Word On Agreements Due From Principals In Zimbabwe Unity Government

http://www.voanews.com

     

      By Blessing Zulu
      Washington
      20 May 2009

Political sources in Harare say Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara have
made breakthroughs on some of the issues causing discord within the
country's government of national unity.

Sources in Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and both formations of the Movement
for Democratic Change - the dominant one led by Mr. Tsvangirai, the other by
Mutambara - told VOA that a statement on agreements reached and outstanding
issues will be issued Thursday.

Sources privy to the talks said Mutambara has been assigned to issue the
statement. The principals are said to have met on Tuesday to reach the
latest agreements.

The sources said accord was reached regarding the appointments of provincial
governors, ambassadors and ministerial permanent secretaries. Mr Mugabe has
reportedly agreed to allow Roy Bennett of Tsvangirai's MDC to be sworn in as
deputy agriculture minister.

However, Information Ministry Permanent Secretary George Charamba, often a
spokesman for Mr. Mugabe, was said to have handed the media late Wednesday a
list of permanent secretaries said to have been re-appointed by President
Mugabe.

Political sources said Mr. Mugabe has refused to budge on the most important
issues on the table including the leadership of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, now governed by Mugabe crony Gideon Gono, and the Office of the
Attorney General, held by Johannes Tomana.

Political sources said a technical team has been formed to deal with
outstanding issues.

News of these developments emerged after Mr. Tsvangirai's MDC said Sunday it
would ask the Southern African Development Community and the African Union,
guarantors of the unity government formed in February, to step in to
arbitrate on lingering divisive issues.

Minister of State Gorden Moyo, attached to Mr. Tsvangirai's office, told VOA
reporter Blessing Zulu that a major announcement will be made on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the cash-strapped Harare government was pulling out all stops to
attract budget support which it says is indispensable for its survival.

Mr. Tsvangirai has declared that the government is broke and Finance
Minister Tendai Biti has warned that the government is on the verge of
collapse.

So far the Harare government has raised just US$35 million to fund its
operations, though it needs US$2 billion to cover the state payroll and 2009
general operations.

It has been reaching out to possible donors, but the World Bank and other
donors although funding a number of initiatives are bypassing the
government, partly due to Harare's failure to replace Gideon Gono at the
Reserve Bank and overhaul the institution.

Ambassador Sten Rylander of Sweden, which will hold the European Union
presidency as of July, said Harare is in talks with Stockholm about
normalizing relations with the EU.

Though donors are not providing major funding, the multilateral financial
institutions have been stepping up their involvement, with an IMF technical
team in town since Monday.

Finance Minister Biti said an African Development Bank team is doing similar
work.

Economist Prosper Chitambara of the Labor and Economic Development Research
Institute of Zimbabwe says sweeping reforms must be put in place before
funds will come to Harare.

Mugabe refuses to budge on Gono and Tomana

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
20 May 2009

Robert Mugabe has apparently refused to budge on his re-appointment of
Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana amid
reports the 3 principals have decided to declare a deadlock on these two
issues.

When Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara met on Tuesday they
agreed that the MDC's Roy Bennet would finally be sworn in as Deputy
Minister of Agriculture. They also agreed on the appointment of five
governors from the MDC-T, one from MDC-M, and four from ZANU PF.

Mugabe has also agreed to return the powerful communications portfolio,
which he had unilaterally stripped from MDC Minister Nelson Chamisa's
Information, Technology and Communication Ministry and placed under the
supervision of his own Ministry of Transport headed by Nicholas Goche.

The state controlled media initially referred to Chamisa as 'Minister of
Information, Technology and Communication,' but a few days after the
communication portfolio was stripped from his Ministry and given to Goche,
all state media outlets also struck off 'Communication' when they referred
to his ministry.

Chamisa always insisted nothing had changed in his Ministry since no one had
communicated the change to him officially, and he had only read about it in
newspapers.

A source in Harare told us Arthur Mutambara was given the task of announcing
the progress made so far in the talks. The MDC-M secretary general Welshman
Ncube confirmed to the Zimbabwe Times that the 3 principals had agreed on
virtually everything except Gono and Tomana's appointments.

