors,
permanent secretaries,
ambassadors, and the appointments of the RBZ governor
and the attorney
general have not been resolved nearly two months after SADC
communiqué of
the 27th of January 2009, which consummated the GPA.
This is disgraceful.
All these nefarious activities mean that the current
inclusive government is
actually imposing new sanctions on the people of
Zimbabwe. Let me make this
very clear and unequivocal.
I am the Deputy Prime of the State of
Zimbabwe.
My government is guilty as charged. We are behaving as an
irresponsible and
rogue regime. We must address these matters urgently. We
have an obligation
to build credibility of, and confidence in this inclusive
government. If we
do not, we will then not have any moral authority to ask
any nation to
remove any measures imposed on us. Even if the allegation that
there are
fresh farm invasions is false, the perception is very damaging. In
any case,
perception becomes reality. We must deal with whatever is leading
to any
such perceptions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if we do not address these
current
sanctions we are imposing on ourselves there will be no humanitarian
assistance, budget support, revival of tourism, and investment coming our
way. We will be doomed and this government will definitely
collapse.
Having taken a clear position on what we need to do as
Zimbabweans, I now
turn to the second type of sanctions. We are saying to
the international
community we understand why you imposed sanctions on us,
and why you have
not removed them.
We understand your
skepticism.
However, we are also saying we are clear on the challenges we
are facing and
the transgressions that we are committing. We are determined
to solve these
matters. As they say a problem realized is half solved. We
believe these
challenges are not insurmountable, they are teething problems.
We are
determined to overcome them. We are working day and night.
As
we do this, please help us help ourselves.
Here is our message to the US,
the British, and the Europeans; you must
remove all sanctions, any type of
measures, call it what you may, that you
have imposed on our country. You
cannot adopt a wait and see attitude. You
cannot give us conditions, such as
signs of progress, inclusiveness and
entrenchment of democracy and the rule
of law. While these are also our
targets, to achieve them we need financial
resources and assistance.
It is not possible for us to achieve these
milestones while sanctions are in
place. It becomes a chicken and an egg
situation. I wish it was possible, to
get half a chicken and half an egg.
What all this means is that when the
West gives conditions before
reengagement, they are setting us up for
failure. It will simply lead to a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
Let me emphasize that the continuation of
sanctions on Zimbabwe is both
illogical and irrational. By imposing or
maintaining sanctions on the
inclusive government it means you are applying
those measures on Cde
Tsvangirai, the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, who among
other things is in
charge of supervising policy implementation.
Even
the so-called targeted measures do not make sense.
For example, Chinamasa
and Mumbengegwi are now a critical part of the PM's
team, how do you apply
restrictions on them without undermining the PM. We
must take note that, if
the government fails because of lack of support, it
is the people of
Zimbabwe who are the biggest losers. More, importantly, it
will not be
Mugabe who would have failed. He has failed dismally many times,
and he
cannot fail any more than he has already done. It is Tsvangirai and
his
team, including all of us who came in from the opposition, who will be
disgraced.
Furthermore, a collapse of this government will drive this
country into dire
crisis that will make Somalia look like child's play. Is
this what you want,
America, Britain and Europe? Whose interests are you
serving?
It is in this context that we denounce in the strongest of terms
the
extension by one year of sanctions on Zimbabwe by President Barrack
Obama.
It is my view that this unfortunate decision was based on ignorance
and
arrogance.
How can you say "The actions and policies of the
government of Zimbabwe pose
a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to
the foreign policy of the
US?" Is that even the correct way of phrasing your
concerns? We all thought
of paramount importance were the people of Zimbabwe
and their aspirations,
and not US foreign policy. Yes, we have challenges in
implementing the GPA,
but grant us the common sense and intelligence that we
know what we want as
a nation.
There is unprecedented unanimity among
our citizens that this government
must succeed. Why is a US President with
African roots making irresponsible
decisions without consulting Zimbabweans,
Africans and African institutions?
We take particular exception to this
unmitigated ignorance and arrogance.
Mr. Speaker Sir, there was one long
term solution, the effective medicine,
to both types of sanctions that I
have discussed, in this house. This takes
the form of rebranding our
country. We need to work on the image of our
nation and be known for
different things. We must seek to be known for the
following; effective
unity and inclusiveness, political stability, a
hardworking population,
outstanding human capital, adherence to laws,
observance of the rule of law,
respect for property rights, business
confidence, a safe destination for
investment, high technology hub, a
transportation and services hub, a broad
industrial base, and a strong
exploitable resource base.
