The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 March 2010

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted that Zimbabwe’s unity
government needs to make more progress before targeted sanctions against the
Mugabe regime are lifted, resisting pressure from South African President
Jacob Zuma.

The two leaders met on Thursday in London, where Zuma is in the middle of a
three day state visit. Zimbabwe was expected to top Thursday’s agenda, after
Zuma made it clear he would lobby, on behalf of Zimbabwe, for the targeted
measures to be lifted. But the pressure was resisted by the British Prime
Minister who said he wanted to see progress on the ground first, as well as
the results of commissions on human rights, press freedom and governance
reforms, before they are reconsidered.
“We applaud the efforts that President Zuma is making to bring stability and
change to Zimbabwe,” he said at a joint press conference after the talks.
“We however must be absolutely sure that progress is being made.”
Referring to Zimbabwe’s fragile unity government, Brown added: “We must be
moving from what is a unity but transitional government to free and fair
elections.”
Zuma meanwhile, during the press conference, remained firm on his stance
that the sanctions be lifted, saying the issue could be exploited
politically.
“If the Zimbabwe issue is not moving forward, certainly some people could
use sanctions as an excuse,” he said
The European Union (EU) last month extended the targeted sanctions on Mugabe
and his inner circle by another year citing lack of progress in implementing
the Global Political Agreement (GPA). The United States has since also
extended its measures, despite pressure from African leaders to drop the
measures altogether. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said
the lifting of sanctions would help the coalition government move forward,
while Botswana made a surprise u-turn in its position on Zimbabwe by also
saying the measures should be dropped.
Zuma however has come under pressure by human rights groups and others
concerned with Zimbabwe’s ongoing record of human rights abuse, not to lobby
for the targeted measures to be lifted. Analysts have argued that removing
the measures would reward the same people who are to blame for Zimbabwe’s
collapse. The UK’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) echoed this sentiment in a
letter delivered to the South African High Commission in London on
Wednesday. In the letter TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Despite
the formation of the Government of National Unity, human rights violations
have not stopped. Relaxing sanctions would be seen as a relaxation of
support for human rights in Zimbabwe.”
Athol Trollip, the parliamentary leader for South Africa’s main political
opposition the Democratic Alliance (DA), said this week that Zuma needed to
take a decisive stand on Zimbabwe. Trollip on Thursday accused Zuma of being
“out of touch with reality,” in reaction to Zima’s call for Zimbabwe’s
targeted sanctions to be lifted. He added that “it is clear from the lack of
progress in Zimbabwe the sanctions should remain.”
“In fact, we believe that the sanctions should be tightened,” Trollip said.
Trollip said the GPA signed by the MDC and ZANU PF, which was meant to
address the numerous crises facing Zimbabwe, had not resulted in any
meaningful change. Trollip said there “remains no sufficient political
reason for the sanctions imposed on Mugabe to be lifted.”
Exiled Zimbabweans meanwhile will make their opinions on Zuma very clear
during a demonstration outside the South African High Commission in London
on Friday. They will hand over a petition calling on Zuma to arrange early
elections in Zimbabwe because of the failure of the unity government to
agree on critical reforms. The demonstration is organised by the protest
group, the Zimbabwe Vigil, which has been protesting outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy in London for the past 8 years in support of demands for free and
fair elections.

Vigil coordinator Dumi Tutani said in a statement: “Mugabe has made it clear
that he will not implement the agreement he signed with the Movement for
Democratic Change 18 months ago so it is time to end the people’s suffering
and vote Mugabe and his gang out of power. An election should be arranged
immediately with SADC and UN help to ensure it is free and peaceful.”

Brown and Zuma call for continued progress in Zimbabwe

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk

04 March 2010 08:30 GMT

Gordon Brown has met with South African president Jacob Zuma at Downing
Street this morning to discuss a range of issues, including the ongoing
sanctions against Zimbabwe and the upcoming football World Cup.

In a joint press conference Mr Brown declared Britain wanted to work with
South Africa to help resolve some of the long-term problems in Zimbabwe but
said there had to be significant signs of progress.

The prime minister said there needed to clear evidence of improvements in
human rights, reform of governance and freedom of speech before the lifting
of sanctions was considered.

Mr Zuma said the two leaders had agreed to "put their heads together" to
provide a solution so Zimbabwe can move forward, with Mr Brown praising the
efforts of the South African president in attempting to bring about change
in the country.

