The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
26 May 2011

Education Minister Senator David Coltart has told SW Radio Africa that no child should be sent home from school over non-payment of levies. But last week the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association said numerous schools in the city were sending children home, contrary to the announced government policy.

Speaking on our Question Time programme Coltart said; “I find that hard to accept because for a start, headmasters know what the law is. There is a statutory instrument, a law which was published way back in 1998, which makes it very clear children cannot be turned away for non-payment of levies.”

Coltart said most headmasters tend to hide behind the school fees which are far less than the levies and are ‘nominal.’ He said; “For example in rural primary schools there are no fees payable at all. Even in high density primary schools there is a nominal fee payable per term of no more than US$10 per term which even the poorest people generally can pay.”

Asked if it was possible headmasters were disregarding the directive Coltart said; “There is a lot of lawlessness which has crept into the education sector in the last decade. A lot of it has been caused by the economic collapse in the country.” He said they have not been able to ‘adequately police the system and many of the district education officers, who are the people responsible, don’t have transport.”

So what can parents do if their kids are sent back home. “What I ask parents to do is go to their local provincial education director if they are able and report the case to them, so that we can then try and follow up and deal with it,” Coltart said.
If you want to listen to the full interview with David Coltart on Question Time: Click here

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Magistrate takes leave to work as ZANU PF advisor in COPAC

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
26 May 2011

A Harare based regional magistrate, Never Katiyo, has taken sabbatical leave
from his Rotten Row court room to work as a ZANU PF technical advisor on the
drafting of a new constitution.

He usually presides over his cases using court number 30 at the Rotten Row
magistrates’ complex, but Katiyo took leave at the beginning of this month
to sit on the Lands, Natural Resources and Empowerment thematic committee,
where he represents the former ruling ZANU PF party.

The MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai accuse him of regularly
denying MDC-T activists bail as they face the trumped-up charges against
them.

It appears ZANU PF went to great lengths to try and hide his identity and
involvement with the thematic committee, as his name does not appear on the
list of officials working there.

But this is nothing new as the names of serving soldiers like the 3 Brigade
commander in Mutare, Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, do not appear
on the list released by Veritas on the 14th May. (Veritas is a watchdog that
monitors Legal and Parliamentary affairs in Zimbabwe).

Nyikayaramba is the ‘technical advisor on elections and transitional
mechanisms’ for ZANU PF in compiling data collected during the constitution
outreach meetings.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us on Thursday that many other civil
servants and soldiers, apart from Katiyo and Nyikayaramba, were part of
COPAC’s thematic committees. By law civil servants are not allowed to take
political sides, but this law has long been flouted by ZANU PF.

‘In the case of Katiyo, he was recently seen at COPAC joking with a former
Ministry of Justice employee who is now representing the MDC-T, that he was
working for a wrong party.

‘Although he seemed to be joking, others who saw it didn’t think it was
ideal for him to declare his allegiance to ZANU PF because he has recently
been presiding over Themba Mliswa’s case who is known to be a leading ZANU
PF official. He cleared stated he was ZANU PF and the party still had
absolute power in the inclusive government,’ Muchemwa said.

Contacted for comment Obert Gutu, the deputy Minister of Justice told us
that as a judicial officer Katiyo shouldn’t involve himself in active
politics.

‘He (Katiyo) is breaking every rule that one can imagine. Firstly he should
not be allowed to earn his salary as a magistrate for the time that he is
working as a ZANU PF employee at COPAC. Secondly, he should be promptly
hauled before a Judicial Service Commission disciplinary hearing to answer
charges of gross misconduct,’ Gutu said.

There are reports that the MDC-T is going to raise the issue in Parliament,
about how the Ministry of Justice is going to deal with judicial officers
who publicly align themselves with certain political parties.

In Masvingo last year, a magistrate with links to ZANU PF was suspended
pending investigations, for suggesting that he would deal decisively with
anyone who supports the MDC-T.

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Home Office bid to throw out ex-CIO man fails

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

26/05/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

A JUDGE has refused the UK Home Office permission to appeal against a
decision to grant asylum to a former Central Intelligence Organisation
operative accused of “crimes against humanity”.

Phillip Machemedze, 47, admitted kidnapping dozens of opposition activists
and carrying out acts of torture "too gruesome to recount", but he was
allowed to stay in Britain on May 4 after a judge said he would be killed in
Zimbabwe.
The Home Office initially said it would not appeal, but appears to have
changed its stance after criticism from media coverage.