We must also
make sure that our personal and corporate brands are aligned
with the
aspired national image. This country branding initiative is a
twenty year
journey that should start today. Once we embark on this national
imaging
task we will effectively shake away both types of sanctions.
The third
and last theme I will discuss is the case for; "Institutional
creativity and
innovation rooted in imaginative thought leadership." There
is need to think
outside the box. There is need to exercise our minds as if
there is actually
no box. We need to rethink our understanding of
leadership, institutions,
governance and their respective roles. We need to
embrace transformational
and servant leadership styles. Leadership is about
making others leaders. It
is about creating leaders, and not followers.
Leaders should seek to serve,
and not to be served.
The ultimate test of leadership is whether you can
effectively make yourself
irrelevant, by empowering others. If you are a CEO
of a company for 20 years
and you have not produced a number of CEOs you are
not a leader. If you are
a director on the board of 8-10 companies, and you
have not produced or
enabled others to become directors, you are not an
effective director, and
neither are you a leader. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you
are Speaker of this house
for 20 years and you have not produced a single
Speaker, you are not a
Speaker!
Honorable Chamisa, if you are a
President of a country for 29 years and you
a have not produced a single
President, you are not a leader. You are not
even an effective
manager.
We need also to appreciate and leverage the difference between
performance
based and learning organizations. This is the new institutional
thinking
that should guide our work. We must rethink the role of the state
and the
market. The primary role of government should be that of an enabler,
a
facilitator in the economy. We leave business to business, and let the
market forces play their part. We must move away from command and control.
We must allow the market to determine prices, salaries and exchange
rates.
The State must play its role using smart and effective regulations
and not
unimaginative and prohibitive controls. We must attract and
facilitate
private capital into aspects of the economy traditionally the
purview of the
State, such as infrastructure. Let us allow private sector
investment into
roads, water and power. This can be achieved through
public-private
partnership (PPP) or built operate transfer (BOT)
models.
For example, if we make pricing and tariffs competitive in the
energy
sector, draw up power purchase arrangements; a private investor can
invest
in power generation, sell 40 percent to the national grid and export
the
balance 60 percent. Let us be creative and imaginative. We also need to
engage the global climate change agenda, and embrace the notion of green
jobs and green technology.
In all our endeavors in the affairs of our
nation, we must understand that
it is not enough to have a vision, mission
or strategy. It is not enough to
have strategic correctness, policy
correctness or directional correctness.
The proof of the pudding is in the
eating. We must spend time doing
implementation planning.
There is
need for timelines, milestones, targets, ownership of work streams,
incentives and penalties, measures and metrics of success, and a feedback
mechanism. Mr. Speaker, Sir, thereafter the mantra is execution, execution,
execution. In all we do, we need to reject the "it cannot be done syndrome."
We must become possibility thinkers, we must exercise possibility thinking.
On this one, we are together with Obama,
"Yes we can!!" should be the
slogan.
In conclusion, Honorable members, Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is
important that we
understand the historic nature of what is expected of this
particular
Parliament. Let us premise our thinking by looking at Maslow
hierarchy of
needs. Maslow was a psychologist, who postulated that human
beings at the
basic needs level start by seeking food, shelter, and other
essentials as
they move up the hierarchy of needs. What is the highest stage
in this
framework, honorable members? Yes, he defined it as
self-actualization.
But I have news, and education for you honorable
members, Mr Speaker, Sir.
We have since officially disagreed with Maslow and
improved on his work.
There is a higher stage, the ultimate aspiration,
which we call
self-transcend, go beyond self, and leave a legacy.
I
challenge this august House to go beyond self-interest, transcend partisan
ambitions, and deliver a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe.
Honorable members must become players, who are also winners in the agenda of
accomplishing a globally competitive nation. This will be our cross-party
generational result, our collective legacy.
Mr Speaker, Sir;
Honorable Members, I thank you.
Arthur G.O. Mutambara, Deputy PM
25th
March 2009; Harare, Zimbabwe
This entry was posted by Sokwanele
on Friday, March 27th, 2009
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 27 March
2009
It has come to the attention of CHRA that the tour of the
water
infrastructure that was recently done by the Harare City Council has
made
some shocking revelations of the gross incompetence of ZINWA amidst the
continued delay and confusion in the hand-over of the management of water
and sewer reticulation services from ZINWA to the City of Harare.