"We are agreed that it is not just Zimbabwe on its own, but the entire
world, the whole world must help Zimbabwe move forward," Mr Zuma told
journalists at Downing Street.

The two men are due to carry out a series of engagements today and tomorrow,
including meeting representatives from their respective national football
teams and visiting the London 2012 Olympic site.

Yesterday Mr Zuma received a royal welcome from the Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace.

Mugabe says to seek re-election if party says yes

http://af.reuters.com

Thu Mar 4, 2010 5:07pm GMT

* Mugabe says will accept nomination for re-election

* Defends controversial policy on foreign firms

* Zimbabwe election timing depends on new constitution

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE, March 4 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said on
Thursday he would stand for re-election if his party nominated him, brushing
off calls for the octagenarian to make way for a younger successor after 30
years in power.

Mugabe, 86, who has been in power since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain
in 1980, formed a unity administration a year ago with rival Morgan
Tsvangirai, now Prime Minister, to end a long political crisis after a
disputed election.

The power-sharing government was initially expected to run for two years to
2011, but analysts say mutual suspicion and strategic considerations are
delaying democratic reforms which would clear the way for a free and fair
poll.

Asked whether he would stand again for a national election, Mugabe, who will
be nearly 90 at the end of his current five-year term in 2013 said: "Go ask
ZANU-PF."

"I am a ZANU-PF son. If ZANU-PF says, 'go for it,' I will," he said at a
rare press briefing with local and foreign media.

Mugabe said the timing of a new election would depend on how soon the
parties agreed on a new constitution.

"As to when this will be, it's a matter of time," he said.

The veteran leader, who charges that he is a victim of demonisation by a
hostile Western media, was in a jovial mood, cracking jokes as he defended
his flagship policies, from the controversial seizure of white-owned farms
to his latest plans to transfer control of foreign-owned firms to blacks.

In what has become a standard line of defence, Mugabe again blamed sanctions
imposed on his party by Western powers for ruining Zimbabwe's once
prosperous economy, saying ZANU-PF had been targeted for its land reform
policy.

"Everything else they are saying are just excuses. We are not the biggest
violators of human rights in the world," he said, adding he was hoping the
unity government would soon be able to campaign together to get the travel
and financial sanctions lifted.

But Mugabe expressed doubts that Britain's Conservative Party, led by David
Cameron, would immediately lift sanctions on Zimbabwe if it wins elections
expected in May.

"I don't think so ... although he (Cameron) stands a better chance because
we have had more constructive relations with the Conservatives," he said.

Mugabe said Labour leaders were foolish to ignore Britain's historical
relations with Zimbabwe and in drag U.S. President Barack Obama's
administration into its problems with Harare.

"We are sorry that he got taken into this," he said of Obama's decision this
week to extend U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year.

Robert Mugabe has backed David Cameron to win the election

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Published: 6:59PM GMT 04 Mar 2010

The Zimbabwe president said his country would have better relations with
London if the Conservatives got in.

"We have always related better with the British through the Conservatives
than Labour," he said. "We have a better chance with David Cameron than with
Brown."

"Conservatives are bold, Blair and Brown run away when they see me, but not
these fools, they know how to relate to others."

Mugabe's comments came after Gordon Brown told Jacob Zuma, the South African
president, that Zimbabwe's sanctions would not be lifted until progress was
seen in the power-sharing government.

Zuma, who is the mediator in Zimbabwe's fragile unity accord, wants the
sanctions lifted.

Relations between Zimbabwe and London have been strained over the past ten
years, after Mugabe's government started seizing white-owned farms, under
his controversial land reform laws.

In 2002, the government imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his inner
circle - including a travel ban and freezing of bank accounts - following
allegations of a rigged election.

Mugabe, who is 86, has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
In recent years has been accused of holding onto power through violence and
fraud.

Zim refugees 'straining' South Africa: Zuma

http://www.busrep.co.za

March 4, 2010

The influx of refugees from Zimbabwe is placing "significant strain" on
South Africa's capacity and resources, President Jacob Zuma told British
parliamentarians in London on Thursday.

"South Africa is greatly affected by the crisis in Zimbabwe," Zuma said in a
speech in the Palace of Westminster.

"The influx of economic refugees from Zimbabwe places a significant strain
on our capacity and resources.

"That is why we have consistently sought to follow the path that holds out
the greatest prospect of success."