But an attempt to launch an appeal suffered a setback on May 18 when a
second judge said the Home Office’s arguments amounted to “no more than a
disagreement” with the earlier decision to grant asylum to the former CIO
agent and his wife, Febbie.

“It is true that Phillip Machemedze committed abhorrent acts and deserves no
sympathy or favours. However, it is also true that we are bound by the
European Convention on Human Rights and Articles 2 and 3 are absolute,”
Senior Immigration Judge Robert Martin of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber’s
First Tier Tribunal ruled in a judgement seen by New Zimbabwe.com.

He added: “Whatever is felt about Phillip Machemedze and his actions, the UK
cannot return him to face death or inhuman or degrading treatment and for
someone who has ‘spilled the beans’ to the UK authorities, the Immigration
Judge was entitled to find that was what awaits him in Zimbabwe.”

Judge Martin also refused the Home Office permission to challenge the
granting of refugee status to Febbie Machemedze, saying she would also be at
risk of persecution.

“Neither the grounds (Home Office reasons for appeal) nor the determination
(decision to grant asylum) disclose an arguable error of law,” the judge
said finally.

Machemedze, who joined the CIO in 1996, arrived in the UK in 2000 after he
had “enough of the torture” as one of President Robert Mugabe's shock
troops.

He admitted in court to smashing the jaw of an MDC activist with pliers
before pulling out his tooth and stripping another naked and threatening to
force him to rape his daughters if he did not give information.

He also confessed to electrocuting, slapping, beating and punching "to the
point of being unconscious" a white farmer suspected of giving money to the
MDC, and to "putting salt into the wounds" of a female MDC member who was
imprisoned in an underground cell before being stripped naked and whipped.

But he claims he tried to leave the CIO and was supplying information to the
MDC. He said his wife was tortured after he left the country, prompting her
to leave behind their three children and follow him to the UK.
After the Home Office rejected his initial asylum claim, arguing that he had
committed "crimes against humanity", he appealed.

At a hearing in Newport, South Wales, where he lives, the judge who heard
his appeal Mr Justice David Archer said he had committed “savage acts” of
violence, but ruled sending him to Zimbabwe would be a death sentence.
“He has seen too much and said too much about his colleagues to be allowed
to live,” the judge added.

Norwich-based Zimbabwean lawyer Masimba Mavaza, of IEI Solicitors, is
representing Machemedze and his wife.

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Zimbabwe Cabinet Approves 5-Year Plan to Promote Economic Growth

http://www.voanews.com

Investment Minister Tapiwa Mashakada in a statement said the new plan will
be funded through domestic savings and new investment from abroad - though
foreign investors and donors have not been forthcoming

Gibbs Dube | Washington 25 May 2011

The Zimbabwean Cabinet has approved a five-year plan to promote economic
growth and sustainable development through the investment of US$9 billion.
But critics have already dismissed the medium-term lan over-optimistic and
lacking credibility.

Investment Minister Tapiwa Mashakada in a statement said the new plan will
be funded through domestic savings and new investment from abroad. But he
did not explain how Zimbabwe will attract foreign investment and
international aid when it has failed to do so since the formation of the
current unity government more than two years ago.

The plan projects average annual growth of 7 percent with inflation of
between 4 and 6 percent. It replaces the Short-Term Emergency Recovery
Program published in 2009 but still needs parliamentary ratification to
receive budgetary support.

Parliamentary Budget Committee Chairman Paddington Zhanda said the
Medium-Term Plan will not work in Zimbabwe. “There are many economic
development plans drafted long back that are currently gathering dust in the
country and as such indications are that this new one will do the same,”
Zhanda commented.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce President Trust Chikohora said
business leaders have warmly embraced the latest economic recovery plan.

“We are happy that we now have a five-year strategic plan that will give us
a proper framework [for] turning around our businesses,” Chikohora said.

But economic commentator Walter Nsununguli Mbongolwane said the plan is too
ambitious for a country whose jobless rate approaches 90 percent.

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For Zimbabweans, Meaning of Africa Day is in the Eye of the Beholder

http://www.voanews.com/

Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawapanga Mwana Nanga of the Democratic Republic of
Congo led celebrations in Harare under the theme 'Accelerating Youth
Empowerment for Sustainable Development,' which comforted ZANU-PF proponents
of indigenizing foreign enterprises

Sandra Nyaira | Washington 25 May 2011

Acting Foreign Minister Herbert Murwera said the West was merely continuing
its agenda of regime change with its military operations in Libya.

Zimbabweans marked Africa Day on Wednesday in different ways, some lamenting
the country’s lack of media diversity, others talking up a black empowerment
initiative.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa lamented the absence of independent
broadcasting outlets 31 years after independence.

