Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara now set to meet Tuesday

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
4 May 2009

The three principals to the Global Political Agreement met briefly in Harare
on Monday, but deferred until Tuesday the outstanding issues that have been
threatening the three month old inclusive government.

It was reported last week that ZANU PF leader Robert Mugabe, MDC President
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the other MDC formation,
would meet again on Monday to address the outstanding issues.

But James Maridadi, Tsvangirai's spokesman told us none of the problematic
issues of the GPA were tackled on Monday. He said the principals were likely
going to meet again Tuesday, after the cabinet meeting.

Some reports suggest that the principals in the inclusive government are
close to declaring a stalemate on the outstanding issues of the GPA, a move
that would presumably result in the intervention of SADC to try to break the
impasse.

Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara have met five times within a fortnight, but
have completely failed to agree on the way forward.

But while the three principals sit and fail to come up with a workable
solution, violent farm invasions continue, the rule of law does not exist,
there is no media freedom and the economy continues to be in freefall.

Ordinary Zimbabweans urgently need to see some action taken to overcome
these real issues that affect any hope of future investment in the country.
 

Zimbabwean teachers to go to work despite no pay deal

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

Business News
May 4, 2009, 18:02 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwean teachers will report for work when the country's new
term starts on Tuesday, despite no deal having been reached on pay,
teachers' representatives said Monday.

The teachers had vowed to go on strike if their monthly salaries were not
increased to 454 US dollars-per-month by Monday.

Raymond Majongwe, Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers' Union of
Zimbabwe said that 'we have reason to believe in the efforts being led by
(Education Minister David) Coltart.'

'We have hope that the visits that are being made to the IMF (International
Monetary Fund), the World Bank, and donors by members of this government are
meant to solve this problem,' he added.

Meanwhile, Coltart told reporters Monday that marking of last year's school
examinations in Zimbabwe had ground to a halt because the government had
failed to raise the 3.1 million dollars needed to pay for the task.

'I deeply regret this unacceptable situation,' Coltart said.

'We have not secured the funds from the international donors including
UNESCO,' the minister added.

The IMF said on Monday that Zimbabwe required at least 200 million US
dollars in budgetary support, and between 200 and 300 million US dollars for
humanitarian assistance in the areas of food relief, health and education.

Teachers urged to return to work as donors take up salary fight

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
04 May 2009

Teacher's unions are encouraging their members to return to work at the
start of the new school semester on Tuesday, after a crisis meeting to avert
a mass strike action proved successful on Monday.

Education officials and representatives from the international donor
community met with union leaders on Monday, in an effort to avoid the
threatened strike over the meagre teachers' salaries. Teachers are
demanding, among other things, a significant wage increase of more than
US$1,000, and threatened the mass action to coincide with the start of the
new school term. The Education Ministry has admitted that the government
does not have the funds to increase teachers' wages, and has instead called
on the help of the international donor community to try to drum up support
for Zimbabwe's teachers.

Takavafira Zhou, the President of the Progressive Teacher Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ), explained on Monday that the meeting has given union leaders hope
that their needs will be met soon. He said that the UN will be approached on
their behalf about the financial dilemma in the education sector, and said
PTUZ members were being encouraged to return to work as usual, as of
Tuesday.

"We need to give the unity government a chance, and so we are asking our
members to keep working," Zhou explained. "But we can only wait until June
and then we won't have a choice but to embark on a mass action."

The strike would likely start a chain reaction of rolling mass action across
the civil service, over desperately low state wages. The government has
called on the country's civil service, who each receive a US$100 monthly
allowance, to be patient over their meagre salaries until the country's
economy begins to stabilise. But with the economy completely dollarised and
the local dollar being abandoned in favour of foreign currency, the US$100
payout has not been able to keep the public service employees and their
families financially afloat.

State schools meanwhile have been ordered to slash their fees to make
education affordable for financially beleaguered families. According to the
Sunday Mail newspaper Education Minister David Coltart has recommended that
state schools should make 'substantial cuts' when they open for the new term
on Tuesday, because many parents cannot afford them. The government set
school fees at between US$20 and US$280 a term earlier this year, but most
parents have failed to pay, citing low wages and high living costs.

"When the fees were set in March, the assumption was that we would get
balance of payments support to kickstart the economy," Coltart said. "But
this has not materialised and parents are worse off than before."