Human rights lawyer Dhehwa Mavhinga told us Mugabe would rather stick with
Tomana and Gono because they continue to manipulate the judiciary and the
Reserve Bank to keep ZANU PF afloat.

'Gono initiated and pioneered quasi-fiscal activities that saw ZANU PF keep
afloat in near impossible conditions. Tomana has selectively kept the MDC on
tenterhooks by violating the law on a daily basis by detaining and cracking
down on officials and activists,' Mavhinga said.

Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us ordinary Zimbabweans are now
getting fed up with the continued delay in implementing the full terms of
the GPA.

'People are saying when two elephants fight; it is the grass that suffers.
Ordinary people on the ground can't even raise money to buy bread or sugar
for their families because of this impasse to finish the talks,' Muchemwa
said.

World Bank funds bypassing Zimbabwe government

http://af.reuters.com

Wed May 20, 2009 6:04am GMT

* Providing some $22 mln in grants - World Bank official

* Aid agencies, church groups disbursing money

* Denies World Bank resuming grants through gov't

* Says gov't needs to build programme for economic recovery

* Gov't also needs to clear arrears with int'l donors

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - A top World Bank official said on Wednesday
grant funding to Zimbabwe was not going through the government, which has
yet to demonstrate to the international community it can manage the economy
with prudence and transparency.

World Bank Vice President for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili, told Reuters some
$22 million in grants from the Bank were being spent on behalf of donors
through international agencies, aid and church groups to help small farmers
and the poor.

Media reports this week said the World Bank would make its first grant
available to the Zimbabwe government since 2001, signalling the institution
was re-engaging with the bankrupt southern African country.

Ezekwesili denied the reports, saying the World Bank was not lending to
Zimbabwe's government.

"It's not money going directly through the government of Zimbabwe,"
Ezekwesili said in an interview. "We don't have the basis for such an
engagement yet."

"The policy of international financial institutions is that there first has
to be a re-engagement," she added.

Such a step would require the new unity government of President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to develop a credible programme
to rebuild the country's economy and implement reforms.

"Key is the whole area of public financial management, of how the public
sector operates and dealing with governance issues, which is going to be
very critical," said Ezekwesili.

Also important to normalising relations with donors and securing financing
is for Zimbabwe to clear its arrears with the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and African Development Bank.

As of April 2009, Zimbabwe was $673 million in arrears to the World Bank,
$140 million to the IMF and $430 million to the African Development Bank.

The formation in February of the unity government between Mugabe and his
long-time foe Tsvangirai has generated a cautious optimism towards Zimbabwe,
once one of Africa's most prosperous economies.

But wrangling between the political rivals has continued, with sharp
differences over issues such as the posts of central bank governor and
attorney general.

Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono, a close Mugabe ally, has been under
pressure to resign from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, which
accuses him of helping to bankrupt the country and implementing policies
that have caused hyperinflation and accelerated the country's economic
decline.

The new government has indicated it needs about $8.5 billion in emergency
aid over the next two to three years to revive the economy.

Donors have said they are unwilling to resume aid and lift sanctions while
Gono remains head of the central bank and until the government reverses its
nationalization policies and halts human rights abuses.

Ezekwesili said the formation of the unity government was a major step
forward for Zimbabwe but it now has to demonstrate it is serious about
fixing the economy by adhering to a programme that addresses economic
shortcomings and implements institutional reforms.

"People are going to be looking at how quickly Zimbabwe returns to the rules
of the game in basic transparency of the decision-making process," she said.
"Most of the work is going to happen at the level of the Zimbabwe
leadership."

She said the World Bank is currently conducting an assessment of the economy
and areas that are important to Zimbabwe's recovery including agriculture,
mining and energy.

"The key thing is that the government of Zimbabwe has a credible medium-term
economic programme in place and demonstrates performance over a period of
time around it," she added. "That also involves building a consensus around
a programme which has the support of everyone."

