Distressed Pensioner's Appeal Fund

TO ALL EX RHODESIAN / ZIMBABWEANS and Friends of that country
 
Dear friends,

I hate doing this sort of thing, as I am sure you chaps are already
contributing one way or another to those who find themselves in a
ghastly situation in Zimbabwe.
 
We were hoping that if you were not able to assist in any way, then
perhaps we could ask you if you could forward this email to anyone you
feel might be in a position to assist.
 
Kind regards
 
Lin Mehmel

==================================================

Distressed Pensioner's Appeal Fund
P.O. Box 99
Groot Drakenstein
South Africa 7680
 
Fax: +27 21 867 0895
E-mail: lmehmel@mweb.co.za
 
Trustees : L Mehmel, Dr J Driver-Jowitt, J & N Gaynor, L van der Byl, L
McKenzie
assisted by: E West, T Begemann

March 1 2006

TO ALL EX RHODESIAN / ZIMBABWEANS and Friends of that country
 
Dear friends,

The plight of pensioners trapped in Zimbabwe

This Fund has been supporting over 50 destitute, elderly pensioners in
Zimbabwe for more than 2 years. We have provided them with food parcels,
delivered through Meals on Wheels. There are many pensioners in that
country who are unable to leave because of their financial circumstances
and their ages.

Once a month a food parcel of dry goods (including tea, coffee, powder
milk, sugar, soya compound, soup, canned fish / meat, oil, jam, flour
and vitamin pills if they are available. Soap and lavatory paper brings
its own modicum of self-respect.) is delivered to their homes which
enables these pensioner to fend off starvation.

Over the next few months we will be sending you one or two emails on the
plight of some of these pensioners and we sincerely hope you will sign
up a monthly electronic donation into the Fund's bank account, to help
us raise the R 10 000 that we need to feed these people each month. A
once off donation would also be most welcome.

We also hope that you will help us recruit any ex Zimbabwean friends who
you may be in email contact with.

100% of what you donate will go directly to the pensioners in Zimbabwe.
There are no admin costs other than a few bank charges.

Our initial aim is to recruit just 100 regular, monthly donors, who if
they each donated R100 a month, would raise what we currently need to
feed these pensioners. Once we have secured 100, we will then look for
further donors to enable us to care for the many other pensioners in
that country who need our help.

The Funds bank account details to enter into you internet banking are,

The Zimbabwe Rhodesia Relief Fund (DPA)
Barclay Bank PLC
Account: 30997706
Branch code 205 300
United Kingdom

OR

Rhodesia/Zimbabwe Pensioner's
First National Bank, Paarl, South Africa. Project
Account: 62058039788
Branch code 200 110
South Africa

Please try and put yourself in the position in which these pensioners
find themselves. Accept and realise that we are virtually their only
source of assistance. Please help us look after the Zimbabweans who have
not been as fortunate as many of us have been, in re-establishing our
lives outside that country.

With kind regards

Lin Mehmel O.L.M.
Chairman and the Committee

Opinion: Facing a Zimbabwean genocide

Struggle in Zimbabwe

Calvin College Chimes

A call for action in a forgotten country
By Chris Kreft -- Guest Writer
When I was in high school, I had a friend named Zinzii. She belonged to the
Ndebele, a tribe that makes up about 20 percent of the population of
Zimbabwe. She was generally a happy person, she enjoyed life and she seemed
like any other student. But she also had a dark secret. In 1984, most of her
family was wiped out, murdered by soldiers of the state. She lost uncles,
cousins and grandparents. Her immediate family escaped to the capital city
of Harare to try to start over.

The government denied any reports of the ethnic cleansing - indeed, most of
the population of Zimbabwe would not believe that a massacre had occurred
and believed the claims of violence were falsifications made by enemies of
the nation. Thousands had been killed, hundreds tortured and raped. As a
result of the atrocities, the main Ndebele-led opposition party agreed to
merge with Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU party. ZANU has never acknowledged the
attack on the Ndebele.

Despite this tragedy, post-independence Zimbabwe was well on the way to
becoming a breadbasket for the surrounding nations of southern Africa.
President Robert Mugabe was magnanimous in his public statements, desiring
unity between the minority white population, the majority Shona tribe and
the Ndebele. His stance led to investor confidence in the nation, as well as
an expanding agricultural sector. Zimbabwe became a shining star with the
promise of success well within its grasp. This would not be another failed
African state.

Yet ZANU's lust for power that was evident early in Zimbabwe's history was
ultimately to turn this promise into a horrifying tragedy. Twenty years
later, the political system is rife with corruption, clientalism, violence
and fraud. Government officials have channeled national resources and
revenue to their own pockets, becoming extremely wealthy while devastating
the economy and the livelihoods of the poverty-stricken citizenry. Elections
are marked by the beatings, jailings and killings of opposing candidates and
voters, expulsion of election monitors from the country, and severe
oppression of the free press. Police and army forces rarely intervene, as
they are kept under tight rein by the government. Indeed, the security and
armed forces often take part in the violence and intimidation.

Yet these are only a few of the injustices brought to bear on the population
by the ruling party. Land reform programs that expelled skilled white
farmers and replaced them with government officials have driven agriculture
into severe decline, to the point that Zimbabweans today face starvation on
a massive scale. Government policy and drought have meant that about one
half of Zimbabwe's 12 million people do not have the food they need - a
situation which is exacerbated by the government's interference with and
siphoning off of food aid from the international community. Food aid is
frequently delivered on the basis of political allegiance. The list of
tragedies goes on and on.

The United States' government shows little concern for the situation in
Zimbabwe. Preoccupied with its own issues such as the war in Iraq, the
rebuilding of New Orleans and its concerns over nuclear proliferation in
North Korea and Iran, it sees Zimbabwe as low on its list of priorities. It
is a nation unlikely to become a breeding ground for terrorism directly
against the United States, and holds no significant strategic location.

Yet I believe God cries for this nation and for its suffering people. Are
we, as Christians, only able to care for the suffering of others when it is
within our own interests? Micah 6:8 tells us what God requires of us: "to
act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with your God." It is that first
requirement which I hope people here can identify with and really help make
a difference.

I ask you to care. To learn about the cases of injustice in the world and to
fight them. International pressure, particularly from Western powers, is
vital to the restoration of peace and justice to nations like Zimbabwe.
Write letters to those that can do something about it. Above all else,
please remember my country in your prayers. Have a heart for my home.

I'm Ready To Go To Jail Over Mass Confrontation - Tsvangirai

Zim Daily

            Friday, March 31 2006 @ 12:30 AM BST
            Contributed by: correspondent

             As the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gears
for mass confrontation with President Robert Mugabe's inept regime,
opposition deputies are sharply divided over the ways and means the proposed
mass protests should take. Top party sources told Zimdaily that there were
radical deputies who were strongly opposed to the fundamental strategy of
the MDC of peaceful-co-habitation with Zanu PF. This group is said to be
lobbying for street protests.

            However the group calling for a mass stayaway argues that a
combination of parliamentary and legal pressure together with a
deteriorating economic situation due to the sanctions will get them
peacefully into power. The deputies argue that there are not enough
protesters willing to take to the streets to force Mugabe from power. "They
argue those who would turn up for street protests would be arrested, hurting
the long-term prospects for growing the party," said a source.