The political and economic reality of Zimbabwe required an inclusive
solution, Zuma said.

"Though some may suggest otherwise, there is no lasting solution in Zimbabwe
that excludes Zanu-PF, just as there is no solution that excludes the MDC.

"That is why, as South Africa, as the Southern African Development
Community, and as the African Union, we have expended great effort to ensure
that the parties in Zimbabwe reach agreement on the most critical issues
facing the country."

Zuma said Zimbabweans had to determine their own future.

"That is why all parties within the country, on the continent, and in the
broader international community, must do what they can to ensure the
attainment of conditions for free and fair elections." - Sapa

PM narrowly escapes serious car accident

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
4 March 2010

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai narrowly escaped a potentially serious car
accident, when a tyre burst on his recently issued government vehicle two
weeks ago. Tsvangirai had gone to assess the food security issue in
Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces. The Prime
Minister's office says preliminary investigations showed the Toyota Land
Cruiser had multiple faults, even though it was supposed to have been new.

His spokesperson, James Maridadi, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday: "When we
were travelling from Mat South, the rear wheel of the vehicle that he was
travelling in burst and obviously we were concerned because it was supposed
to be an armoured vehicle with a run flat device. And upon inspection of the
vehicle we discovered that the run flat device was not working. It was
actually in the boot of the vehicle."

"And the boot of the vehicle itself could not be opened to retrieve the
spare wheel. When it was eventually opened we discovered that the spare
wheel was damaged."

Maridadi added: "The inspection also discovered that the hinges of all the
doors of the vehicle were loose. So what it meant was that had it been going
at a fast speed, if the driver had lost control of the vehicle and the
vehicle had been involved in an accident - like had overturned, then all the
doors would have come off. That would have been very dangerous for the
occupant of the vehicle, who was the Prime Minister."

The incident raises questions about Tsvangirai's security. On March 6th last
year he was involved in a tragic car accident which resulted in his wife's
death. At the time Tsvangirai said the car crash was an accident although
many Zimbabweans remain deeply suspicious because of the numerous
unexplained car accidents that have killed various high profile political
opponents of Mugabe.

Maridadi said the latest vehicle the Prime Minister was using to travel out
of town should have been issued with a delivery mileage, but that was not
the case. He said the vehicle has now been taken to other departments for
investigations. He said: "That vehicle should not have been given to anyone
to use, let alone a Prime Minister, because it was in no condition to be
used by anyone."
Meanwhile Radio VOP alleged that a confidential security document from
Tsvangirai's office revealed that the Land Cruiser had been tampered with
before being delivered to the Prime Minister by the Central Mechanical and
Equipment Department (CMED). It was not possible to verify this information.

MDC requests SADC to mediate in deadlocked negotiations

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
4 March 2010

The national executive council of the MDC has resolved that SADC should be
called in to mediate in the long running stalemate between parties in the
Global Political Agreement.

Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said his party had evaluated the political
landscape currently prevailing in the country and found out 'things were
going backwards instead of forward.'

'We feel the guarantors should be there to resolve outstanding issues and we
remain optimistic that the issue will be resolved by President Jacob Zuma as
facilitator and SADC as guarantor,' Chamisa said.

He said the national executive council will pass on its resolutions to the
national council of the party that is scheduled to meet in Harare on Friday.
The national council is the decision making body of the MDC. Naturally
resolutions that come from the executive council are ratified in full by the
national council.

A year after the formation of the inclusive government the MDC is infuriated
at the slow pace in implementing the GPA, as well as what analysts see as a
deliberate plot by ZANU PF to stall media, electoral and human rights
reforms.

'This is why we are formally again writing to SADC to request their
immediate and timeously intervention in this issue,' Chamisa said.

In the past two months cracks have widened between the parties in the
inclusive government. Hardline generals and other Mugabe loyalists have been
showing public disdain for Tsvangirai and very little in the power sharing
agreement has been implemented.

Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa said key blocked steps included a
land audit, appointment of MDC governors, an end of arbitrary detentions and
arrests, public consultations on a new constitution and preparation for
elections.

Parties near Gono, Tomana deal: Ncube

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

04/03/2010 00:00:00

THE three parties in Zimbabwe's power sharing government are on the verge of
resolving outstanding issues in their power-sharing deal, according to
Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube.