MISA's Zimbabwe chapter said President Robert Mugabe maintains a
"stranglehold" on broadcasting in the country at the expense of ordinary
Zimbabweans.

The media watchdog said that with just one broadcast station, Zimbabwe lags
behind most other African countries in opening the airwaves to free
expression.

The Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said Africa Day remains important for the country, declaring in a
statement that while Zimbabwe has stagnated, hope is not lost with new
elections on the horizon.

"To us in Zimbabwe, the day represents a cherished dream," the MDC statement
said.

"We fought gallantly against colonialism in a national project whose ideals
unfortunately have yet to be realized after a colossal betrayal by an elite
we sincerely entrusted with our mandate to help us assume a new identity in
the changed circumstances."

The former opposition party continued: "Our African culture is clear and
unambiguous: we celebrate our diversity; dialogue and democracy; we see our
differences as invaluable sources of strength; and love peace and security."

In official observations in Harare, Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawapanga Mwana
Nanga of the Democratic Republic of Congo led celebrations under the theme
“Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development.”

Youth and Indigenization Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said the AU theme this
year was very much in line with Harare’s initiative to empower indigenous
people, especially youth.

Addressing ZANU-PF youths later at his party's headquarters after the
festivities in Africa Unity Square in downtown Harare, Kasukuwere said his
party was not going back on its indigenization plans. Acting Foreign
Minister Herbert Murwera said the West was merely continuing its agenda of
regime change with its military operations in Libya.

“We struggled against colonization to ensure that the people enjoyed their
rights and freedoms," Murerwa said. In the current situation, "our systems
and institutions are manipulated under the cover of democracy, good
governance and the rule of law.”

Executive Secretary Takura Zhangazha of the Voluntary Media Council, a
self-regulatory body, said Zimbabweans should continue to embrace Africa
Day. He was one of the main speakers at an event held to mark Africa Day in
Harare.

"This event was organized by the National Constitutional Assembly and the
Media Institute of Southern Africa in order to remember and place into
context Zimbabwe role in Africa vis-a-vis the theme of this year's Africa
Day theme," said Zhangazha "As well as our issues in relation to SADC
mediation and in general the condition of African people in the whole, so
it's a very significant day indeed which reflects our understanding of our
history."

London-based political analyst George Shire says Zimbabweans must decide
collectively to move forward instead of politically tearing the country
apart.

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Rural Women Voting With Their Feet

http://www.ipsnews.net/

By Ignatius Banda

BULAWAYO, May 26, 2011 (IPS) - At independence in 1980, Loyce Tshuma (55), a
villager in rural Tsholotsho in Matebeleland North, was a loyal believer in
politics as a powerful vehicle to change and better lives. Since then she
never missed an opportunity to cast her vote.

But now, with the upcoming national elections, Tshuma has lost all trust in
the process. "So much has changed about what I used to believe in about
politics," Tshuma says.

"There has not been any commitment to better our lives and some now think
things could be better if we had promoted our own women to lead us," she
said expressing a common frustration that emerged during IPS interviews with
some rural women.

As the country heads for national elections that President Robert Mugabe
insists must be held in 2011, the general feeling among rural women who
spoke to IPS is that there has not been much improvement of their lives
since independence.

Early in 2011, an audit by the Zimbabwe Election Network (ZESN) found that
very few women (48 percent) were registered by 2010 to vote in 2011 as
many - alongside youths - had lost interest in participating in national
elections.

There also remains a palpable absence of female political leaders in rural
parts of the country. Activists say there are no signs that women will
challenge positions and seats currently held by their male counterparts
despite commitments by political parties to ensure gender parity within
their structures

While political parties have made commitments to elect women to positions of
influence in line with SADC protocols and other multilateral policy
frameworks that seek gender parity in parliament and government, the coming
elections offer a test for those commitments.

The main political parties themselves are struggling to meet gender parity
commitments they set for themselves as seen by the recent Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) congress. Here top posts were dominated by men. Out
of thirteen senior posts, only one was won by a female, Thokozani Khuphe,
who was re-elected party deputy president.

Gender activists say the Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front)
(ZANU-PF), the former ruling party that now forms part of the government of
national unity, has also not faired well in gender equity. There are only
seven female cabinet ministers in Zimbabwe.

"Women are still not taken seriously even by male politicians themselves,"
said Tabitha Khumalo, a senior MDC official.

"We still need to change attitudes among ourselves before we take on men in
elections and only then will other women whom we want to vote for us take us
seriously," she said.

The Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU) says statistics about women's
representation in parliament "reached nine percent at its lowest and 22
percent in 2009 at its highest - a far cry from the 30 percent minimum set
by the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development and even further from
the achievement of the 50 percent benchmark set by the SADC Protocol on
Gender and Development and the Millennium Development Goal three."

It has become an accepted feature of local politics for women to don party
regalia bearing the image of the party president, and that is where their
active participation ends as reflected in the numbers that are voted into
office.

"Rural women are easy to forget for politicians as soon as the election is
over as they have all forms of communicating with the world blocked because
of being in rural areas," says Josephine Ngulube, a Bulawayo gender
activist.

"If the politician cannot go to them, they too cannot go to him. The
disenchantment with the electoral processes is understandable because it can
be proven that they remain the poorest in the country affected by years of
economic hardships," said Ngulube.

However, it is the disgruntlement of rural women such as Tshuma that could
be telling about the state of women's participation with voting and
leadership.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF has announced it will be targeting the registration of
women ahead of the coming polls as the party claims its support is in the
rural areas.

Rural women have traditionally been looked upon as a huge constituency for
political parties who have nevertheless continued to field men for
parliamentary and senatorial seats. But changing attitudes and perceptions
about voting itself by rural women, at least according to IPS interviews and
the ZESN report, could mean the drive for gender parity in government and
parliament could have a setback.

"We have seen in the past that women would generally not support another
woman, but women are beginning to be politically literate and are voicing
that they would rather vote for one of them based on the kind of leadership
they have received from men," said Samukeliso Mthunzi, a Zimbabwean gender
relations researcher based in South Africa.

"Attitudes must change if women are to assert themselves in the market place
of political ideas, otherwise we will see women voters simply boycott polls
without any long-term solutions to why they stayed away in the first place,"
Mthunzi said.

According to agencies such as the United Nations International Fund for
Agricultural Development, rural women in sub-Sahara Africa are some of the
poorest in the world as they survive as smallholder farmers. It is this
lamented poverty that persists despite their being able to vote for change
that could see them shying away from the polls, Mthunzi believes.

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'Axe' falls on Mugabe's shame

http://mg.co.za/

APHIWE DEKLERK - May 26 2011 18:42

"The axe will always forget but the tree that was chopped by the axe will
never forget."

These are words spoken by Moses Tsvangirai in The Axe and the Tree a new
documentary that reveals the extent of the violence directed at opposition
party supporters that erupted in Zimbabwe in the run-up to the 2008
presidential run-off elections.

The documentary was launched on Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in
Houghton, Johannesburg. It comes amid calls by Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe to go to the polls again this year.

The film focuses on four families living on the periphery of Harare. They
relive their experience of violence, rape and house burnings at the hands of
violent Zanu-PF supporters young enough to be their children -- all because
they dared to support the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring Zimbabwean-born
human rights activist Elinor Sisulu; Howard Varney, acting director of the
International Centre for Transitional Justice which supported the making of
the documentary; and Rumbi Katedza, the director of the documentary.

Tsvangirai's face darkens as he tells of repeated beatings and how, later,
he had to tell his child to accept the violence as a part of life -- a
statement that shocked the audience.

"When a father says to their child these things happen in life, it's not
right, it's not normal and people shouldn't expect that and almost have an
optimistic approach to it," said Sisulu, who is married to Max Sisulu,
Parliament speaker and son of struggle royalty Walter and Albertina Sisulu.

Katedza said the documentary was shot under difficult circumstances. One of
the perpetrators of the violence, who initially agreed to take part in the
documentary, disappeared for a while. When he came back he wanted nothing to
do with the documentary, said Katedza.

"There is a lot of fear [in the community], not only among the people who
support MDC but also on Zanu-PF supporters," she said.

The documentary comes on the back of fears of more political violence if
Zimbabwe goes ahead with elections this year.

Elections in Zimbabwe have become synonymous with violence, said Varney.

Sisulu said Zimbabwe's opposition parties and civil society needed a
stronger push for media freedom as a matter of urgency rather that their
currents focus on drafting the country's new constitution.

But her stance on media freedom seems to contradict the South African
government's secrecy on Zimbabwe. First there was Mbeki's controversial
"quiet diplomacy" in the way he handled his Zimbabwean counterpart during
his mediation mission, and currently President Jacob Zuma's fight to keep a
report on violence during Zimbabwe's 2002 presidential elections under
wraps.

The Mail & Guardian has been embroiled in a battle to gain access to the
report, which the presidency has blocked at every opportunity.