            Sources said Morgan Tsvangirai has said "I am not afraid to go
to jail myself." Tsvangirai has not yet openly indicated the route he wants,
but he is on record saying "its one thing to be courageous and another thing
to make wreckless decisions in a way that won't be sustainable." Zimdaily
heard there was a group calling for "Ukraine Style Orange Revolution" but
the opposing group is said to have charged "Zimbabwe is not Ukraine - We
have to be realistic."

            Sources said the MDC was making wide consultations on the issue.
Some political analysts accuse the MDC leadership of lacking will, strategic
vision and personal courage to successfully spearhead a people's power
revolution. "I assure you that 70 percent of Zimbabweans are grossly unhappy
about the situation they are in and there is growing anger against the
government and the ruling party leadership," Heneri Dzinotyiwei, a leading
University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political commentator said.

            "But the challenge is to (craft) an approach where we have a
popular movement." Analysts say worsening food shortages and general
economic hardships would continue to feed into the anger of the majority,
who have been impoverished over the years. "It is going to be a sudden
explosion of mass anger because we are reaching the threshold of the
people's patience," Eldred Masunungure, chairman of the political science
department at the UZ said.

            In his acceptance speech delivered to about 16 000 enthusiastic
MDC supporters at the City Sports Centre a fortnight ago, Tsvangirai warned
of "a long bustling winter across the country." "From today, fellow
Zimbabweans, kindly save a penny and stock up where possible. A storm is
upon the horizon," Tsvangirai said. "I promise to lead from the front. I
promise to use all available resources and will-power to see off the tyranny
in Zimbabwe today; to assist in putting together the building blocks for a
new Zimbabwe and a new beginning," he said.

            But Masunungure said: "Such a programme will need good
organisational skills, courage and self-drive. He has put his reputation on
the line and it has to work because it could damage his standing,"
Masunungure said. Analysts say the Mugabe regime, with its party cadreship
and the state has the capacity to easily crush any attempted mass uprising.
Last week Home Affairs chief, Kembo Mohadi, told Zimdaily: "This treachery
has now gone beyond all forms of decency and must be stopped. The courts
must take note of Morgan Tsvangirai's open call for violence which, in
essence, constitutes high treason.

            " Zimdaily heard that "MDC middle class leadership" is
demobilising its radical base, denouncing the jambanja route. Analysts say
the commodification of resistance through NGO civic society has also
neutralised civic society. This includes the trade unions which are further
suffering from a corrupt unaccountable leaders, disillusioning the
membership.

Gono's Bank Posts $1,6 trillion Profit Amid Mass Starvation

Zim Daily

            Friday, March 31 2006 @ 12:28 AM BST
            Contributed by: correspondent
             Reserve bank governor Gideon Gono's financial institution, CBZ
Holdings has raked in a massive Z$1,6 trillion after tax profit,
representing a staggering 381% turnover growth. The massive profit growth
means the central bank chief joins the elite so-called "trillion dollar
club" in Harare. Gono's CBZ Holdings subsidiary CBZ Bank Limited made nearly
$1,49 trillion in after-tax profits in the six months to December 31, an
overall increase of nearly 381% percent on the previous comparable period,
where the bank made $310 billion.

            The profits, described as "excessive" by some analysts, arose
because the bank paid depositors almost zero interest and threw these cheap
funds into the money market, which was yielding as much as 700 percent. CBZ
Bank managing director and chief executive officer, Nyasha Makuvise, who is
Gono's handpicked strategist, said the group was now focusing its attention
on consolidating the business while also seeking alternative investments
that complements the group's current portfolio.
            "We are pleased with the results considering the operating
environment which characterised the period under review," Makuvise said in
audited financial results.

            "We have now set our sights on consolidating the group while
also looking out for other investments. We are not in a rush to acquire any
business, we will only do so after taking a lot of issues into considering,"
he added. CBZ Bank's balance sheet grew by 429% to close the financial year
at $13,88 trillion while deposits increased by 498%. CBZ's asset manager,
Datvest, after tax profit increased by 216% to close at $136 billion while
funds under management increased by 710% from $610 billion to $4,9 trillion.

            CBZ declared a dividend of $340 per share. The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe decided that last year's cheap borrowing was one reason for
inflation. Over the past six years, banks paid interest of zero to 10
percent while rates on the market were around 300 to 500 percent.To
discourage speculative borrowing, the central bank introduced what it called
financial bills, short-term paper with interest rates of 320 percent.
Analysts say the financial bills, intended as a deflationary measure, are
proving the reverse.

            The government still has to pay interest that is accumulating.
More than Z$1.3 trillion matured on one day in December. Analysts say high
interest rates have pushed several "indigenous" banks into financial
difficulties. Several quality indigenous banks were infected by depositors'
fears, which led to a flight to the "safety" of Zanu PF aligned banks such
as CBZ, First Bank and Zimbank. As the central bank tightened liquidity and
borrowing became more expensive, rewards to depositors remained static.

            Minimum lending rates are still around 600 percent while
deposits get 10 percent at most. Mast Stockbrokers economist Jonathan Waters
rapped "excessive" bank profits. "Banks had swathes of cheap cash this year,
which they either lent out at 500 to 600 percent or put into financial
bills. "In essence, they stole their depositors' funds as they paid them
next to nothing, and then lent it out at massive margins to the productive
sector, who they squeezed in order to make these excessive profits." The
staggering riches of CBZ is certainly cheering shareholders such as Gono as
they wallow in astonishing prosperity while the masses are starving.

Shaming "Vampire States" Part Two

TCS Daily

      By Marian Tupy :  31 Mar 2006

            Editor's Note: This article is the Part Two of a series on
African corruption and foreign aid.

            The callousness of African leaders often beggars belief.

            An acquaintance of mine used to be a U.S. diplomat. Among the
tasks he was given during his diplomatic career was to negotiate the
delivery of American food aid with the Southern Sudanese rebel leader John
Garang. For much of the period between 1962 and 2004, Sudan was engaged in a
bloody civil war between the Arabs in the north of the country and
Christians in the south. Millions of people lost their lives and many more
were starving.

            My acquaintance sought Garang's permission for the United States
to commence the food relief operation. After much negotiation, Garang
graciously agreed to have his people fed courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. He
then demanded to know how much of an import tariff he could impose on the
U.S. food aid without irking the American government. My acquaintance
informed him that making money out of American food aid was "out of the
question." It should be mentioned that John Garang was a highly educated
man -- he received a PhD in agricultural economics from the Iowa State
University -- and was generally considered to be one of Africa's more
enlightened leaders.

            Import tariffs are among the most damaging means by which
African political elites inflict pain on their subject populations. Many
African leaders have called for further trade liberalization in the past.
But, although they urge an end to protectionist policies in rich countries,
African leaders refuse to open their own markets to foreign competition. For
example, the African Union (AU) meeting in Libya last June called for "the
abolition of [the rich countries'] subsidies that stand as an obstacle to
trade." The meeting produced no concrete results on intra-African trade
liberalization, however. That is unfortunate, because Africa remains one of
the most protectionist regions in the world. While rich countries reduced
their average applied tariffs by 84 percent between 1983 and 2003 (to 3.9
percent), African countries only reduced theirs by 20 percent (to 17.7
percent). Strikingly, some of the highest tariffs on African exports are
imposed by other African countries.