The three parties - Zanu PF, led by President Robert Mugabe, the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and a rival
MDC led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara - signed the Global
Political Agreement in September 2008 and formed a coalition government last
year.

A number of sticking issues, however, emerged which the parties have been
grappling with since last year but Ncube told business leaders on Wednesday
that virtually all the issues - except two major ones - had been resolved.

"We are on the verge of resolving virtually all of them except the difficult
ones, mainly the two appointments," he said, referring to the appointment of
central bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana which
the MDC views as irregular.

"One appointment has been resolved but one of those two appointments remains
contentious. We have not been able to find each other yet and we are still
talking," said Ncube, who is also one of the negotiators for the
Mutambara-led MDC.

Ncube, who said he was not at liberty to disclose which of the two
appointments remained unresolved, did say that the swearing in of
Tsvangirai's pick for Deputy Agriculture Minister, Roy Bennett, was on the
verge of being finalised.

Bennett is currently in court on charges of possession of firearms, a charge
which Zanu PF felt should be finalised before he is sworn in. Ncube said the
issue would be resolved in the next meetings of the party negotiators.

He said the parties had also agreed on an implementation plan to be
announced as soon as all the issues had been resolved.

Although reports indicated that the list of outstanding issues had grown to
27, some of the top ones also included the issue of sanctions, pirate radio
stations and the alleged parallel government, which were raised by Zanu
PF. - New Ziana

Education Minister says no child should be sent home over fees

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
04 March 2010

Education Minister David Coltart has said no child should be sent home
because their parents or guardians have failed to pay school fees.
Responding to shocking revelations in a BBC documentary charting the lives
of orphans struggling to survive in the country Coltart told SW Radio Africa
that although the law was very clear on this point school authorities were
defying the policy for a variety of reasons. The problem he said was that
some parents who were able to afford school fees were taking advantage and
not making any payments.

Award winning film maker Xoliswa Sithole spent 9 months in Zimbabwe
following the lives of some of the country's poorest children. The
documentary shows them grappling with poverty and starvation, growing up
without an education and either orphaned by AIDS or caring for parents who
are sick with the disease. On Wednesday Sithole told Newsreel in an
interview that because these children were being denied a basic education
their future was being taken away from them.

In response Coltart told us that in years gone by the government had the
Basic Education Assistance Module programme to help children in similar
circumstances. However funding issues linked to the collapse of the economy
under the ZANU PF regime had crippled the project. He said in the last 5
months the United Nations Children's Fund had made some money available and
although it was not adequate to cover requirements it would benefit at least
600 000 disadvantaged children. The programme will be implemented closely
with the Labour and Social Services Ministry.

Coltart meanwhile said education in the country was seriously under-funded.
For example, he said in the first 11 months of the coalition government his
ministry was given US$10 million to run education in stark contrast to the
US$28 million spent on foreign travel. He said the country should comply
with accepted standards and have education taking up at least 22 percent of
the budget and not the current 12,8 percent.

An Open Letter to Abbey Chikane, the New KP Monitor for Zimbabwe

http://www.diamonds.net

By Avi Krawitz
Posted: 03/04/10 11:19

RAPAPORT...

Editorial

Dear Abbey:

Firstly, congratulations on your appointment as the Kimberley Process (KP)
monitor for Marange, Zimbabwe. It would be appropriate to say welcome back
to the diamond industry, and even more appropriate to say welcome home. As a
founding member and a former chairman of the process, I can't think of any
individual who is more suited to the job at hand.

I doubt you need be told, but what a job you have on your hands. Then again,
you are no stranger to challenges nor, I believe, are you fazed by them.

Need we be reminded that you faced up to the challenge of putting the KP on
the map and cementing its role in society, uplifting the ethical standing of
our industry in the process? Do you remember how fragile we were back in the
days when the atrocities of the Sierra Leone civil war were revealed to the
world and how, if it wasn't for the very systems you helped implement, our
standing with diamond consumers would be far weaker today?

So, you were a natural choice when it comes to Zimbabwe. But I dare say that
your new role may represent your greatest challenge yet. It may also unravel
your legacy, at least so far as your achievements at the KP are concerned.

Zimbabwe presents the greatest challenge to the KP since your chairmanship
because for the first time in the KP's existence, a country has exposed the
organization's weaknesses. While the KP was set up to prevent rebel
movements from using the trade to fund civil war, it has failed to prevent
rogue states from manipulating the system for their own gain. Thus far, it
seems the KP does not have the structural capacity or the political leverage
to deal effectively with Zimbabwe.