Only a handful of students have returned to school this year because of
financially constraints, and there are mounting concerns for the future of
the once respected education sector in Zimbabwe. Once a shining beacon for
education in Africa, learning has now slipped beyond access for most
students, and a whole generation of Zimbabwean children face having no
education at all.

Zimbabwe's National Unity Government Locks Horns on Land

http://www.voanews.com



By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
04 May 2009

Western reconstruction assistance to Zimbabwe is being held up because
President Robert Mugabe's supporters are continuing to disrupt farming
activity on white-run farms. Meanwhile, a white Zimbabwe commercial farmer
has been elected as president of the regional agricultural union and vice
president for Africa on the world body representing most small-scale and
communal farmers.

From the launch of the unity government in Zimbabwe in February, Western
governments stipulated that development aid would only be given to Zimbabwe
if several conditions were met. One of those was a cessation of farm
invasions and other disruptions on farms by supporters of President Robert
Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party; and, the security services which still answer
only to him.

These activities are a continuation of the chaotic land-reform process begun
in 2000 by Mr. Mugabe's government, under which some 4,000 commercial
farmers have lost their land, much of it to high-ranking ZANU-PF members and
Mr. Mugabe's cronies.

Despite that, invasions have continued and there has been a continuous
effort by supporters of President Mugabe to disrupt and prevent farming
activity, and police are charging landowners with trespass.

Both factions of the Movement for Democratic Change have demanded an end to
these actions and say there must be a moratorium on the question of land.
President Robert Mugabe says the land seizures by his supporters must
continue, because all agricultural land has been nationalized.

Sources tell VOA that negotiations between Mr. Mugabe and the two MDC
leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambare, to resolve the matter
remain stuck on several important points. A new round of negotiations begins
Monday.

Western diplomats say, until this issue is settled and production allowed to
continue, there will be no meaningful Western aid to begin the massive start
of rebuilding Zimbabwe's destroyed economy.

Doug Taylor-Freeme, who will be prosecuted for trespass in a district court
in northern Zimbabwe, Tuesday, was recently elected as president of the
Southern Africa Development Community's Southern African Confederation of
Agricultural Unions. He was also elected the African vice president of the
World Federation of International Agricultural Producers, which represents
millions of mainly small-scale and communal farmers around the world.

He says his election means he represents the vast majority of southern
African farmers. He says the confederation's support for beleaguered
Zimbabwean farmers in the last few years has been crucial.

"There's been a very consistent message from them," he said. "These bodies
are structures to promote agriculture and, with the destruction of the
agriculture sector in Zimbabwe, this goes against all their principles, and
so they have been pretty strong . With SADC being given the mandate to
resolve the Zimbabwe issue and because SACAU is part of SADC it puts us, or
it puts me, in a very strong position to try and deal with the recovery of
agriculture."

Taylor-Freeme says all Zimbabwe's farmers are impatient for a resolution of
the land question, which has led, in large part, to the collapse of the
economy which has depended on agriculture for generations.

"So in Zimbabwe, both large or small-scale farmers, none of us can farm
effectively. So collectively there is a message from the grassroots levels,
saying come on we need a balance. We need to help each other.  I believe
there is enough land for everybody and so there is a voice coming from the
bottom to political leaders, we need to resolve this and get the country
productive again," he said.

Taylor-Freeme remains hopeful there will be a resolution to the current
deadlock.

"I am still pretty confident that with time, reality will dawn," he said.
"If you want investment, if you want financial access to the world's
resources, you have got to come into line with international policies and
regional policies. I give it a couple of months before that will all come
into line. I am still pretty confident that it will come right."

Mr. Mugabe, Mr. Tsvangirai and Mr. Mutambara, the deputy prime minister,
have failed to find common ground on land ownership and farm disruptions.
However, they are now discussing a moratorium on action against land owners.

Mutambara clashes with war veterans

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16208

May 4, 2009

By Owen Chikari

MASVINGO- Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has clashed with war
veterans over the invasion of Swantoen Farm about 15 kilometres south of
Masvingo city after the former freedom fighters defied an order by the
Deputy Premier for them to vacate the property.

Mutambara yesterday ordered the war veterans to unconditionally leave the
property saying fresh farm invasions were not progressive.

The farm was invaded by former Masvingo Zanu-PF provincial chairman, retired
Major Alex Mudavanhu, and Isaiah Muzenda, the former provincial chairman of
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association in Masvingo.