            The World Bank has recently estimated the value of Africa's
income growth resulting from full liberalization of global merchandise
trade. Taking 2001 as the base year, the authors estimated that by 2015
annual income growth in Africa would be $4.8 billion greater than it would
have been had no trade liberalization taken place. Trade liberalization in
rich countries would only account for $1.92 billion of those gains. The rest
would come out of trade liberalization in the poor countries, including
Africa itself. Accordingly, the World Bank found that income gains from
regional trade liberalization in Africa would account for $1.75 billion by
2015, or more than 36 per cent of all the gains that Africa stands to
receive from full liberalization of global merchandise trade. To put it
differently, Africa stands to gain almost as much from regional trade
liberalization as from greater access to rich countries' markets.

            African leaders are often oblivious to the negative effects of
trade protectionism. They see trade through the prism of vested domestic
interests. Speaking at the AU meeting, for example, Uganda's trade
ambassador Nathan Irumba urged African leaders to "reject the straightjacket
of radical tariff reductions, which would pose terrible risks for our
domestic industries and jobs." The hungry multitude in dirty rags that could
be fed and clothed more cheaply does not feature in Mr. Irumba's thinking or
the thinking of those like him. But the most revolting example of African
leader's callousness must surely be taxation of foreign medicines and
medical equipment.

            Death and Taxes in Africa

            The United Nations' Human Development Index (UNHDI) measures
human development or basic living standards on a scale from 0 to 1, with 0
being the lowest and 1 being the highest score. The score for Africa south
of the Sahara was 0.468 in 2003. In contrast, the score for the world's
richest countries was 0.929. In fact, Africa's score was lower than that of
the developing world as a whole (0.655). According to the UNHDI, Africa lags
behind most of the world in practically all indicators of human well-being.
Africans suffer from shorter life spans; higher infant mortality; a higher
incidence of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis; and higher incidence of
undernourishment. Yet, African governments have a dirty little secret -- the
role they themselves play in making the suffering of their people even
worse.

            In a recent paper entitled "Taxed to Death," Roger Bate, Richard
Tren and Jasson Urbach from a non-governmental organization called Africa
Fighting Malaria, estimated the amount of taxes that governments of some of
the world's poorest countries impose on imports of medicines from overseas.
In 2005, the authors found, the combined value of the import tariff and
value added tax on foreign medicines was 38 percent in Kenya, 36.2 percent
in Tanzania, 31 percent in Uganda and 28 percent in Nigeria. In Zimbabwe,
where AIDS and government's ruinous policies have caused the life expectancy
to fall from 56 years in 1993 to 30 years in 2005, the government taxes
foreign medicines at a rate of 22.5 percent.

            The per capita GNI in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria was
$460, $330, $270 and $390 in 2004. (In Zimbabwe, inflation runs at 600
percent per year, making determination of living standards difficult). The
combined effect of low incomes and high tariffs on imported medicines makes
access to essential medicines in Africa difficult. According to the authors
of "Taxed to Death," at least half of Kenya's and Nigeria's citizens lacked
access to essential drugs in 1999, while at least 20 percent of Tanzanians
and Ugandans had no access to vital medicines when they needed them.

            Or consider the case of the war-torn Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). According to a January 2006 report in the British medical
journal The Lancet, the conflict in the DRC was killing approximately 38,000
people each month. Yet, the combined value of taxes on foreign medicines in
the DRC was 21.8 percent in 2005. To buy U.S. medicine worth $100 (transport
costs included), in other words, a Congolese citizen would have to pay 8.8
percent import tariff and 13 percent value added tax, bringing the overall
cost of the medicine to $123. The gross national income (GNI) per capita in
the DRC, it should be noted, was $120 in 2004.

            The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiative on "Open Access
to Enhanced Healthcare" would eliminate tariffs on all products classified
in Chapter 30 of the World Trade Organization's harmonized system of
exports, as well as many Chapter 29 items. Goods classified in Chapter 30
include manufactured pharmaceutical products, while goods classified in
Chapter 29 include basic organic compounds that are used in the manufacture
of pharmaceuticals. If successful, the USTR initiative would see tariff
elimination with respect to life-saving vaccines, antibiotics and vitamins,
and a variety of medical and dental equipment, not to mention such simple
items as gauze and bandages.

            The response of African governments will be keenly watched. They
will have a choice between improving the lives of the African people and
preserving the system of political patronage that benefits corrupt officials
and domestic production monopolies. The same applies to non-governmental
organizations, such as Oxfam, which have been calling on Africa to retain
its tariffs on imports from abroad. For if tariff reduction on medicines and
medical goods makes moral, not to mention economic, sense, why not extend
the same logic to clothing, food and industrial machinery -- all of which
would make the lives of African masses more bearable? The office of the U.S.
Trade Representative has issued a direct challenge to the protectionists
around the world. What will their response be?

            Marian L. Tupy is assistant director of the Cato Institute's
Project on Global Economic Liberty

Bridge Construction Delays Remain Stumbling Block for Park Operation

The Herald (Harare)

March 30, 2006
Posted to the web March 30, 2006

Victoria Muringayi
Harare

DELAYS in the construction of the Great Limpopo bridge continues to be a
stumbling block in the completion of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park,
with tourists facing difficulties in accessing Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou
National Park.

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a mega park comprising the Kruger
National Park in South Africa, Limpopo National Park in Mozambique and
Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe. Great Limpopo and Kruger national parks have a
direct road network that links the two parks while Gonarezhou does not have
a link with the two making Zimbabwe the least developed between the three
countries. The mega park will only become fully operational when animals and
people from the three countries are able to move freely between the
countries without any restrictions.

Visitors from Kruger and Limpopo are still facing problems in crossing to
Gonarezhou national Park due to the lack of a direct road network. Parks and
Wildlife Management Authority director general, Dr Morris Mtsambiwa said,
"tourists from the two parks need to travel quite a considerable distance
from Great Limpopo and then to Ngundu where they will get a direct link to
the Gonarezhou national park." "The tourists from South Africa and Mo
zambique will get easy access and less fuel is required to travel as it will
be one way but they have to travel long distances to get to the Zimbabwean
side because there is no direct road link on the Limpopo, and this is a
major draw back hence the need to construct the bridge as early as
possible," Dr Mtsambiwa said.

In addition he said the authority this year will be focusing more on the
construction of the bridge, the position of the bridge has already been
approved, the board and the management are still looking for funds for the
construction. The Limpopo bridge construction will also benefit South Africa
and Mozambique hence the three countries are jointly looking for funding.
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has been given a $100 billion grant
from the Government this year and it expected to get additional funding for
its projects. The authority so far has received $15 billion from the $100
billion grant, and $10 billion has been disbursed to the Rural Electrif
ication Agency to cover the authority's outstanding debt on electricity
installations while $5 billion has been used for acquiring equipment for the
refurbishment of lodges at Gonarezhou and also servicing of road networks in
the park. Construction of the bridge is expected to be complete before the
World Cup soccer tournament scheduled for 2010 in South Africa.