The KP has been so manipulated by Zimbabwe that the organization failed to
recognize its own peer review accounts of murder, rape, mass burials and
other human rights abuses carried out by state personnel at the Marange
fields. We saw the country hold the November KP plenary ransom and we have
seen its leaders consistently disregard the KP's purpose since. As a result,
today, no one can guarantee that blood diamonds from the Marange fields have
not entered the market.

Here's a quote we read just this past week through the BBC from Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu, who by the way, orchestrated that incredibly arrogant
display at the November plenary: "If the KP is unsatisfied with our efforts
and wants to be difficult, saying that we have failed to comply with their
requirements...we will not lose sleep, but rather, we will just pull out and
not lose anything. The KP does not own the diamond trade markets. Zimbabwe
will pull out of the KP and sell its diamonds to those markets."

As if on cue, Mpofu spoke as you touched down in Harare for your first visit
in your new capacity. I'm sure I don't need to tell you who the minister's
remarks were directly aimed at.

Because the KP - with its three pillars of government, civil society and
industry - has allowed itself to be so manipulated and so ineffective, two
of your co-founders, Ian Smilie, and my boss, Martin Rapaport, have resigned
from the organization. They felt they would be more likely to enact change
outside the KP than from within.

For now, however, you're in a different position for a number of reasons.
First, you are perhaps one of the very few individuals who has been engaged
with all three KP pillars. Second, you are a native African, which I believe
is vital to understanding and dealing with Zimbabwe's actions. Finally and
most importantly, your position as KP monitor for Marange is the only one
that can cull positive change from within the KP.

But there is a catch. It will take twice the boldness and far more guts this
time. It will require you to be unpopular in Zimbabwe and at times, I
suspect, in the KP.

We trust that you will approach the job at hand neither as a bureaucrat, nor
as a politician. Rather, we look forward to your true assessment of the
Marange diamonds, taking every aspect of the controversial mine's history
into account, including the ethical questions surrounding both its past and
present ownership and their abuses.

Your judgment will dictate whether Zimbabwe's diamond stockpile from the
past year and a half plus, as well as its current and somewhat dubious
production, can morally, legally and confidently be exported for consumers
across the world to purchase - conflict-free.

We also anticipate you tackling this task with a high degree of
transparency, which, as an organization, the KP may not be able or willing
to allow. We - and I think I speak on behalf of at least one pillar of the
KP - deserve to know what is happening and expect constant and open
discussion with you about how things are progressing. We need your
first-hand account of what is truly happening on the ground.

Finally, we expect that you realize there may come a time when you, too, are
being manipulated for political expediency and will need to make some tough
choices of your own to send the right message to all affected parties. After
all, it is not only your legacy that is at stake, but that of the diamond
industry, whose respectability and image hang in the balance based on this
very issue. That is quite the challenge, indeed.

Good luck!

Note: This article is an excerpt from a market report that is sent to RapNet
members on a weekly basis. To subscribe, go to www.rapnet.com or contact
your local Rapaport office.

Civil society warns of worsening rights abuse

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 March 2010

Civil society organisations have warned of worsening human rights abuse at
the hands of state security agents, explaining that in the last three months
there has been an escalation in the number of threats, intimidation and
harassment against its members.

The warning was made during a press conference in Harare on Wednesday,
convened by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Association (ZimRights). ZimRights director, Okay Machisa told
the conference how he and other members of the ZimRights board last week
received a series of threatening text messages and phone calls, warning them
against conducting constitutional outreach programmes.

Machisa received a threatening email two weeks ago from a person claiming to
be Dzapasi Mumunda. The message said, "You enjoy flying in and out of the
country demonizing your country, why don't you go and stay there? They
monitor, soon you will all stay out." In the email, he was also warned that
people in his office have been tasked with 'bringing him down' and he should
be careful, especially at home.

The threats have not been against ZimRights only. Trade unionist and
Secretary General of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of
Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), Gertrude Hambira was forced into hiding last week due to
fears for her safety. The entire union leadership went underground after
increased threats and harassment by officials from the Joint Operations
Command (JOC), and a number of police raids on the union's offices in
Harare. The raids have been in response to the release of a shock report and
documentary last year, exposing the violent abuse of workers on farms seized
by the Robert Mugabe regime.