One of the Councilors who were part of the delegation on tour (name
withheld) revealed to CHRA that Council discovered that the Firle Water
Works has not been operational since 2005 when ZINWA took over the
management of the water services in Harare. As a result, ZINWA was actually
depositing raw sewer into Manyame River and Lake Chivero; a situation that
has rendered the Harare water to be heavily polluted. The Councilor said
that this could be the major reason why ZINWA was finding it difficult to
provide clean water to residents as treating the heavily polluted water was
proving to be quite expensive. A total of eight different chemicals are
needed to purify the Harare water while other cities like Mutare need only
one chemical for water treatment. This means the whole city had to rely on
the Morton Jeffrey Water Works in Norton which was often affected by power
cuts and the obsolete equipment at the Treatment Plant; a situation that led
to the acute water shortages in Harare and the subsequent cholera outbreak
in August 2008. Councilors have pointed out that both Firle and Morton
Jeffrey are in need of a massive capital injection for them to operate
normally.
Furthermore, a water pump that has been reportedly lying
idle for
thirty years was discovered by the City of Harare at Prince Edward
water
works while residents endured persistent water cuts that exposed them
to
cholera. This revelation is evidence to the negligence that was exercised
by
the authorities in charge of water and sewer management. ZINWA
continuously
blamed the Harare water woes on the obsolete equipment that the
water
utility reportedly inherited from the City of Harare and yet a sound
water
pump was lying idle without the knowledge of ZINWA. It is also clear
that
ZINWA did not conduct a thorough audit of the water infrastructure when
it
took over the management of water and sewer reticulation services from
the
City of Harare. The discoveries that have been made by the Council are
clear
evidence of ZINWA's incapacity that has plunged Harare into the worst
cholera outbreak ever.
This is the reason why residents are keen to
have the City of Harare
regain complete control of the water affairs of
Harare so that the confusion
that surrounds the hand-over of the management
of water services can come to
an end. A Council official who requested
anonymity for fear of victimization
said that the truth on the ground is
that no progress has been made in the
hand-over process. The Council has not
yet convened to discuss the issue of
the hand-over. The source pointed out
that the reports that have come out in
the media where City of Harare
officials have said that they will bill water
using the ZINWA rates is just
a matter of public relations because ZINWA
seems to be still in control. He
however confirmed that the ZINWA management
is actually reporting to the
Harare Town clerk.
These reports are worrying especially considering
the fact that the
water situation in Harare needs to be improved urgently so
as to avoid loss
of more lives to the cholera pandemic. The confusion that
is between ZINWA
and the City of Harare is the last thing that residents
need at this point
in time. CHRA urges the new government to look into this
matter and ensure
that the management of water and sewer reticulation
services is not
politicized by people who are just interested in extorting
money from
residents. The City of Harare should regain total control of the
water and
sewer reticulation services in Harare and proper water management
systems
must be set up so that constant supplies of clean water to residents
can be
resumed.
CHRA will continue to advocate for good,
transparent and accountable
local governance as well as the delivery of
quality and affordable municipal
services. - CHRA Alert
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 26 Mar 2009 ** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths
occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may
occasionally result A. Highlights of the day: - 228 Cases and 8 deaths added today (in comparison with 235 cases and 5
deaths yesterday) - 65.0% of the districts affected have reported today 39 out of 60 affected
districts) - 91.9 % of districts reported to be affected (57 districts out of 62) - Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate 1.7% - Daily Institutional CFR = 2.2% - One case reported previously from Umzingwane district in Matabeleland South
was a long distant truck driver who had travelled from Harare to Beitbridge and
then to Bulawayo, develop signs and symptoms of Cholera at Mbalabala.
* Please note that daily
information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff
constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the
numbers. Any change will then be explained.
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 27 Mar 2009 ** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths
occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may
occasionally result A. Highlights of the day: - 208 Cases and 5 deaths added today (in comparison with 228 cases and 8
deaths yesterday) - 75% of the districts affected have reported today 45 out of 60 affected
districts) - 91.9 % of districts reported to be affected (57 districts out of 62) - Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate 1.7% - Daily Institutional CFR = 2.4%
* Please note that
daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff
constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the
numbers. Any change will then be explained.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
Friday, 27 March
2009
Dear Friends.