Mozambique and South Africa have developed their parks and tourists are
already flocking into the two parks with Kruger receiving at least 1,3
million tourists annually. Were it not for delays in the construction of the
bridge, Zimbabwe would also be receiving many tourists and benefiting from
the park. Last year, the parks authority embarked on a refurbishment
programme at Gonarezhou which covered electrical installations, the
construction of road networks and the building of infrastructure around the
area. The megapark is a 95 000 square-kilometre park with South Africa
holding 58 percent, Mozambique 24 percent and Zimbabwe 18 percent.

A call for a new national consensus

New Zimbabwe

By Concerned Zimbabweans
Last updated: 03/31/2006 13:00:59
TWENTY six years after independence, in the wake of a protracted people's
rebellion against colonial rule and struggle for self-determination dating
back to 1890 which was benchmarked by 15 years of a costly armed
insurrection between 1965 and 1980, Zimbabwe is once again at the crossroads
pregnant with a people's revolution: chimurenga che vanhu or umvukela
wabantu.

The stark reality in Zimbabwe today that cannot be denied by any responsible
person across the political divide is that the organization and management
of the national economy has collapsed along with the delivery of essential
public services at a time when our country has become more isolated from the
international community than at any other time in its history.

This in turn has taken a devastating toll not only on the performance of
business enterprises and public institutions many of which have been
crippled beyond their purpose but has also destroyed the livelihood of
ordinary people who can no longer make ends meet in very harsh economic
conditions. Chronic suffering among Zimbabweans has become endemic.

To repeat, the living disaster for Zimbabweans today is that the
organization and management of the national economy has collapsed together
with key public institutions while we have become isolated as a country as a
direct result of the bad policies of the ruling few in Zanu PF.

Even the opprobrium of Rhodesia was not as isolated as we have become. This
disaster is a monumental crisis.
What makes this bad situation worse is the unprecedented fact that the
ruling Zanu PF government does not have the national vision, political will
and technical competence to resolve the crisis. Widespread paralysis has
become the order of the day in the public service.

The manifest symptoms of this crisis include inflation that last February
hit 782%, and is now threatening to break the four digit barrier,
unemployment that is over 85%, poverty that is over 90% with rampant
corruption that has become the norm in officialdom.

Basic goods and commodities, including fuel and maize meal, have become
either unavailable or unaffordable. As things stand, the United Nations
estimates that some four million Zimbabweans are in desperate need of food
while more than 3 000 die a week due HIV/AIDS related illnesses including
malnutrition.

Zimbabweans are now finding it very hard to access or afford health care or
to send their children to school. This has been worsened by the wanton
destruction by the ruling Zanu PF government of the homes or livelihood or
both for 18% of the population that survived on what was before then a
thriving informal sector.

Meanwhile the business community has lost confidence in the national
economy, that is now being treated as an outcast by international markets,
as the high interest rates in a hyperinflationary environment have combined
with poor access to forex and uncertain property rights, especially over
land and mining, to make Zimbabwe the worst country in the world outside a
war zone to do business with.

As already mentioned what makes this bad situation for Zimbabwean businesses
and consumers worse, apart from or even in addition to international
isolation, is the unprecedented fact that the ruling Zanu PF government is
clueless about what to do as it is without a requisite national vision,
political will and technical competence to understand the unfolding crisis,
let alone to resolve it. The Zanu PF government is totally bewildered and
absolutely overwhelmed by the crisis and this explains why there is now
widespread paralysis in government.

A major reason why the government bureaucracy is now bewildered and
overwhelmed by the crisis arising from the collapse of the national economy,
and its international isolation, both caused by the ruling few in Zanu PF to
the point of paralysis, is because the resolution of the crisis now requires
much more than policy firefighting by bureaucrats or tinkering with economic
symptoms such as inflation and corruption that have been glibly declared by
government as the country's two competing top enemies.

What is now required is a thorough going structural reform of the country's
system of national and local governance and a redefinition of the rights and
responsibilities of citizens in constitutional terms along with a
comprehensive structural reform of the national economy from one based on
the delivery fiction of the centralized state to one based on the realities
of the market against the backdrop of the dynamics and challenges of
technology and globalization.

In effect what is required is a new national consensus, to wit, a new
societal order driven by a new social contract rooted in the values of
democratic nationalism; values that forever pay homage to the legacy and
gains of our heroic liberation struggle while respecting the individual
human being, building strong local communities and staying alive to the
power of the market economy and the advantages of technology in a globalized
world in which we, as Zimbabweans, must pursue our dreams while also
discharging our commensurate international responsibilities and meeting our
obligations.

We know for a fact that many Zimbabweans, who for understandable historical
reasons dating back to our liberation struggle are either members of Zanu PF
or have supported Zanu PF, are disappointed and even dismayed by the
inescapable fact that the leadership of the ruling party has over the years
become too self-indulgent and too selfish to the point of becoming too
irresponsible about issues of national governance as now evidenced by the
collapse of our national economy and the unprecedented international
isolation of our country. Virtually all of the original ideals of Zanu PF as
a liberation movement have been compromised and corrupted by a clique of
individuals who have substituted themselves for the ruling party and even
the country under self-serving claims of sovereignty.

While our country is burning, and the people are suffering to the core,
these self-serving individuals in power are busy preoccupying themselves
with petty issues around President Robert Mugabe's succession that has
already been arranged in favour of Joyce Mujuru and are in the process
corrupting the law through the making of cynical piecemeal constitutional
amendments to further entrench their political positions while abusing some
elements of national security forces to settle scores against perceived
enemies.

That is why Zanu PF today does not have any shared ideology and why the only
thing keeping the ruling party together precariously is the mere fact of
controlling the government. Sadly, that government is now in an
irretrievable paralysis, unable to deliver the required goods and services
to the people and unable and unwilling to reform.

It would be a tragedy and a travesty of human responsibility if the
corruption and abuse of Zanu PF by the clique of individuals in power is
allowed to lead to the wholesale damnation and indiscriminate condemnation
of the many members and supporters of Zanu PF who have also, like everyone
else, fallen victim to the machinations of the ruling few in government.

Zanu PF, after all, is just a name. More to the point, Zanu PF is now beyond
internal reform as amply demonstrated by the dramatic events of November
2004 leading to the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration. The many in Zanu PF
who are among the suffering Zimbabweans have no reason to die for a name
that now specifically and exclusively represents the few individuals who are
in power and who are against the necessary political and economic reforms.

Therefore the new national consensus, as a People's Revolution, must
particularly embrace the many in Zanu PF who have been crowded out and who
are now among the suffering Zimbabweans due to the collapse of our national
economy and the international isolation of our country caused by the ruling
few in Zanu PF.

Outside Zanu PF, the emergence of a new national consensus has been blurred
and blunted by the recent unfortunate divisions that have rocked the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), leaving it with two
factions.

These divisions have serious negative national implications in two respects.
In the first instance, the ruling few in Zanu PF have been buoyed by the
divisions which they have conveniently interpreted to mean the death of the
opposition. That is why there is now palpable arrogance in the ranks of the
ruling party regarding attitudes towards the opposition in general as the
belief in the ruling party is now that the real challenge is within Zanu PF
in terms of the ongoing factional and tribal struggles to succeed President
Mugabe. Even voter apathy, such as was witnessed in the recent Chegutu
mayoral election and Bulawayo council by elections, have been interpreted by
Zanu PF propagandists to mean that support for the ruling party is growing!