Meanwhile in Bindura, some facilitators belonging to the Civic Education
Trust (Civnet), Taurai Chigunwe, Tinashe Madzimbamuto and Faustino Mukakati,
were arrested last week for allegedly holding a public meeting. Last month a
ZANU PF councillor for Nhekiwa ward in Uzumba, together with a group of some
ZANU PF youths, disrupted an outreach meeting convened by the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition, claiming that it had not been sanctioned by their
political party. The councilor and the youths also intimidated, harassed and
threatened the Coalition's youth committee members Tichaona Masiyambiri and
Oscar Dhliwayo and an intern, Edwin Sithole, who had organised the outreach
programme.

ZimRights and the ZLHR also explained in a joint statement that police in
Mutare on Tuesday arrested and detained three Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) employees, who were attending the labour union's Regional
Women's Advisory Council's civil and legal training in the eastern border
city for five hours.

"Security agents should strictly observe the principles of the Rule of Law
and should adhere to the laws and regulations governing their operations,"
the two groups said in a statement. "ZLHR and ZimRights calls upon the
responsible authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, to penalise
these elements without fear or favour."

Human rights group Amnesty International has also expressed its concerns
about worsening human rights abuses, despite the formation of the unity
government more than a year ago. Amnesty's Zimbabwe researcher, Simeon
Mawanza, told SW Radio Africa that there was concern that the government has
not made any meaningful reforms to rectify human rights abuse.

"By delaying reform, the situation in Zimbabwe remains fragile as
perpetrators continue to escape justice and are instead effectively given
the all clear to continue violating human rights," Mawanza said.

ZESA continues to frustrate consumers

http://www.zicora.com/

Posted by Own Staff Friday, 05 March 2010 01:37

Residents have vented out their frustrations over the current devastating
shortage of electricity in the country and the high bills from Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and TelOne.

Speaking at public meetings organised by Bulawayo Agenda and the Bulawayo
Progressive Residents Association in Cowdray Park and Old Pumula suburbs
over the weekend, residents expressed their displeasure to the
representatives of the service providers over their failure to provide
efficient services.
Residents complained that the current shortages of electricity had a
devastating effect on their lives and they also found fault with the
inconsistent billing system from ZESA.

"We would like to understand why ZESA has not devised a system of informing
us when they are going to carry out load shedding as most of our electrical
gadgets have been affected by a power surge," said a resident from Cowdray
Park.

They also called on the authority to present updated bills noting that their
unavailability also affected their ability to pay for the rates.

"We need ZESA to ensure that we receive our billed statements so that we
know how much we are supposed to pay. We cannot be expected to pay for
estimated bills," said a resident.

Pensioners who also attended the meetings said there is need for service
providers to review their tariffs in line with salaries as they highlighted
that the current bills were beyond the reach of many in the country.

"We are failing to pay for the bills because our pension funds are very
little and we cannot raise enough money to repay the debts we owe service
providers," said a pensioner in Old Pumula.

The public raised concerns over the failure by ZESA to provide enough
electricity in the country, noting that the people were living in new
suburbs without electricity. The residents of Cowdray Park were concerned
that some sections of the suburb were yet to witness the installation of
electricity at the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikayi houses.

The ZESA representative from the sales and marketing division, Mr. G. Zulu
called upon the residents to negotiate with the authority in order to devise
mechanisms of paying for their debts.

He said ZESA continued to face challenges with the availability of
electricity which had also worsened the load shedding schedule in the city.

"The country does not have enough electricity and the load shedding is
expected to be very rigorous in the next few weeks because we currently
cannot produce enough from Hwange Power station and also from Kariba. Power
Station. Electricty must be rationed so as to avoid tripping that will
result in a blackout of the whole country," he said.

He emphasized the need for the residents to also desist from vandalising
ZESA property highlighting that the authority did not have enough funds for
repairs.

"There is need for residents to be wary of naked electricity wires which are
very dangerous. We also encourage residents to desist from bribing ZESA
officials in an attempt to speed the process of repairs in their areas. We
call upon residents to assist ZESA in catching the thieves who continue to
steal electricity cables and oil from transformers," said Mr Sibanda, a ZESA
representative.

Mr Sibanda emphasised that the country continued to face shortages of
electricity because of the failure to rehabilitate the Kariba Power stations
because of the socio-economic meltdown as well the huge costs of
recapitalisation currently required.