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Simon Jessop, John Stonestreet)

Zimbabwe seeks $4.5 bln to boost power

http://af.reuters.com/

Wed May 20, 2009 4:39pm GMT

* Zimbabwe utility eyes 7,500 MW by 2015

* Utility sees hope for fresh funding

By Agnieszka Flak

CAPE TOWN, May 20 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is seeking $4.5 billion to boost its
power supply capacity by more than sevenfold by 2015 to ease its electricity
shortages, the Chief Executive of state-owned utility Zesa said on
Wednesday.

Ben Rafemoyo, the chief executive of Zesa said the utility would raise the
funds through tariffs, international agencies and independent power
producers.

"There has been renewed excitement out there and investors have told us that
they are willing to come in ... it's just a matter of time, but of course
the financial crisis has created an additional challenge," he told Reuters
in an interview.

Zimbabwe's unity government of President Robert Mugabe and his main
political rival Morgan Tsvangirai formed in February has ended a political
crisis and increased investor interest.

Zesa wants to expand power supply by adding 7,500 megawatts from the 1,000
MW it produces to meet its own needs as well as those in the wider southern
African region. Its peak demand is about 2,200 MW, forcing the country to
import from neighbours.

Rafemoyo said Zesa will need $70 million this year to rehabilitate the
existing Hwange thermal power plant. The first phase of the project will be
completed by June, expanding the plant's 215 MW capacity by an additional
400 MW.

The utility plans to bring the plant to its design capacity of 780 MW by the
end of the year, Rafemoyo said.

The utility also plans to add two more generation units at the plant, adding
300 MW each, and to expand its Kariba hydro power plant with two generators,
adding 150 MW each by 2012 at a total cost of of $800 million.

"These are quick deliverables because some of the infrastructure is there
already ... three years should be enough," Rafemoyo said.

Zesa is seeking an independent power producer to develop its Gokwe North
power plant to produce 1,400 MW at a cost of $1.6 billion. The utility
signed a deal with a potential investor in 2007, but progress was hindered
by the political crisis.

"In the next two months we plan to decide on how to move with that project,"
he said.

The country's Lupane Gas project would be an additional greenfield project,
adding 300 MW to the grid at a cost of around $300 million.

Zesa also hopes to jointly with Zambia develop the Batoka power plant, a
project estimated to cost $1.8 billion.

"The discussions between the two governments are ongoing ... the plant could
generate 1,600 MW to be shared between the two countries," he said.

Zimbabwe has approached the Southern African Power Pool to help promote all
the projects as regional ones to speed them up.

"The projects, if implemented, would leave a lot of excess power for export
which the region can benefit from," he said.

He said Zesa was in talks with South Africa's utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] to
partner in the projects. (Editing by James Jukwey)

Zimbabwe struggling to get funding for education: minister

http://news.yahoo.com

2 hrs 38 mins ago
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) - Zimbabwe's mid-year schools examination had been
postponed for a month due to lack of funding by international donors, the
education ministry announced Wednesday.

And the results from last year's exams, which should have been issued in
February, would finally be released this Friday, Education Minister David
Coltart told reporters.

The exams provide the crucial qualifications for students who want to
continue their education at university level.

But Coltart said the government was struggling to raise the 350,000 US
dollars needed to finance the administration of the exams.

"I have put a variety of funding applications to donors, but we are still
yet to get responses," he said.

The government was so short of money it had yet to pay markers who handled
the 2008 exams. The results from those exams, which should have been
released in February, were now due out on Friday, he added.

"I am very sympathetic to the plight of teachers. It's difficult to come to
work on a 100 US dollar salary. We are trying to address that," Coltart
said.

School teachers themselves are paid a flat salary of 100 US dollars, just
like any other civil servant.

"We are trying to stabilise the entire education system, we regret that
students have been prejudiced by the various problems we are facing," he
said.

The new government formed in February and led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has struggled to find funding.

Major donors have been reluctant to give new aid until the government makes
more tangible reforms to break from President Robert Mugabe's past policies,
which are blamed for wrecking the economy and trampling on human rights.

A statement issued by the United Nations Children's Fund in February urged
the new government to drag the education system out of crisis, noting that
attendance had plummeted from 80 to 20 percent.

Teachers in urban schools only turned up for classes this year if parents
could afford to subsidise their salaries in US dollars, it said.