Secondly, in addition to giving Zanu PF a false sense of comfort which has
become a breeding ground for the new arrogance of power in the ruling party,
the MDC divisions have dispirited not just the members of the MDC as it
originally was but, and even more damaging, the divisions have also
dispirited the general population which is directly being affected by the
collapse of the economy caused by the ruling Zanu PF few. Yet the general
public, reeling from the harsh economic conditions, was beginning to look to
the opposition for alternative constitutional, institutional and policy
remedies.

This development has been further complicated by the very worrying fact that
the MDC divisions have been reproduced and spread within civil society
groups, the media and donors active in funding NGO work in Zimbabwe all of
whom have taken sides in support of one or the other of the two feuding
factions. The development could not have come at worse time given the
effects of the economic and institutional collapse on ordinary people
everywhere across the country and it does not assist the growth of the
democratic process in any way.
As a result, the national mood in Zimbabwe is now thoroughly dispirited and
thus circumspect about the capacity and prospect of the opposition to be
united and focused given the task at hand.

There is no serious minded Zimbabwean who believes that a divided opposition
can dislodge the ruling few who are using the name of Zanu PF to destroy the
economy and to cause the international isolation of our country in pursuit
of their selfish and corrupt ends for more personal power.

As recent experiences in countries like Zambia, Malawi and Kenya readily
show, it is not possible for a divided opposition to foster democratic
change and to engender democratic constitutionalism and good national and
local governance.
This is particularly so in a country, such as Zimbabwe today, where the
national economy and public institutions have collapsed and where essential
services such as food, health, education, housing and transport are no
longer available or affordable. In such a situation, what is necessary in
the opposition is a nationalist democratic movement that becomes EVERYONE'S
PARTY! This is what a People's Revolution is all about.

In fact, the collapse of the economy and public institutions, the increased
international isolation of Zimbabwe, the policy paralysis in government, the
ideological alienation of the majority of Zanu PF members and supporters and
the dispiriting divisions in the opposition have all combined to create very
dangerous social conditions that could spark spontaneous violence and plunge
Zimbabwe into social chaos and deep seated instability.

Zimbabwe today needs everyone's party, bringing people together across the
political divide as the summation of a People's Revolution, to provide the
new national consensus based on a new national vision for a new viable and
sustainable societal order with ethos that are just and equitable. This
would play a major part towards conflict prevention.

The People's Revolution would address the collapse of public institutions
and the economy and the international isolation of Zimbabwe by designing and
implementing the necessary comprehensive structural and policy reforms in
both national governance and the economy.

To get started, there is a critical need for some neutral organization
preferably a national NGO or some clergy representatives or, because the
crisis now admittedly has an intrinsic international dimension, even the
International Crisis Group (ICG) to urgently facilitate dialogue among key
representatives of opposition parties and civic society groups along with
key opinion makers towards the formation of EVERYONE'S PARTY as an
expression of the People's Revolution in response to the collapse of public
institutions and the national economy including the international isolation
of Zimbabwe caused by the ruling few in Zanu PF who are opposed to political
and economic reform.

A critical step in this regard would be the identification of a "neutral"
rallying point that could be supported by everyone across the political
divide, and could be an effective mobilization tool, given the breadth and
depth of the economic crisis on the ground and its negative impact on
everyone regardless of their position in society.

One such possible rallying point is the call for the harmonization of
presidential and parliamentary elections by 2008. This call should
specifically be made as a response to the deepening plight of the consumers
and businesses in Zimbabwe. There is an urgent need for new popular politics
and new mobilization strategies built around the worsening all inclusive
plight of consumers and businesses.

Already, there is a growing national consensus that presidential and
parliamentary elections should be held concurrently. The few in Zanu PF who
are controlling the government have hinted that they might table
constitutional amendments to harmonize presidential and parliamentary
elections in 2010.

Under the Zanu PF proposal, when President Mugabe's constitutional tenure
expires in March 2008, which is less than 24 months away, Zimbabweans would
be denied their right to vote as Zanu PF would use its controversial and
contested technical two-thirds majority in Parliament to vote for a
"transitional President" to serve between 2008 and 2010. That transitional
president would be the unelectable Joyce Mujuru whom Zanu PF queen makers
fear cannot win a popular election within 24 months and therefore needs to
be protected from a popular vote until she is able to use the patronage
spoils of being president in office to try and win votes.

Allowing Zanu PF to postpone presidential elections to 2010, thus denying
Zimbabweans their birth right to vote for a President of their choice
between 2008 and 2010 would be an attack on the fundamental voting rights of
the people and should not be accepted under any circumstance.

It is in this regard, that the calling for the harmonization of presidential
and parliamentary elections to take effect by 2008 by the People's
Revolution would be an important strategic rallying point. This would also
have an added advantage of agenda setting for democratic forces regarding
not only the need for a new democratic constitution, whose content should be
agreed ahead of the 2008 harmonized presidential and parliamentary elections
for implementation within 100 days of a new democratic order after the
elections, but also for the design and adoption of a new market based
economic recovery programme supported by the international community.

Here is a summary of the concluding point: (1) There is a need for a neutral
facilitator to bring together key representatives of political parties,
civic society groups, business organizations and key opinion makers to
brainstorm over the creation of a united opposition front representing the
People's Revolution;

(2) The united opposition front, the People's Revolution would come about in
order to specifically find a solution to Zimbabwe's collapsed public
institutions, national economy and the international isolation of the
country by addressing the worsening plight of consumers and businesses;

(3) To galvanize the nation and mobilize popular support for the People's
Revolution to solve address the collapse of public institutions, national
economy and international isolation of Zimbabwe, there must be a political
rallying point which is acceptable across the political divide and the one
rallying point suggested here is the harmonization of presidential and
parliamentary elections by 2008 and this would open the floodgates for real
democratic action in favour of the much needed political and economic
reforms;

(4) the united front would then use this rallying point to secure agreement
on a new constitution and new economic blueprint for the country to take
effect within 100 days of the new government after the harmonized elections;

(5) Because there is now less than 24 months before the expiry of President
Mugabe's term in March 2008, and because conditions that could spark
spontaneous violent conflict are now present, action must begin now.
PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION, CHIMURENGA CHE VANHU, UMVUKELA WABANTU

MDC must stop its war now!

New Zimbabwe

      DANIEL FORTUNE MOLOKELE: THE VIRTUAL NATION

      By Daniel Fortune Molokele
      Last updated: 03/31/2006 13:01:52
      IN MYentire life, I would not have imagined myself writing such a kind
of passionate appeal to the MDC as Zimbabwe's opposition.

      But the events of the last few weeks have made it necessary for me to
do so. This appeal has been occasioned by the bad news that contrary to my
hopes and expectations, the two MDC groups have now started to undermine
each other unnecessarily.

      Indeed, if the media reports and emails I am receiving are anything to
go by, then there is certainly no love lost between the two groups.