According to a Zimbabwean journalist
whose comments I read this week,
it is now considered to be 'unpatriotic' in
some circles to criticise the
Government of National Unity - or Inclusive
Government. Neither label
precisely describes the strange hybrid that now
purports to run the country
but many Zimbabweans both in and outside the
country must be finding it hard
to come to terms with the notion of sharing
power with the very same people
who were intent on beating your brains out
yesterday. Indeed, it's pretty
difficult to be whole-heartedly in favour of
this arranged marriage when one
considers the very mixed messages coming out
from the country. Events over
the last week perfectly illustrate this
point.
The so-called Government of National Unity has been in
place for 44
days. On the surface all is sweetness and light; no more overt
inter-party
violence and the ordinary man and woman in the street now see
supermarket
shelves loaded with goods. Strange that no one tells us where
all these
goods have come from! Are we really supposed to believe that
Zimbabwe's own
food industy has suddenly swung into production again? The
truth, I
suspect, is that these are all imported goods. Incredibly, most
people - at
least in the urban areas - seem able to access foreign currency
to pay for
them. It's s very different story out in the villages. A friend
phoned me
the other day from my old hometown, right on the edge of a huge
rural area.
My friend wanted to thank me for a parcel I had sent him back in
January.
(It had just arrived!) Of course, I asked him about life now and
how he was
getting on under the new political dispensation; his cheerful
answers amazed
me. Admittedly, he is not the brightest or most astute
political observer
there is, but what worried me was the fact that he seemed
to have been
completely hoodwinked by the sugar, cooking oil and other
goodies that he
can now buy over the counter. I assume that my friend is now
paid in foreign
currency so he can find the necessary rands or dollars. "But
what about
Baba?" I asked, "How is he getting on down there in Mount Darwin?
He hasn't
got US dollars, how is he managing?" There was no real answer to
that
question but he did admit that 'Nzara' was still the problem down there
in
the rurals. 'Nzara' means only one thing, of course, no mealie meal for
sadza, that's the only food that really counts for rural Zimbabweans, unlike
their urban brothers and sisters who can fill their empty stomachs with
western take-away food. In the rural areas, food relief is controlled by the
chiefs and they are not known for their even-handed approach to members of
the opposition. What opposition you may ask? According to Robert Mugabe's
comments to the Norwegian envoy this week, "We no longer have an opposition
and we are working together towards the same goals we have set as
government." Ah, so now, it all becomes very clear! This is what Robert
Mugabe and his party mean by 'A unity government' The MDC cannot claim that
they were not warned; if you join this sham of a Unity government, you will
be swallowed up by Zanu PF. Already after just 44 days Zanu PF chefs are
telling people out in the rurals that there is no longer any opposition
party, they have merged with Zanu PF and all those people who had deserted
the ruling party must now come back to the one true party, Zanu PF, that won
them their liberation from the hated British imperialists. Will the people
swallow that lie? The answer, sadly, is that they may very well do just
that. After the long years of suffering and hardship under Mugabe's
disastrous misrule, people are only too ready to believe that Zanu PF have
had a change of heart and now want a genuine power-sharing government. The
sight of old enemies hand in hand, like the Deputy Prime Minister and the
Vice President at the recent Women's Day celebrations, seems to suggest that
all is indeed sweetness and light but fine words and hand clasps are not
enough to convince me that this is genuine unity. We should not forget that
Zanu PF as a political party is always in election mode and even now their
collective minds are concentrated on the next election in two years
time.
If this is a true 'transition' government than 2010 will be the
year
when Zimbabweans go to the polls again. We are told that the process of
constitutional reform is about to begin in accordance with the Agreement
signed between the parties. Let's hope that Zimbabweans have not forgotten
the deluge of violence that followed after the last Constitutional
Referendum when the people voted NO in February 2000. That defeat as I
remember was blamed on the whites, though even then they were less than 1%
of the population. And if Mugabe has his way there will be no white farmers
left at all in Zimbabwe by 2010. Fewer than 100 of them now remain
apparently and violent farm invasions have gone on all week. The MDC appears
powerless, or unwilling, to stop them for fear, perhaps, that such a move
will wreck the so-called Unity Government. The Finance Minister, Tendai
Biti, says that if Zimbabwe does not get financial assistance from the west
very soon the Unity Government will collapse and complete anarchy will
ensue. Perhaps the Honourable Bits needs to be reminded that the rest of the
world is watching events in Zimbabwe very closely and have made it
absolutely clear that there will be no budgetary assistance until human
rights, including property rights, are restored and all political prisoners
released. Robert Mugabe and his Foreign Minister Samuel Mumbengegwe both
deny that Zimbabwe has any political prisoners in its lice infested stinking
gaols but at the same time the MDC releases the names of abducted activists
whom they want released. Meanwhile, Mugabe refuses to swear in the MDC's
Deputy Agriculture Minister on the grounds that he is facing a serious
criminal charge.