President Tsvangirai to open MDC regalia shop

http://mdc.co.zw/

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 16:54

President Morgan Tsvangirai will on Thursday officially open the MDC
regalia shop and a research and library centre at the party's
headquarters, Harvest House.

The regalia shop, known as the New Zimbabwe Excellence Shop is the
first of its kind to be launched by a political party in Zimbabwe.
The shop will open its doors on Thursday and will offer a wide
variety of MDC-labelled products such as T-shirts, mugs, caps, CDs,
DVDs and umbrellas.The research and library centre will offer
internet, library and research facilities to the MDC's leadership and
the party's structures and members.

The regalia shop and the research centre and library are a brainchild
of the party's Information and Publicity Department. The three
facilities will go a long way in assisting Zimbabweans to access
information as well as buy party paraphernalia and branded material
of one of the biggest political parties in Africa.
At Thursday's launch, President Tsvangirai will be accompanied by the
MDC leadership and members of the national executive. Zimbabweans
have been clamouring for a one-stop shop where they can access MDC
party material of the people's party. The regalia shop is situated at
the ground floor of Harvest House and will prove to be a popular shop
for millions of Zimbabweans who are demanding real change.

The MDC, which overwhelmingly won the presidential, parliamentary and
local government elections in the historic plebiscite of 29 March
2008, will in the next three months replicate similar facilities in
all provinces in order to make party information and regalia easily
accessible to the people.

Zimbabwe: Weekly bulletin #8 - week ending 1 March 2010

ANALYSIS-Slow reforms will prolong Zimbabwe unity govt

http://af.reuters.com/

Thu Mar 4, 2010 10:17am GMT

* Feuding coalition months behind reform schedule

* Mugabe determined to hold onto power

* Former opposition seeks conditions for free, fair poll

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE, March 4 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's power-sharing government looks
unlikely to step down in 2011 as planned because it has failed to draw up
the reforms needed to ensure free and fair elections, political analysts
say.

President Robert Mugabe and bitter rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
formed a coalition last year to end a political and economic crisis, but
mutual suspicion and strategic considerations are delaying democratic
reforms meant to clear the way for a poll next year.

Under a global political agreement that brought together Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a new
constitution should be written by December.

That process is seven months behind schedule and there have been long delays
in the process to license private radio and television stations and daily
newspapers.

Critics say ZANU-PF has deliberately stalled media reforms for strategic
reasons but the MDC has not pushed hard enough.

"It is becoming quite clear that we are not going to get elections next year
or even in 2012 because the whole political process is way out of schedule,"
said Eldred Masunungure, a professor of political science at the University
of Zimbabwe.

"For political reasons both ZANU-PF and the MDC are still pretending that we
may get a general election in 2011, but the reality on the ground does not
support that assertion," he said.

LIFE PRESIDENCY

An early election is unlikely to appeal to Mugabe, 86, as it would increase
calls for him to make way for someone younger.

Potential successors also need time to organise their political forces to
take over the ZANU-PF machinery and oil it for a fight against Tsvangirai.

"Although we are going to see leaders grandstanding on issues here and
there, the parties appear to be settling in for a long transition,"
Masunungure said.

Tsvangirai may be counting on eventually taking on a ZANU-PF without Mugabe,
who is lionised in his party but has become an increasingly polarising
figure as he hangs onto power.

The MDC may also see a long transition as an opportunity to pressure ZANU-PF
to neutralise what critics call its structures of violence, the youth
militia and independence war veterans, who have led Mugabe's election
campaigns in the past.

Political commentator John Makumbe, a fierce Mugabe critic, said the
Zimbabwean leader could be planning to die in office to avoid possible
prosecution on charges of rights abuses.

"I think Mugabe's plan is for a life presidency, and if he can drag this
power-sharing arrangement to 2013 (when parliament's latest term ends), he
will be nearly 90," he said.

Despite his frustrations with ZANU-PF tactics, Tsvangirai sees no
alternative to the power-sharing deal, which would produce reforms and,
ultimately, elections acceptable to all.

The MDC says Mugabe has remained in office by using violence and rigging
elections, including the 2008 presidential run-off, which Zimbabwe's
neighbours refused to endorse as free and fair.

Critics say hardliners in Mugabe's ZANU-PF party -- in power since
Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980 -- have been stalling
democratic change for a year, including disrupting a constitutional reform
process that would lead to new elections.