      But before I proceed any further, I feel that I need to qualify myself
first. I am writing this letter as a concerned Zimbabwean citizen. I am also
writing this letter as an active member of the pro-democratic forces that
have fought the Zanu regime in the past decade also. I have also been a key
member of the fledging Diaspora civic society movement especially here in
South Africa.

      I also need to hasten to add the fact that I am not specifically a
member of either of the MDC groups. In fact, I was never a member of the
original MDC as from 1999 till its unceremonious demise on 12th October
2005.

      I am writing this letter because I believe that in spite of the
serious setback that the Zimbabwean opposition politics has suffered in the
last six months or so, I still believe that the MDC has a key role to play
in the fight for a new democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe. I still believe
that both the MDC groups and other non-Zanu PF political platforms we have
can still be re-organised and galvanized for a continued assault on the
regime.

      However, for that to happen, I believe that the opposition in Zimbabwe
must totally guard against the danger of losing focus on the real challenges
facing them. The opposition must focus on going back to the drawing board
and come up with a revised strategy to re-engage the despotic regime. The
opposition must invest its resources in rationalizing and mitigating the
ghastly consequences of the October 2005 devolution. It must seek to unite
itself against a common challenge that we all have come to know as Zanu-PF.

      It is thus so sad for me to realize that there has been a disturbing
rise in the number of public clashes between the two MDC groups. Of late,
both the media and my mailbox have been awash with allegations and
counter-allegations emanating from both sides of the MDC divide. Matters
have now come to a head with the reports that the Zimbabwe Republic Police
had to be called over so as to avert a potential bloody public clash between
the two groups. This sad event is said to have happened on the sidelines of
a Chitungwiza rally that had been organized by the AGO Mutambara led group.

      There are also reports that members of one of the factions recently
ambushed a car being driven by members belonging to the other group. It is
further alleged that they violently took the vehicle from them and drove it
away.

      What causes a big heartache for me is that many Zimbabweans have been
injured and even killed over the years due to State sponsored terror at the
hands of the Zanu-PF regime. Official MDC estimates insist that over 300
cadres have died since the MDC was launched in 1999. Many more have been
victimized, raped, tortured and forced to leave the country.

      I know for certain that the MDC has a lot of its cadres here in South
Africa who were forced by the brutality of the Zanu regime to cross over the
Limpopo. Some of them are now living in abject penury and are social
delinquents that desperately need to be rehabilitated. Some even need
immediate trauma therapy treatment. The point is that there are a lot of
people out there who have been prepared to pay even the ultimate price of
sacrificing their lives for the new Zimbabwe we have always aspired to have.

      The news that the MDC is now fighting against itself in the dusty
streets of Chitungwiza is such an affront to their sacrifices over the
years. Surely some who are dead like Talent Mabika and Tichaona Chiminya
must be turning in their graves!

      The point I am trying to say is that this is a very sad development
that we all need to view with great alarm and despondency. In fact if we are
not very careful, there is now a high possibility that members of either MDC
groups might die soon due to the internecine public clashes between the two
groups.

      It is one thing for a Zimbabwean to die in hope for a new democratic
dispensation but it is another for them to die due to clashes between the
MDC groups. No political party, be it Zanu, pro or anti-Senate MDC, Zapu,
UPM, UPP et cetera is worthy dying for. Indeed, no politician, be it Robert
Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara, Jonathan Moyo, Paul Siwela,
Daniel Shumba, et cetera is worthy dying for.

      All the political parties and politicians who lead them are nothing
without the people they are supposed to lead. They cannot expect themselves
to be voted by dead voters. They cannot expect themselves to count the
coffins instead of the ballot papers for them to achieve their ambitions.
Each Zimbabwean life must be considered so precious by all of them so as to
ensure that this culture of political violence comes to an end. To that end,
all of them must not only condemn violence in public but must also confront
it in the privacy of the ranks of their party faithful.

      I therefore appeal to both Tsvangirai and Mutambara; please stop the
unnecessary war against yourselves. Please try to mend your differences and
lead our people to a new Zimbabwe that does not tolerate any form of
political violence and hatred.

      Daniel Molokele is a Zimbabwean Human Rights Lawyer and is based in
Johannesburg. He can be contacted at zimvirtualnation@yahoo.com

ANZ lawyers seek decisive court order on licence

New Zimbabwe

By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 03/31/2006 13:00:56
THE Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) has lodged papers with the High
Court seeking it to be deemed registered after the information minister
Tichaona Jokonya and the Media and Information Commission failed to
deal with the matter as directed by the same court.

Earlier this week, it was reported that ANZ lawyers were seeking to have
their application reviewed by an independent panel, and indeed their legal
team had confirmed the developments.

However, the lawyers appear to have revised their ambitions upwards in court
papers seen by New Zimbabwe.com on Thursday, but filed earlier in the week.

In a judgment delivered on February 8, Justice Rita Makarau set aside the
MIC decision to deny the publishers of the now defunct Daily News and Daily
News on Sunday and ordered that the application be considered again.

Although section 66 (3) of the Access to Information and Protection and
Privacy Act (Aippa) stipulates that the application ought to be heard within
a month, the time lapsed with no action on the part of the MIC, resulting in
the matter spilling back into the High Court.

"It is ordered that applicant is deemed registered as a mass media service
in terms of section 66 of the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act, Chapter 10:27," reads part of the outline of an order sought by
ANZ.

They also seek the MIC to be ordered to issue ANZ a certificate of
registration and to pay the costs of the suit.

The ANZ added that it had resorted to legal action because various
communications to Jokonya had been ignored.

The drawn-out legal wrangle between the ANZ and the MIC has gone from court
to court ever since The Daily News and its Sunday edition were first banned
by the MIC in September 2003. In February 2004, the battle reached the
supreme court, which took more than a year to issue a decision.

The supreme court finally issued its ruling on 14 March 2005, quashing the
MIC's ban on the newspapers and forcing it to reconsider the ANZ's request
for a licence within 60 days. Although this deadline expired on 15 May, the
MIC waited until 16 June to consider the ANZ's request.

After two days of deliberations, on 16 and 17 June, MIC chairman Tafataona
Mahoso refused to make any statement aside from saying the newspapers would
be notified when a decision had been made. He did not explain what that
meant. The MIC finally announced its refusal to give the ANZ a licence on 18
July, as a result of which the ANC immediately challenged the decision
before the Harare high court.

The MIC's decision was subsequently criticised by a member of the MIC board
after he had resigned. The former board member said the chairperson was
pressured into refusing the licence by Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO).

Chombo to decide Gwindi's fate

New Zimbabwe

By Lebo Nkatazo
Last updated: 03/31/2006 13:00:53
TRUANT suspended Harare's director of waste management and Local Government's
Minister Ignatius Chombo's blue-eyed-boy, Leslie Gwindi, has been found
guilty of indiscipline on four of the five charges he was facing.

Gwindi, a former council spokesperson before his elevation to the post of
director, however escaped the absentism charge, but was convicted on other
charges arising from failure to respect his suspension conditions. These
included continuing to access council fuel while on suspension.

Gwindi's reign as director of waste maangement was punctuated by
accumulating rubbish and on the streets, and a deadly outbreak of cholera
which claimed claimed at least seven lives.