Australian gold mine owner in Zimbabwe forcibly deported

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
20 May 2009

Lee Johns an Australian businessman who used to own the Globe Phoenix Mine
in Kwekwe was forcibly deported from the country on Tuesday. This follows
reports he was locked in a fierce dispute with the Reserve Bank, who through
their subsidiary Carslone (Private) Limited had taken over his mine.

Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme reports that Johns was suing the central
bank over several as yet undisclosed issues. But before he could get his day
in court 4 men in a metallic brown car abducted him some 9 days ago in
Harare.

Johns was thrown into detention at an undisclosed location for a period of 7
days before being conducted through a hurried court process, resulting in
the revocation of his residency permit sometime on Monday. On Tuesday 4
plain-clothed policemen in a car driven by a Mr. Chimungu escorted him to
the airport and got him on a plane to South Africa. It's not clear whether
he managed to get any legal representation during the process. The manner of
the hurried deportation has been likened to that of journalist Andrew
Meldrum who in May 2003 was illegally expelled after more than 23 years of
working in the country.

Newsreel sought comment from the Australian Embassy in Harare who however
refused to comment citing, 'confidentiality issues.' Saungweme says the
whole affair looks like an attempt to get rid of someone who was suing the
Reserve Bank, and is now probably owed lots of money which the bank has
realised they are not able to pay. One resident in Kwekwe told us the whole
town was abuzz with the story that Johns had fallen out with the Reserve
Bank this week, but he was not able to give the exact nature of the dispute.

The history of the mine has pretty much mirrored Zimbabwe's decline. Around
the 1900's it was reputed as one of the biggest gold mines in the world. An
economic crisis that affected many other gold mines in the country saw the
mine shutting down in 2004. The Reserve Bank as part of the much-condemned
quasi-fiscal activities made moves to take over the mine in 2006. In March
2007 government announced it was closing down the mine over environmental
concerns. Newsreel was not able to establish exactly when the RBZ took over
the mine and what sort of agreement was thrashed out with Johns.

Mugabe departure in 'best interests' of all: Clinton

Secretary's Remarks: Interview With Manelisi Dubase of South African Broadcasting Corporation Wed, 20 May 2009 09:53:26 -0500 Interview With Manelisi Dubase of South African Broadcasting Corporation Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC May 19, 2009 QUESTION: Madame Secretary, let me just start, first of all, with just a general question about the new government in South Africa. What�s your general view on this new government led by Mr. Jacob Zuma? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it looks like President Zuma is off to a good start. I think his early comments about who would be in his cabinet and how he intended to continue a strong economic program that will benefit the people of South Africa was very welcome. We look forward to working with the new government. I know when President Obama talked with President Zuma, he said that this is an area that we believe holds great promise for our two countries to cooperate, and we are excited about the potential for a very broad engagement between us. QUESTION: Well, one of the areas in the Southern Africa which has been � put it � let me put it like this, one of the unfinished businesses in the SADC region is the issue of Zimbabwe and that the World Bank or the IMF who were there, all now coming on board to support the new inclusive government in Zimbabwe. Are we about to see America changing its stance in supporting the Government of Zimbabwe financially, for instance? SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we are, as you know, deeply concerned about the results of what we view as misrule and unfortunate actions by the prior government. We�re encouraged by the new unity government that has been created. We are not yet ready to change our policy, but it is under review. It�s important to us that any aid from any source get to the people of Zimbabwe. I just find it heartbreaking. I�ve been to that country. I�ve met and worked with people from Zimbabwe over the years. It�s a country with enormous potential that has been deeply hurt and scarred by the events of the last years. So I want to be sure that any aid that comes from an American perspective gets to the people, it doesn�t stop at the government. And I think there are very strong voices inside the new unity government, the prime minister and others, who believe that as well; if we�re going to give money for education, make sure it ends up with school books and additional teachers and other assets that will help the children succeed. But we�re not yet confident that we see a direct route there. So we�re working on it, and we want very much to help the people of Zimbabwe recover. QUESTION: Would you like to see President Mugabe go first before you can come in? SECRETARY CLINTON: I think that would be in the best interests of everyone. I think that it�s up to the people and the government and, frankly, the neighbors. South Africa has a big role to play in this. No one questions his early commitment to freedom and to an end of colonialism and oppression. That is a great historic contribution. But for whatever reason, the last years of his rule have hurt so many of his people. They haven�t hurt outsiders. They�ve hurt his people. They�ve hurt his children, the children of Zimbabwe and their futures. So it is not for us to make that determination, but we hope that the government, whoever is running it, will be devoted to reconstructing that country with its extraordinary potential and taking its rightful place as a democratic developing country that holds such promise. QUESTION: And finally, where does Africa feature in President Barack Obama�s foreign policy? I haven�t heard either you or Barack Obama stating the position in regard to Africa very clearly. SECRETARY CLINTON: It is a very important aspect of our foreign policy, and you will hear more and more about that. You know, the President has decided to add a quick stop in Africa by going to Ghana after he goes to Egypt to address the Islamic world. That was done very deliberately. It is not a full trip. There are many important countries like your own that cannot be included at this moment. But the President wanted to send a very strong message that Africa is important to him; it is certainly important to me. I intend to take a trip to Africa later this year. And I see Africa as one of the most important priorities. It�s not only important personally to the President; it�s important strategically as to how we see the world. But we are in the process of developing our ideas and our approaches. There were some very positive developments in Africa over the last years. We don�t want to turn away from what good has been done both by Africans themselves and through programs like PEPFAR, for example, which has helped many countries combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS. But we want to be sure that when we put forth our policies, they are well thought out and they will have the positive results for Africa that we seek. QUESTION: Madame Secretary, thank you very much for your time. SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Good to talk with you. I appreciate it. Thank you.