Mutambara said the former owner of the farm, Ronnie Sparrow should be
allowed back.

"We do not have to talk of fresh farm invasions here ", said Mutambara.

"The example is Mr Sparrow's farm which has been invaded. We call upon all
those on the property to immediately vacate the farm because the offer
letters they have are dubious."

However Mudavanhu and Muzenda have defied Mutambara and vowed never to leave
the property.

Mudavanhu has taken up residence in the farm house while Muzenda has
occupied the farm manager's house.

"The farm is now ours and politicians might come and talk but we are not
going to listen", said Mudavanhu.

"All those who are calling for our removal are anti-revolutionary and to us
they are just our enemies".

Mudavanhu and Muzenda have joined the bandwagon of senior Zanu-PF officials
who are now Zimbabwe's new breed of multiple farm owners.

Mudavanhu already owns Rippling Waters farm along the Masvingo-Mutare
highway while Muzenda also owns Heathcote Farm on the outskirts of the city.

Although President Robert Mugabe has called on all multiple farm owners to
surrender some of their properties but to date no one has done so.

Senior members of President Mugabe's party and former cabinet ministers are
the major culprits in respect of multiple farm ownership.

Meanwhile, a pride of about 59 lions left behind at Swantoen Farm face
starvation after the invaders failed to adequately cater for them.

The government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has only taken over a
pride of 16 lions abandoned at Lions Farm while those at Swantoen farm were
left to be cared for by the new owners.

Mudavanhu and Muzenda who lack the resources to cater for the lions have
since approached the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals
(SPCA) for help.

The SPCA normally takes care of domestic pets, mainly cats and dogs. If the
SPCA in Masvingo responds favourably to the appeal by the two war veterans,
taking care of 59 lions should prove a major challenge for an organisation
dependent on public donations.

It is not clear whether Mudavanhu and Muzenda were aware of the presence of
the lion's on the farm before they evicted the former owner from the
property or what provisional arrangements they made for the welfare of the
animals.

Pretoria waives visas for Zimbabweans

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16200

May 4, 2009

By Ntando Ncube

Zimbabwe Home Affairs ministry is said to have signed on Monday an agreement
with the Government of South Africa to drop visa restrictions for Zimbabwean
passport holders travelling south into their neighbouring country.

South Africa Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is said to have
appeared with her two Zimbabwean counterparts, Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo
Mohandi, to make the announcement in Pretoria.

A source with direct knowledge of the meeting said: "Please be advised that
Zimbabwe's Minister of Home Affairs (MDC-T MP) the Honourable Giles Mutsekwa
has signed an agreement with the Government of South Africa to drop visa
restrictions on Zimbabwean passport holders. The deal signed in Pretoria
today will permit Zimbabweans entry into South Africa on a 90 day pass
basis."

Human rights organisations have in the past proposed giving Zimbabweans
special status in South Africa pending the stabilisation of the crisis in
their country.

The source added: "South Africa's immigration minister says Zimbabweans are
welcome to enter the country without visas, a change expected to slow the
flow of thousands of asylum seekers from the troubled northern neighbor."

According to the source Mapisa-Nqakula says Zimbabwean citizens can also
apply to do casual work while in South Africa.

Large numbers of Zimbabwean economic migrants were blamed for congesting the
department's asylum-seeker process.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said the visa-exemption decision
was an acknowledgement that migration patterns connecting Zimbabwe and South
Africa "have probably changed permanently".

The projected special consideration will work through a special permit that
only Zimbabweans would qualify for. It would enable a holder to a six- month
stay in South Africa

South Africa home affairs' deputy director-general for immigration services,
Jackson McKay said it was not enough to grant a visa waiver as Zimbabweans
were struggling to secure passports in their country and many were already
in SA, living illegally.

No comment could be obtained from Joseph Mohajane, the acting director of
communications in the Department of Home Affairs on the new developments.
His phone repeatedly rang without answer.

South African officials believe many of the 8 000 or so Zimbabweans who
apply daily for asylum status will now opt for the visitors permit.

Media 'talibans' set to dominate Kariba conference

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
04 May 2009

A government organized conference set for Kariba this week, to look at
reforming the media, has already drawn criticism for ignoring most of the
major stakeholders and having an unclear agenda. Not only has the conference
ignored exiled media organizations forced out by repressive laws, but the
same people at the forefront of persecuting the media have been selected to
be keynote speakers.