His fate now lies in Chombo's hands as a board within his ministry has the
final say on council decisions.

This is not the first time that Gwindi has run into problems at Harare's
Town House.

In 2002 he was sacked by council, then under MDC mayor Elias Mudzuri, but
the Zanu PF apologist said, revealed to be HIV positive in court by a former
girlfriend, refused to surrender the official car, cellphone and office
keys.

Mudzuri's council had contended that Gwindi's appointment by the government
appointed Elijah Chanakira Commission was irregular.

However, Chombo brought him back through the backdoor after dismissing
Mudzuri and MDC's Harare councilors.

Farmers Using Child Labour On A2 Farms - GAPWUZ

The Herald (Harare)

March 30, 2006
Posted to the web March 30, 2006

Harare

PALTRY wages in the agricultural industry have seen an increase of the use
of child labour, particularly on A2 farms where workers are making their
children work as labourers to supplement family income.

In an interview yesterday, General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union
of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) deputy general secretary Mr Gift Muti said cases of
child labour were on the increase in poorly paid families. "A survey we
carried out between January and March has revealed that there has been a
steady increase in instances where children provide cheap labour on A2
farms. This is a direct result of the harsh economic climate as the parents'
meagre wages cannot send the children to schools," he said.

He also said the now rampant use of the "Learn and Earn" concept, whereby
children receive education in return for their labour, was more of a veiled
form of child exploitation. "Commercial farmers have been abusing the idea
of a "Learn and Earn" programme; for instance, they have been offering the
children task-related labour, rather than the time-related one. This means
that in most cases the children are working when they are supposed to be in
school. "The long hours, thus, mean t hat the children's academic
performances tend to be below average, a situation that is perpetuating the
poverty cycle among farming communities. Therefore, GAPWUZ, together with
the agricultural National Employment Council and the Agricultural Labour
Bureau (ALB), are currently on the negotiating table for another upward
review of farm workers' wages. We believe that an effective salary structure
is the best way of dealing with this problem. In two weeks time, we should
be able to outlay the results of our negotiations," he said.

Salaries for farm labourers were reviewed early last month from a minimum
wage of $665 000 to $1,3 million a month, but have remained far below the
poverty datum line, which is around $21 million a month.

UMP Farmers Cultivate 12 Million Jatropha Trees

The Herald (Harare)

March 30, 2006
Posted to the web March 30, 2006

Wenceslaus Murape
Murehwa

COMMUNAL farmers in Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe have cultivated more than 12
million plants of jatropha curcas as the national bio-diesel project gathers
momentum.

The project translates to 4 000 hectares of the plant. In an interview, UMP
district administrator Mr Gibson Munhuwei said some farmers who had
initially grown jatropha as part of their fencing system, were already
preparing to harvest the seeds. "As you must be aware, UMP is in zone one
for jatropha production because there are extensive plants and villagers
experienced in growing them. Villagers were mainly using the plant as a
hedge, but many of the plants are well established and some of the villagers
are ready to harvest the seeds," said Mr Munhuwei.

On how they managed to plant in excess of 12 million plants, he said the
district had made it mandatory for every primary school child in UMP to
cultivate 10 plants, secondary school pupils 15 plants, village heads 1 000
plants, headman 2 500 plants and every chief 5 000 plants. "These targets
have been successfully applied throughout the whole constituency of UMP and
we never had any serious problems with seedlings and cutt ings because the
jatropha is found in abundance here. The local authority has also
established its own plantation of 1 000 plants, while heads of Government
departments have put up 1 000 plants," said Mr Munhuwei. "Ever since it was
announced that jatropha is now a cash crop, there has been an unprecedented
scramble for the plant in the constituency. Everyone is zealous about the
prospects of lining their pockets with sales from the seeds, and they are
really yet to believe it until the first tonne is paid for from the area,"
said Mr Munhuwei.

He said the database of what has been planted in UMP makes the district
arguably the biggest implementer of the jatropha-biodiesel feedstock
production project launched by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Fuel and
Power Import Substitution last year. "We profoundly hope that
non-governmental organisations will donate to us an oil processing, soap
making and bio-diesel plant like the one donated in Mudzi by the Canadian
International Development Agency. Everyone is free to come and assess
progress we have made on the ground," said Mr Munhuwei. The developments in
UMP came at a time when critics have been saying that Zimbabwe will take
long to come up with enough jatropha feedstock and have the capacity to
produce fuel. The advantage of UMP is that it has parts which are virtually
semi-arid and degraded, conditions that suit the jatropha plant and a
blessing in disguise to villagers in the drought prone area who stand to
harvest for up to 50 years from the plants. Analysts have been pointing out
the need for a national feed-stock production programme for jatropha, and
initiatives by communities on their own -- like in UMP -- will go a long way
in helping the country achieve its objectives of having 10 percent of fossil
diesel consumption per year coming from bio-diesel.

Maize Producer Price: Farmers Recommend $15m Per Tonne

The Herald (Harare)

March 30, 2006
Posted to the web March 30, 2006

Bulawayo Bureau
Harare

FARMERS are seeking a maize producer price of at least $15 million a tonne
from the $2 million gazetted last year, citing high production costs.

The Ministry of Agriculture is expected to announce the new price soon and
industry officials say they have already submitted their recommendations.
Zimbabwe Farmers' Union (ZFU) president Mr Silas Hungwe yesterday said that
farmers wanted "a viable price" after experiencing a tough 2005/6
agricultural season. "A favourable maize producer price is important in
ensuring that farmers are able to sustain operations," Mr Hungwe told
Business Chronicle in a telephone interview. "Our members are of the view
that a maize producer price of about $15 million a tonne will be ideal,"
said Mr Hungwe.

The Government has urged farmer organisations to consult their members about
the producer prices. Mr Hungwe said that a high inflationary climate was
likely to erode profits from the sale of the commodity. "The current $2
million producer price for a tonne of maize is no longer sustainable and we
feel that a huge adjustment will enable farmers to prepare adequately for
the 2006/7 season," he said. Mr Hungwe said that the Government had assured
them of a realistic maize producer price adjustment during consultations. An
official with the Indigenous Commercial Farmers' Union (ICFU) said that the
organisation was seeking a producer price increase of between $10 million a
tonne and $15 million a tonne. "We have not yet finalised our consultations
with members but we hope for a better producer price which will also boost
earnings for the farmers," he said.

The official said that farmer associations would soon meet to agree on a
common producer price, which would improve maize deliveries to the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB). "A favourable producer price is crucial because
farmers are faced with continued increases in the prices of fertilizers as
well as fuel shortages," said the ICFU official. At least 2 million tonnes
of grain are expected this year against a national demand of about 3,6
million tonnes. The shortfall is expected to be imported. Meanwhile, the GMB
Boar d is planning to diversify its operations and venture into stockfeed
production to widen its portfolio and earnings base, its chief executive
officer has said. Retired Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Muvuti told Business
Chronicle in a telephone interview on Monday that the GMB was in talks with
the Ministry of Agriculture as well as stakeholders in the poultry industry
about setting up a stockfeed milling division. "The GMB is considering
establishing a stockfeed production unit but that plan is subject to ongoing
discussions with interested parties," he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture was considering proposals to that effect, he
said. Rtd Lt-Col Muvuti noted that the poultry industry has been
experiencing production constraints due to the limited supplies of
stockfeed, adding that a reliable supply chain would help restore
confidence. The shortages have resulted in the poultry producers buying
inputs at prohibitive prices, leading to poor investment in the sector as
costs cont inue to spiral. "Stockfeed products continue to be scarce due to
the depressed agricultural output but the GMB is considering contracting
farmers for this purpose," said Rtd. Lt-Col Muvuti.