A-level results out tomorrow

http://www.herald.co.zw

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Herald Reporter

THE November 2008 Zimsec Advanced Level results will be out tomorrow while
Ordinary Level results are expected to be released on June 5 as Government
set June examination fees at US$10 per subject for both "O" and "A" Levels.

Education, Sport, Art and Culture Minister David Coltart yesterday said
Government had provided money to complete the marking of the examinations.

Addressing a Press conference in Harare, Minister Coltart, who was flanked
by his Deputy Lazarus Dokora and Zimsec director Mr Happy Ndanga, said the
Grade Seven results should be released on June 26.

Minister Coltart said the "O" and ''A'' Level June examinations that
traditionally commenced during the third week of May would now start on July
6 and end on July 27.

"Due to a number of logistical problems, it was not possible to start and
administer the 2009 May/June examinations, as originally scheduled.

"We are glad that Cabinet, particularly the Finance Minister Tendai Biti,
was able to provide the US$352 000 required for the exams to get underway.

"Accordingly, candidates who wish to write the 2009 May/June Zimsec
examinations are urged to urgently register with their examination centres.
The Zimsec deadline for registration of the examinations is June 12 this
year," he said.

Minister Coltart said examination fees have been pegged at US$10 per subject
for both "O" and "A" Level.

He said Minister Biti had also undertaken to secure money from Treasury to
pay markers if the Education Ministry failed to get funding from other
sources.

Turning to school fees, Minister Coltart said there would be no other fees
in Government schools save for admission and levies charged by school
development committees to help run schools.

While an interim statement had already been made regarding fees in
Government schools, it should be noted that Cabinet had agreed that school
fees for P1 primary schools (schools in low-density suburbs) were US$10.

Fees at P2 primary schools (schools in high-density suburbs) are US$5 while
P3 schools (those in rural areas) will be free, said Minister Coltart.

At S1 secondary schools (in low-density suburbs) pupils will pay US$20, S2
(those in high-density suburbs) US$10 while S3 (those in rural areas) will
pay US$5.

Minister Coltart reiterated that no child should be sent home for
non-payment of fees and levies urging schools to approach the courts if
parents fail to pay.

The minister also warned schools not to charge unapproved school fees or
levies.

He said November examination fees would be announced soon.

ZEC lies to Parliament

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

By Gift Phiri

The discredited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has tabled a patently
false report in Parliament, claiming the March 29 and June 27 elections were
efficient, transparent, free and fair.