Set to make presentations will be the Jonathan Moyo (credited with crafting
the repressive media laws that were used to shut down newspapers and which
ensure there is still no independent broadcast media);   Media and
Information Commission Chairman Tafataona Mahoso, (whose body denied
licences to independent newspapers);  Attorney General Johannes Tomana (a
blue-eyed member of the ZANU PF regime and former ambassador to China);  and
senior Mugabe aide Chris Mutsvangwa.

A commentary in the Zimbabwe Standard newspaper attacked the presence of
what it called 'media talibans', saying skepticism about the government's
intentions was being fuelled by the inclusion of, 'characters with a
violently unrepentant disposition towards free speech.' Zim Rights national
director Okay Machisa is equally shocked that media 'oppressors' are
emerging at the forefront of so-called media reform. Other commentators
questioned the need for a media conference in a holiday resort, when it was
clear all that is needed is for repressive laws to be scrapped.

Although MDC official Jameson Timba, the Deputy Minister of Media,
Information and Publicity, has been telling journalists the government is
serious about media reforms, his counterpart, Information Minister Webster
Shamu, has still been threatening journalists. Last week Shamu threatened to
'punish' the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper for "publicizing cabinet
deliberations" claiming  that the fact that they did so without government
authority was a 'punishable offence' the world over. The persecution of
journalists like Anderson Manyere, Jestina Mukoko and others also adds
another reminder that media reform is definitely not on the ZANU PF agenda.

The organization of the conference has also been mired in confusion. It was
initially set for Kariba's Carribbea Bay Resort before it was moved to
Nyanga. Now it has been moved back to Kariba. Journalists have slammed this
as an attempt to exclude most of them from the conference, by taking it far
away. The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe also criticized the agenda for the
conference, saying the agenda and topics were 'fatally compromised.'

Service chiefs still refusing to salute Tsvangirai

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
4 May 2009

Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has still to brief Members of Parliament
why the country's defence chiefs still refuse to salute the Prime Minister,
six weeks after the issue was raised by an MDC legislator.

The MDC MP for Makoni Central, John Nyamande, first raised the issue with
Mnangagwa in March. His question has however been deferred on several
occasions, due to the Defence Minister's unavailability to respond to it.

'Whether he's ducking the question or not, I don't know, but I will still
ask him because sooner or later he's going to be in parliament to answer
questions,' Nyamande said. Parliament is currently on one of it's numerous
breaks, but will reopen on the 12th May.

According to the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Assembly order no 18
of the 25th March 2009, MP Nyamande asked Mnangagwa whether the service
chiefs still maintain that they will not salute Morgan Tsvangirai. He also
asked the Defence Minister to explain their absence during the swearing in
of Tsvangirai by Mugabe at State House.

'People want to know what the service chiefs are up to,' Nyamande added.
The MP, an educationist by profession who holds a BA in Philosophy and a
Masters in educational studies, defeated Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
in last year's parliamentary elections.

'In the spirit of the inclusiveness of government we expected that the
service chiefs would follow in line with Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai's
working relationship. What has suprised many of us is that they haven't
extended the same kind of respect and spirit of inclusiveness. That worries
a lot of people,' the MDC legislator said.

A source in Harare told us once Nyamande's question was raised it was sent
to Mnangagwa's office, who in turn passed it over to the service chiefs for
their input.

'A lot of middle ranking and junior officers are of the opinion that if
their commanders are reluctant to salute Tsvangirai, they should resign from
the security forces. This issue has raised a series of consultations within
the security forces and you can tell a lot of people are uncomfortable with
the status quo,' our source told us.

The service chiefs seem to be living up to their public vow which they made
just before last year's harmonized elections, when they said they were not
going to salute Tsvangirai. Since the formation of the all inclusive
government earlier this year, they have not yet demonstrated that they have
abandoned their disdain for the Prime Minister.

The powerful service chiefs, who include Defence Forces Commander General
Constantine Chiwenga, Army Commander Lieutenant General Phillip Sibanda,
Prisons Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi, Police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri, and Air Marshall Perence Shiri, are seen as a major stumbling block
towards full implementation of the terms set by the unity agreement.

Activists call for overhaul of Zimbabwe's electoral system

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's civil society on Monday called for an
overhaul of the country's electoral management system, including the
introduction of a system of proportional representation to ensure
broader-based participation by all political parties and women.