My 'unpatriotic' question is what is really going
on in Zimbabwe? Jan
Raath, a respected journalist wrote this week that it
brought a lump into
his throat when he saw for the first time in ages
municipal workers in his
hometown of Harare clearing away piles of stinking,
rat-infested garbage
from the city streets. On the face of it, that
certainly seems a sign that
things are changing for the better but set that
beside eye witness accounts
of the conditions in Zimbabwe's gaols where men
and women are dying on a
daily basis of starvation, reduced, said Roy
Bennett, to emaciated skeletons
that he likened to Holocaust victims. And
this is happening under a 'Unity'
government! The truth is that 'Unity' is a
meaningless concept unless it is
a true partnership of equals. Looking in
from the outside, I see very few
signs that Mugabe and Zanu PF are really
committed to equal partnership and
true change in the country. It is much
more than 'changing Zimbabwe's image'
as Professor Mutambara would have us
believe; it's about changing the
reality of life for all
Zimbabweans.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson
author of
Going Home and Countdown, political detective stories set in
Zimbabwe.and
available on lulu.com.
According to a Zimbabwean
journalist whose comments I read this week,
it is now considered to be
'unpatriotic' in some circles to criticise the
Government of National Unity
- or Inclusive Government. Neither label
precisely describes the strange
hybrid that now purports to run the country
but many Zimbabweans both in and
outside the country must be finding it hard
to come to terms with the notion
of sharing power with the very same people
who were intent on beating your
brains out yesterday. Indeed, it's pretty
difficult to be whole-heartedly in
favour of this arranged marriage when one
considers the very mixed messages
coming out from the country and if that
comment can be regarded as
'unpatriotic' then I'm happy to plead guilty.
ZESA PLEASE STOP DISTRUBUTING POWER UNFAIRLY
WHEN WE ARE PAYING THE SAME
ESTIMATED BILLS.
I live in
Kuwadzana Phase 3 close to Dzivaresekwa ,since 2006 ZESA has
been
switching us off on a daily basis and sometimes people are made to
contribute Forex towards the reconnection of Electricity .My question to
ZESA is ,Why is it that there is preferential treatment when it comes to the
load Shedding. We are being switched off every day of our lives .We are
switched off between 5.30 AM to around 12 or 3 PM ,from 3 to five is the
time when we are given power only to be switched off at around 5.30 PM only
to be reconnected at around 10 PM . Given this scenario this simply means
we are getting less than seven hours time to use electricity of which most
of the time will be around midninght.We are calling the ZESA authorities to
investigate whether these power cuts are genuine or are done to facilitate
the oil drainage from substations as this is the time when ZESA employees
steal oil or their accomplices because a laymen from the street can not just
go into a sub station and drain oil ,honestly where does one start ? I have
checked with other areas and there are no severe power cuts as the ones we
are experiencing therefore we are calling upon the relevant authorities to
investigate these disruptions. We are not saying there should be no power
cuts but why is it that we are the ones who are always being cut off .Other
areas which are close to us do not even experience any power
cuts.
ZESA SHOULD INVESTIGATE AND STOP SUCH LOAD SHEDDINGS WHICH
ARE CAUSED BY
INDIVIDUALS WHO SOMETIMES DO IT FOR THEIR OWN BENEFITS ,SOME
HAVE FIREWOOD
BUSINESSES SOME RUN CANDLE BUSINESSES AND SOME BENEFIT FROM
THE
CONTRUBUTIONS FROM RESIDENTS.I WILL BE MONITORING THE SITUATION AND WILL
BE
UPDATING DAILY ON THESE UNFAIR PRACTICES.