The disingenuous ZEC report was eventually presented last Wednesday - five
months late. It covers the harmonised elections of March 29, the
blood-soaked presidential

run-off elections and the House of Assembly byelections held on June 27.

According to Section 12(1) of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, the
election
report should have been tabled in Parliament by December 30, or six months
after the June 27 sham run-off vote, which was boycotted by MDC President
Morgan Tsvangirai because of the terror campaign waged against his
supporters by Zanu (PF), the police, army and youth militia.
The Zimbabwean understands that the controversial report was submitted to
President
Robert Mugabe on March 19. It was subsequently presented to Speaker of House
of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo, the President of the Senate, Edna Madzongwe, and
to Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs.
The three main political parties who have now constituted the inclusive
government also received embargoed copies pending its tabling in Parliament.
"The Commission is satisfied that it conducted the first and second
elections efficiently,
freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law," ZEC claimed
in its report.
Lying to Parliament constitutes a serious offence under the Parliamentary
Privileges,
Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act. The glossy report conveniently
leaves out
information on how election marshals led voters to polling stations and
bands of government supporters harassed people in the streets, especially
during the internationally discredited June 27 vote.
The ZEC report even claims the March vote was run "efficiently". Yet the
partisan electoral body withheld election results for five weeks as it
tinkered with ballots to fit the
matrix of a presidential run-off vote. The win by Tsvangirai and the MDC in
the March
vote sparked unprecedented State-sponsored violence that left 200 dead and
over 200,000 internally displaced.
ZEC's report conveniently  leaves out this unprecedented violence, which saw
Tsvangirai taking refuge in the Dutch Embassy amid reports of an
assasination plot
against him.
On violence in the run-up to the June 27 elections, the ZEC report states:
"According
to the police, save for some parts of Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland
East provinces where some incidents of inter-party violence were reported,
the rest of the country was generally peaceful."
The MDC has received the new report with indignation and maintained its
accusations
that Mugabe's supporters rigged the vote and intimidated the electorate.
"This whole thing was a scandal, and everyone knows that," said MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa. "We won the election outright, and yet we were
given as the outcome some fudged figures meant to save Mugabe and Zanu (PF).
The ZEC report is patently false."
In response to allegations of lack of transparency in the processing of
postal votes,
particularly allegations that security force members were ordered by their
superiors
to vote for Zanu (PF) candidates, the ZEC report describes the allegations
as
"unsubstantiated". Yet, police officers and soldiers voted in the presence
of their bosses
and were forced to show them their ballots. Guardian Newspapers obtained a
video from a prison warder who secretly filmed a session where warders in
Harare were being harangued at a meeting with their senior officers, who
were ordering them to vote for Zanu (PF). It was screened internationally.
Paramilitary police in riot gear were ominously deployed throughout the
voting period. Militant Mugabe supporters roamed the streets, singing
revolutionary songs, heckling people and asking why they were not voting.
Bands of young men in ruling party T-shirts demanded to see peoples' fingers
to
check for the indelible ink mark that is put on at polling stations in an
operation code
named Mavhotera Papi? The ZEC report is silent on this and other issues that
blighted
the credibility of the polls.
Several reports by independent election observers sharply contradict the ZEC
report.
A report by the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network reveals persistent
reports of forced voting, people's names and ballot serial numbers being
written at polling
stations and illiterate people assisted to vote by Zanu (PF) supporters.
Several other reports by African observers agreed that the conditions for
free and
fair elections did not exist and it was a matter of deep regret that
elections went ahead in those circumstances.
The elections that ZEC wants to sanitise as free and fair now were slammed
as an
"ugly perversion of democracy" by the Pan African Parliament observer
mission.
The SADC observer team also issued an adverse report that flies in the face
of ZEC's
sugar-coated election report.