Members of 38 local civil society groups meeting under the banner of the
Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said Zimbabwe's poll management
system should embrace more inclusive and participatory electoral systems.

"These should result in a win-win situation that minimizes the occurrence of
electoral conflict and maximizes the participation of women and minority
groups, such as the proportional representation and the mixed electoral
systems," the group said in a communiqué issued following a meeting jointly
organised with Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.

They called for the revision of Zimbabwe's media and security laws to ensure
zero tolerance of political violence and the criminalisation of hate speech.

Disputed presidential elections last year plunged Zimbabwe into a political
crisis amid counter-accusations of vote rigging and political violence.

ZESN said there was "need for a truly independent, non-partisan,
transparent, accountable, credible and efficient election management body
appointed in an open and inclusive process".

"The management of all electoral processes, specifically voter registration,
custody and maintenance of the voters' roll as well as invitation and
accreditation of foreign and local observers should be done by an impartial
election management body," the group said.

ZESN said financing of political parties should be revisited to ensure
equity and openness and funds should be managed by election management body
and not government.

Currently political funding is reserved for parties with at least 15 percent
representation in parliament.

  JN/nm/APA 2009-05-04

Trial Opens Can of RBZ Worms

http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/

Sandra Mandizvidza

4 May 2009

THE ongoing trial of a former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) senior official
Joseph Banda has thrown the spotlight on the chaotic and irregular manner
affairs of the central bank have been run under the watch of governor,
Gideon Gono.

Banda, a former chief inspector in the Financial Intelligence Inspectorate
and Evaluate Division, is being accused of fraudulently acquiring four
generators, a motorbike, 15 knapsacks, a seed drill and five chains, all
valued at US$35 100 from the central bank.

Banda insists he had the approval of Gono in getting the equipment.

He is also facing other charges of impersonating a police officer by
allegedly claiming to be a retired Senior Assistant Commissioner in the
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), a security officer with the RBZ as well as a
war veteran.

Apart from being a criminal trial, Banda's case is shedding light on
irregularities in the management of RBZ affairs.

It also shows that Gono, who sought to rid the financial sector of
malpractices, presided over an institution that is riddled with serious
internal governance and accounting weaknesses which allowed others a free
reign. The case has attracted the interest of the Anti-Corruption
Commission.

Evidence provided in the court for the past week by RBZ employ- ees has also
shown how the central bank hired someone with a shady past to head the
Financial Intelligence Inspectorate.

Defence lawyers say there was no attempt to check on the dirty past of
Banda, who was attached to the governor's office.

If background checks had been conducted, they would have revealed that
Banda, who has a previous conviction of fraud and theft, was not only a
criminal but brought a false CV to the governor's office.

Banda is also facing charges of misrepresenting himself as a retired Senior
Assistant Commissioner with the ZRP. The court denied him bail on the basis
of his previous conviction.

Evidence led in court showed RBZ management systems were so weak that even
after Banda was retrenched in 2007, he remained on the central bank payroll,
enjoying the perks reserved for senior banking staff.

He did more than just draw a salary: he took a role in the distribution of
farm equipment under the controversial farm mechanization programme without
following laid down procedures, and also acquired for himself, farming
implements fraudulently.

According to RBZ officials, Banda, who denies the charges, succeeded in his
endeavours because there were no written guidelines on distribution of the
farming equipment. An RBZ Senior Administrator in the Mechanisation
Department, Mathias Makwengwe testified in court that Banda acquired the
farming implements with the assistance of the department's former head,
Ringo Star Masakwa, who is currently on the run for alleged theft of farm
implements.

Allan Mandla, a data capture officer at the RBZ said: "Masakwa told us that
Banda was going to be our boss. These two were always together and sometimes
I would see Banda in places reserved for senior RBZ staff only which means
that he had the access cards to go anywhere in the building," he said.

Re-examination by state prosecutor Obi Mabahwana has revealed that a book,
which contained records of implements which were distributed by Banda, is
also missing. Mandla stunned the court when he admitted the distribution of
the farm equipment was sometimes done through word of mouth.

He said they would just fill out the forms on the basis of what Masakwa told
them.

"At times we just captured data without seeing an approval letter from the
governor. Since Masakwa was our boss we would assume that he had talked with
the governor. Sometimes he would just call and say give certain people
farming implements," he said.