ZANU-PF HOSTAGE

This leaves the MDC caught up and unable to press for a democratic vote
without constitutional reforms and a free media.

"The MDC is a player, and also a hostage, a hostage of ZANU-PF politics in
the same way that Zimbabwe as a whole has been a victim of Mugabe's
incredible policies," said Makumbe.

Last October, Tsvangirai's MDC briefly "disengaged" from the unity
government over the appointment of some senior state officials and the pace
of reforms but rejoined weeks later after mediation by the Southern African
Development Community.

Tsvangirai has now toned down his demands for Mugabe to swear-in some MDC
members into government and to fire some ZANU-PF allies, in exchange for
reforms towards early polls.

Welshman Ncube, secretary general of the smaller MDC group, said on
Wednesday the three parties had settled nearly all disputes and a
breakthrough on the swearing-in of Tsvangirai ally Roy Bennett as deputy
agriculture minister was near.

Mugabe says the MDC needs to campaign for the lifting of Western sanctions
against his party, including travel restrictions and a freeze on general
financial aid to Zimbabwe.

A tribe in trouble

The short sad life of whites in Africa

Mar 4th 2010 | From The Economist print edition

Wild eyes

TWO compelling documentaries illuminate the dilemmas facing Africa's dwindling white tribes. One is set in Zimbabwe, the other in Kenya. The Zimbabwean film, "Mugabe and the White African", is the more straightforward and should be shown as widely as possible to help end one of Africa's great tragedies: the ruin of one of the continent's most successful countries and the moral bankruptcy of the governments of the nearby states (bar plucky Botswana) for failing to isolate and oust a vile dictator.

It shows how a brave film company, embedding itself with a beleaguered family of white farmers off and on for a year, can bring to life the horrors that have befallen an entire country. Like the large majority of the 5,000-odd white farmers who stayed on after Robert Mugabe became prime minister in 1980 and later president, Mike Campbell and his son-in-law Ben Freeth acquired their farm and the regulation government certificate showing that no black citizen also sought to buy the same farm, which then became Zimbabwe's largest producer of mangoes and employed 500 locals. When a man with ministerial connections claimed the property for himself a few years ago, Messrs Campbell and Freeth refused to go, prompting a campaign of intimidation, arson and assault, including the beating up not just of the two farmers but also their wives, all horrifically shown on screen.

When they took their case to a tribunal of the Southern African Development Community, a 15-nation club including both Zimbabwe and South Africa, and won, Mr Mugabe's thugs ignored the verdict and burned down the farmsteads. Much of this is covertly filmed, sometimes by the farmers themselves, with wobbly camera shots enhancing the sense of chaos and terror. It is impossible to watch without feeling sympathy for the farmers and their loyal but terrified black workers, and revulsion for the barbarities of Mr Mugabe's regime. A shocking postscript is that although the film has been screened by the BBC, no cinema in neighbouring South Africa, which could stop Mr Mugabe in his tracks, has yet seen fit to air it.

The Kenyan film, "Murder on the Lake", is more intriguing and complicated. Also screened on the BBC and elsewhere, it looks at the murder in 2006 of a famous wildlife photographer, Joan Root (pictured), who was shot in her home beside Lake Naivasha, the centre of Kenya's flower industry. The film offers a tangled web of whodunnit theories. What is certain is that in the last decade of her life, Mrs Root set up a local task force to wage a harsh but ecologically admirable campaign against fish poachers destroying the lake's resources. When she was made to disband the force, some of its aggrieved members turned against her. But she had made other enemies along the lake. It has never been clear who killed her.

The film shows the ecological and social turmoil of modern Kenya: the success of horticulture on the lake's edge, at a cost of draining the lake's waters; the growth of the riparian village from a one-horse town to a seething metropolis of 350,000 in a couple of decades, creating tribal tension and mass poverty in burgeoning slums; the greed and corruption of politicians and police; and the resentment of many locals who feel that white conservationists care more about wild animals than people. Above all, it highlights the awkwardness of the role of the engaged white person in the midst of a society that is still, in many respects, at odds with Western norms.

Is there room for the Joan Roots, let alone the Mike Campbells, in modern Africa? One hopes so. Africa needs both of them. But, judging by this pair of films, one cannot, in the long run, be too confident.

UK resists Zuma’s pressure on Zim sanctions