Violence marred campaigning in the run-up to the elections in 2002, as
Mugabe's efforts to retain power through force intensified. Many detentions
and 30 deaths were reported.
Before the election, Thabo Mbeki -- then president of South Africa -- sent
judges Dikgang Moseneke and Sisi Khampepe to investigate constitutional and
legal challenges leading up to election day.

A report was compiled by the two judges, but the South African government
declined to make it public, despite the judges' recommendation that it be
released, leading to the M&G's request of a copy through the Promotion of
Access to Information Act in 2008.

While both the High and the Supreme Courts have ruled in the paper's favour,
the M&G has yet to see the report as the Presidency has taken the matter all
the way to the Constitutional Court on appeal.

Katedza is hopeful that the documentary will raise more awareness about what
happened in Zimbabwe and prevent similar incidents happening again.

“The violence at the end at the day affects families and children who, like
the characters in the film, just want to be able to build nice houses and
live their lives and they should be able to do that.”

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Zimbabwe must licence private broadcasters transparently

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 26/05/11

Media reports that Zimbabwe will soon licence two commercial radio stations
is welcome but it must be done transparently. As the devil is always in the
details, it remains to be seen how the licensing will be done and to whom.
However, it would be naïve for the regime to try to silence critics by
handing out licences to the regime’s loyalists in order to promote
paternalistic propaganda under the guise of black economic empowerment at
the expense of untapped impartial and professional talent with business
acumen across racial and ethnic lines.

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe would be best advised to ensure a
level playing field as it is expected to completely transform the
broadcasting industry in Zimbabwe without sacrificing quality and
credibility.

The freeing of Zimbabwe’s airwaves is long overdue to allow for business
growth and diversity and well as give the public value for their hard-earned
money for information, education and entertainment. Despite earning
independence in 1980, Zimbabwe is still in the wilderness as far as
broadcasting is concerned when compared to its neighbour, South Africa which
has transformed the industry beyond recognition with great dividends.

For instance, even during apartheid days i.e. before 1994, South Africa
already had two commercial radio stations, Radio 702 and Capital Radio and
one private pay-TV service, M-Net, in addition to the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

According to the National Association of Broadcasters, having started the
ball rolling with the establishment of the community radio sector in 1994,
the regulator turned its attention to commercial radio in 1996 – privatising
six lucrtative SABC stations: Highveld Sterio (Gauteng), Radio Jacaranda
(Gauteng), East Coast Radio (KwaZulu Natal), KFM (Western Cape), Radio Algoa
(Eastern Cape) and OFM (Free State). In 1997 the Independent Broadcasting
Authority (IBA) issued 8 new commercial radio licences in South Africa
(nab.org.za).

Since then, gross advertising revenue for South Africa’s broadcasting
industry has been estimated to have increased from just over R2 billion to
almost R8.5 billion between 1994 and 2006.

While, Zimbabwe’s licensing fees of US15,000 payable annually plus 1 percent
of the new operator’s gross annual turnover are reasonable, however, there
is need for clarification on what the levy would be used for by the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.

Ideally, the levy or tax on broadcasters should go towards funding the
removal of prime-time advertisements from the state broadcaster Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation as done e.g. in France. That is the only way of
ensuring you don’t milk the cow until it starts bleeding. Advertisers should
be made to support private as well as public broadcasters for there to be a
basis for a levy.

Zimbabwe must licence private broadcasters transparently. The country has
endured a very long period of arrested development for narrow paternalistic
reasons. It’s time to move on.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

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Broadcasting Authority offers two commercial radio licenses

ZANU PF to snub SADC election roadmap

Mugabe Threatens To Resist Regional Pressure for Reform

Zuma says no

Whereabouts of ZimRights officials still unknown

Zim farm invasions intensify as SADC snubs human rights

Partisan Zimbabwe Police Flourish Under Attorney General

Gono Wants Zim Dollar Back

‘New charter must promote basic rights’

Push for Chombo’s arrest

Parties Deadlocked On Election Timeframe: Tsvangirai

No United MDC Front in Next Zimbabwe Elections - MDC Wing Leader Ncube

Head of Zimbabwe's National Constitutional Assembly Eyes Term Extension

Church leaders turn on heat

Coltart says no child should be sent home over levies

Magistrate takes leave to work as ZANU PF advisor in COPAC

Home Office bid to throw out ex-CIO man fails

Zimbabwe Cabinet Approves 5-Year Plan to Promote Economic Growth

For Zimbabweans, Meaning of Africa Day is in the Eye of the Beholder

Rural Women Voting With Their Feet

'Axe' falls on Mugabe's shame

Zimbabwe must licence private broadcasters transparently