MDC to hold 9th Annual National Conference in Harare

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

By The Zimbabwean

The MDC will hold its 9th Annual National Conference on 29 to 31 May 2009 in
Harare.
Being held as the party celebrates its 10th Anniversary, the conference,
which will draw delegates from all the country's provinces, will review and
update party policies and policy enhancement.
The conference is also expected to review the progress and challenges the
party has faced over the past 10 years since its formation in 1999.
The 9th Annual Conference is being held under the theme, "Building a Party
of Excellence."
With preparation at an advanced stage, the conference comes at a time when
the MDC is now the dominant political player on the land, with a majority in
both parliament and council.
The conference is also being held when the MDC is also part of the inclusive
government.
This will give the delegates a platform to review the MDC's 100 day
participation in the inclusive government.
A number of invited guests from different countries, political parties and
organisations are also expected to grace the conference. - MDC Pressroom

Suspended MPs did no wrong - Gasela

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

By PINDAI DUBE

MDC Mutambara deputy national spokesperson Renson Gasela has defended MPs
and other party members who have been suspended, saying they were not wrong
to disagree with party leaders.
The party last week suspended five MPs and four party executive committee
members for calling unsanctioned party rallies at which they denounced party
leaders.
However, in an interview with The Zimbabwean on Monday, Gasela said what the
MPs did was not wrong, since they were expressing their views in a
democratic party. Gasela said the legislators were not guilty until proven
guilty by the disciplinary committee.
"They are still members of our party," said Gasela. The suspended MPs are
Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East) Norman Mpofu,
(Bulilima East) Thandeko Zinti Mnkandla (Gwanda North) and Maxwell Dube
(Tsholotsho South)
Other top party leaders and national executive members who are were
suspended are Security Secretary Job Sikhala, National Youth Assembly Chair
Gift Nyandoro and provincial executive member Alex Goosen.

Muggings along the Beitbridge Border post on the increase

From Radio VOP, 20 May

Beitbridge - Zimbabweans crossing the Beitbridge border with South Africa on
foot are living in fear of muggings by youths who hang around the place.
"You can not walk on foot along this bridge at night. Those youths hanging
around the bridge are mugging people and no one seems to be doing anything
about it," said a Zimbabwean women travelling from Messina to Beitbridge.
Around the Zimbabwe border premises, bus drivers and border officials are
constantly urging travellers to keep an eye on their goods. "We are telling
our passengers to look after their goods particularly handbags, cellphones
and other loose items as there are thieves roaming the border," said a
Greyhound bus driver. The Beitbridge border post has over the last two weeks
experienced a surge in the number of people passing through its gates
following the relaxation of visa requirements by the South African
government. Beitbridge border post authorities have allowed many young touts
and money changers to infest the border post. Many of these youths are
reportedly stealing from buses and open trucks waiting to go through border
formalities. A Harare man said he found his second hand Japanese car that he
bought from Durban missing some parts although it was being kept in the
Zimra bonding yard. "A headlight was missing and the car radio had been
stripped off," said the Harare man. A Zimra duty supervisor who spoke on
condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media said,
"We have no security to protect people's property here. As you can see the
bonding yard is big, we can only encourage people to clear their goods in
the shortest possible time..."