MDC in renewed fight for properties

Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Takunda Maodza
issue date :2006-Mar-31

THE battle for ownership of MDC properties thickened this week amid claims
by Arthur Mutambara's faction that suspected thugs linked to Morgan
Tsvangirai's camp hijacked one of its vehicles in Harare.

The incident reportedly occurred in the city's Central Business District
(CBD) on Wednesday when a gang of about 10 people pounced on two MDC
pro-senate officials threatening them with unspecified action.
MDC pro-senate provincial spokesperson (for Chitungwiza province), Morgan
Changamire, yesterday claimed Tsvangirai's camp had turned barbaric.
"Ten members of Tsvangirai's youth militia pounced on two MDC officials in
central Harare and seized a party vehicle.
"The group headed by Barnabas Ndira waylaid the MDC officials, threatened
the driver, forcibly took the car keys and drove away," Changamire said.
According to the pro-senate camp's information department, the confiscated
vehicle was a Mazda Hardbody. It said the case had since been reported to
Harare Central Police Station.
Changamire denounced the alleged development, describing it as an
orchestrated plan by their rivals to weaken their party.
"This act of criminality is not isolated from Sunday's attempt to disrupt
the MDC rally in Chitungwiza and the subsequent threat issued by
Tsvangirai's (camp) spokesperson Nelson Chamisa that he would ensure that
our party would not hold any rallies in any party of the country," he said.
He also claimed that Chamisa, the legislator for Kuwadzana, coordinated the
gangsters that attempted to disrupt Mutambara's rally at Huruyadzo shopping
centre in St Mary's in Chitungwiza last Sunday.
"Our sources on the ground have alerted us of an orchestrated plan by the
Tsvangirai group to try and weaken our party through disruption of our
rallies, intimidation of our members and seizure by force of party
properties in our possession.
"We are convinced that the forced seizure of our vehicle yesterday
(Wednesday) by Tsvangirai's militia is part of their grand plan to weaken
our party," said Changamire.
He said Mutambara was on record condemning all forms of violence and urged
the police to ensure the culprits "are swiftly brought to book and the
vehicle brought back to its legitimate and rightful owners."
Yesterday, MDC pro-senate secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, confirmed the
alleged incident and castigated Tsvangirai's camp for resorting to violence
to solve political differences.
"Yes, our vehicle was hijacked from Michael Mukashi (an organising
secretary) by Barnabas Ndira and a group of thugs from the Tsvangirai camp.
The matter was reported to Harare Central Police Station on the same day,"
Ncube said.
He said the act reflected the central dispute their faction always had with
Tsvangirai of preferring violence when settling differences.
"The question of MDC properties would be resolved either through
negotiations or in the courts. Until such a time that happens, the status
quo remains. We have never sought to take Harvest House or party vehicles
from them like they are doing," Ncube said.
Police chief spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, would
neither deny nor confirm the alleged offence, saying he needed to verify
facts first.
Chamisa said the allegations were a fabrication and unfounded.
He said: "We find it difficult to comment on other political parties. The
person who is making those allegations is one Changamire and I do not even
know him. They have a tendency of associating Tsvangirai with any misfortune
that befalls them."
Chamisa said Tsvangirai was busy strengthening his faction and implementing
resolutions adopted by their congress held this month at the City Sports
Centre in Harare.
"I do not have the mandate to respond to serious charges of car hijacking.,"
said Chamisa, who also accused the pro-senate camp of seeking cheap
publicity.
This is not the first time that MDC youths have seized property seconded to
senior party officials.
Last year in May, during the height of internal squabbles that eventually
led to the opposition party splitting, a number of party-issued vehicles
were forcibly taken away from top officials by youths.
Attempts were made to wrest cars from Ncube and Gift Chimanikire, now the
pro-senate national chairperson.
Some provincial party leaders also had their vehicles confiscated.
When the MDC split over whether or not to participate in last year's
senatorial elections, Tsvangirai's faction remained based at the MDC's
traditional headquarters, Harvest House in Harare, while the other camp
shifted base to Bulawayo but has since relocated to the capital.
Both factions claim to be the real MDC and continue to hold separate rallies
across the country under the same banner.

Parks authority in funding problems

Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Mar-31

THE Department of Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is facing funding
problems that have negatively affected its mandate to protect wild animals,
the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts said yesterday.
Presenting a report on the value for money audit on the protection and
conservation of wildlife, the chairperson of the committee, Priscillah
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, said the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Tourism and Environment, Margaret Sangarwe, had confirmed that the
department was facing funding problems.
"Your committee also observed that the authority was dismally failing to
protect wildlife beyond the precincts of its boundaries,"
Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
She added that the committee had been told that the problem was as a result
of cutting of funding from treasury.
"When it was a government department, it had a national social
responsibility in terms of managing wild life throughout the country.
Now that it's  an Authority that is no longer getting money from treasury
and it has to make money to survive, it is becoming more and more difficult
for them to execute their mandate outside the parks because it means you
have to deploy some people outside the protected zone and the parks area and
they do not get income from there," the legislator quoted Sangarwe as having
said.
During the period covered by the audit report (1996-2000), the committee
noted, there was an increase in poaching activities, especially in Masvingo,
Matabeleland North and Midlands.
In the period, 209 elephants, 138 buffaloes and 108 Impalas were killed and
Misaiharabwi-Mushonga raised concern at the connivance between locals and
foreigners in the illegal activity.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, however, said the records provided in the period were
not complete and could not show all statistics related to poaching
activities.
"Some of the information like patrol records, monthly and annual reports
showed variances in the number of animals poached. Officials from the Parks
and Wildlife Authority informed your committee that it was difficult for
them to get information on poaching in private land particularly for species
like impala," she added.
The increase in poaching was also attributed to lack of training of scouts,
the advanced average age of the scouts and lack of adequate communication
and other equipment necessary for the effective and efficient operations of
the authority.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga said the land reform programme had worsened the
problem as some people were resettled in wildlife areas when they were not
interested in wildlife management.
On the Transfrontier Park being developed by South Africa, Zimbabwe and
Mozambique, she said the country had to prioritise the project by improving
and investing in infrastructure.
The park would result in the opening up of boundaries between Gaza in
Mozambique and Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe and Kruger in South Africa to create
the world's largest wildlife sanctuary.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Stan Mudenge,
supported the increase in tuition and other levies at public universities
saying the government was still heavily subsidising the cost of higher
education.
Most government-owned universities increased their fees to between $30
million and $90 million a semester this year.
 The increase resulted in student unrest at the National University of
Science and Technology (Nust), with 28 students now facing disciplinary
action over the matter.
Mudenge said his ministry would continuously consult with the Ministry of
Finance to improve students' payouts.

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