Zimbabwe view: Marriages of convenience

Wednesday, 20 May 2009 14:00 UK

In a new series of weekly viewpoints from African journalists, reporter Farai Sevenzo considers Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, as it approaches 100 days in office. I've been thinking about marriages of convenience, of how they can inconvenience your life by virtue of their very uncertainty. For nothing is certain: plans cannot be made; your wife is not really your wife; your husband has married you to make a point, but he could dump you at any time. And the time you spend together is for appearance's sake, so that the neighbours can say that the new couple next door seemed hopelessly ill-suited at first - he was old and thin and she was fat and ordinary - and they both seemed too poor to make a go of it. No love lost But there they are, holding hands for the cameras, attending each other's relatives' funerals and planning for their family's future by raising money together. You just never know. It could work. Political unions, like real marriages, can have their highs and lows And when such marriages happen the relatives must be told: "Yes, I'm marrying him, but if I don't, I won't get my papers." "I have to marry her or we will starve as a clan. She has rich relatives in the diaspora and they can send us money." The reasons will come thick and thin, but none of them will mention love; for love will have nothing to do with such a marriage. It is, of course, essentially a union of convenience. Now those relatives will slowly begin to whisper on both sides of the inconvenient alliance: "What a husband! He is mean and does not provide; he favours his own relatives; we are being used by him." "What a wife! She seems too stubborn to obey. She is always complaining." At every turn, the couple that so dominated the news agenda last year seem to have been playing see-saw with the Zimbabwean nation's destiny Team Zimbabwe sees funny side Harare bread winners and losers And on and on it goes until the family leave them to it and depart one by one, some crossing crocodile-infested waters, so they can escape this suffocating feeling of uncertainty. This week Zimbabwe's union of Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai will have reached the magical milestone of 100 days. It is a century of days that has been fraught with mistrust and there has been nothing much convenient about it. At every turn, the couple that so dominated the news agenda this time last year seem to have been playing see-saw with the Zimbabwean nation's destiny and waiting for their neighbours to say: "Yes, this union seems to be working so let's deliver the wedding gifts." Zimbabwe's currency has gone on an extended holiday Chief amongst expectations is a $5bn (£3.2bn) aid package meant to rescue the nation's economy from the moribund depths in which it languishes. The shops are once again full of goods, it would seem. Teachers and civil servants are being paid and the Zimbabwean dollar, once so maligned for its billion and trillion dollar bank notes, has taken a year's vacation in favour of the American dollar. So what's the problem? The world and his wife are too busy to care at the moment, it would seem, about what happens to the Zimbabwean marriage. For as usual, there are problem spots all over the globe which render this protracted crisis a little less important. Here's the long and short of it: The wife has been trying to get her rich friends and relatives to put money into the marriage. But they say they cannot trust such a husband with their cash. The jury still seems to be out on whether power-sharing will work The new finance minister, allied as he is to the new prime minister, reckons he can deliver the funds needed to jump-start the nation's economy, but not with the same old faces being in charge of the money. The president won't have it any other way. In the meantime, the praise-singers, poets and orators of this grand union (we shall call them journalists for the sake of clarity) find themselves thrown into prison for publishing the names of abductors and state agents and trying to chart the ups and downs of these times. Several other people too continue to yo-yo in and out of court and jail. And there is a growing feeling that even in marriages of convenience, there are those powerful bridegrooms who never let you forget where the real power lies. Let's see what happens in the next 100 days.

WOZA!

Zim GNU Watch April 2009

SITO Idasa has started a monthly Government of National Unity (GNU) Watch the first of which is attached to this email.

To view the document on the Idasa website, click here.  

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Emily Wellman
SITO Media and Events Coordinator
Office: +27 (0)12 392 0576
Fax: +27 (0)12 320 2414
Cell: +27 (0)72 236 2712



All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world is for good people to do nothing - Edmund Burke

No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a life time. - Kofi Annan

 

Daily cholera update and alerts, 19 May 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 149 Kbytes)

* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers.

Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 15 Cases and 0 deaths added today (in comparison with 50 cases and 1 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 98 309

- Cumulative deaths 4 283 of which 2 626 are community deaths

- 98.3 % of the reporting centres affected have reported today 59 out of 60 affected reporting centres)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 0.0 %.

- No report received from Mberengwa District

Looking for Zimbabwean actors in London

THE MERRY WIVES OF WEDZA is appearing as part of the Oval House First Bites
season, in Southwark, south London. It’s a reimagining of Shakespeare’s
Merry Wives of Windsor set in rural Zimbabwe, and we’re looking for
Zimbabwean actors to work with us.   We’re interested in promoting
Zimbabwean culture and identity in the UK, beyond the usual images of misery
and despair.  The idea has already been workshopped at the Harare Intl
Festival of Arts this year.

The show’s directed by Sarah Norman, whose credits include assisting in the
West End (Enjoy, now at the Gielgud), Almeida, Shakespeare’s Globe, Regent’s
Park, Theatre Royal Bath and on two national tours, as well as directing in
her own right across London’s smaller stages.

It’s a small time commitment, just three days of rehearsal, with a  showing
as a work in progress on the 30th of June.  We can’t offer payment at this
time, but we can offer a very interesting experience, a chance to explore a
great writer in a very new context, and a likely continuing role if the
project moves on.  For more information or to express an interest, please
email wivesofwedza@gmail.com.