Mandla told the court that the distribution of RBZ implements was undertaken
by RBZ employees, raising questions how Banda, who was no longer an RBZ
employee, continued to perform that role.

According to the evidence given by the Human Resources Manager, Mwaita
Zengeni, Banda was retrenched in 2007.

"Mr. Joseph Banda was engaged by the Bank from August 2006 and had his
contract terminated through retrenchment in August 2007. Since his
retrenchment in 2007, the Bank does not have any file showing that Mr. Banda
was re-engaged," Zengeni said. Zengeni could not explain why Banda remained
on their pay roll. Evidence provided in the court also showed Banda did not
go away when he was retrenched: he had access to all the RBZ security cards,
was driving RBZ vehicles, used to write internal memos to the governor.
Banda's lawyer said Gono would respond to the internal letters.

A letter written by the head of transport on May 7, 2008 stated that Banda
be granted access to RBZ fuel supplies set up at provincial ZRP stations
nationwide.

A copy of the letter produced in court read: "This letter serves to confirm
that the following member of the Banks Staff MR J BANDA driving vehicle
registration number ABE2506 is permitted to draw on RBZ fuel supplies set up
at Provincial Zimbabwe Republic Police Stations nationwide."

The letter was signed by one F Tamanikwa, RBZ division chief responsible for
technical services, transport, bank-held premises and logistics.

The RBZ human Resources manager also admitted it was not normal for an
institution like RBZ to write memos on envelopes.

One of the envelopes, an old one written, stamped and signed by Gono's
advisor Munyaradzi Kereke to one Ushewokunze of Elite Car Rentals on March
26, 2008 is being produced by defence lawyers to show that Banda had the
blessings of the governor when he remained in his office.

On the envelope were the words: "Please allow Mr J. Banda to collect six
pick-ups for hire under Ministry of Policy Implementation for the period
ending 31\03\08."

Bob Muriro, an assistant commissioner, who also testified, said when he went
to RBZ early this year to check on his application of the farming
implements, he found Banda had an office and a secretary. His phone number
was also in the RBZ internal directory.

Zengeni said he found it unusual because he thought it was not normal for
someone who was retrenched to have access to all those benefits.

Gono, who was said to be out of the country last week, is expected among
other things to testify tomorrow how a retrenched person remained at the
RBZ.

Banda, however, is denying all the charges saying he never unlawfully
misrepresented himself as a member of RBZ and that that he had the approval
of Gono to acquire and distribute the said farming implements.

He argued that it was Masakwa who issued out the farming implements not him.

State wants to re-detain all 18 abductees

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
4 May 2009

After being illegally abducted, tortured and spending months in horrendous
prison cells, the State is still determined to target a group of civic and
political activists, who face charges of trying to overthrow the Mugabe
regime. All abductees were in court Monday and were formally charged. Their
trials were set for June and July and the Attorney General's offices made
submissions in court to have the bail of all 18 accused persons revoked.

Their defence teams submitted that there was no basis for such an action and
that the AG's office was making unilateral decisions, by trying to cancel an
agreement that had been made by the Principals to the unity government,  to
have them all released on bail pending trial.

The defence team told the court they hoped to bring in officers from the AG's
office and people from the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(JOMIC), to show that there had been a political agreement to grant them
bail.

When Magistrate Chimhanda announced that the individuals, including civic
leader Jestina Mukoko, journalist Shadreck Manyere, MDC officials Chris
Dlamini and Ghandi Mudzingwa, had been indicted for trial, the prosecutor
immediately asked for bail to be revoked and that they should all be
remanded in custody. 15 activists actually appeared in court. Mudzingwa,
Manyere and Dlamini are 'detained' and receiving treatment at the Avenues
Clinic - having treatment for their injuries from torture during their
incarceration. The 15 had only been released recently, after lawyers spent
months fighting in the courts to have them released on bail.

Lawyer Andrew Makoni said: "The understanding is that the decision to place
them on bail - after the State had strongly opposed to it in the first
place - was because of an agreement reached by the Principals which was
communicated to the Attorney General, who then prevailed upon his officers
to consent to bail.'

Makoni said his team had readily agreed to this arrangement because they
wanted their clients, who had suffered so much at the hands of state agents,
to be released from custody.

He said: "Magistrate Chimhanda deferred the matter to tomorrow (Tuesday) to
allow us to call in the evidence of officers from the AG's office - who
communicated to us that this was a political kind of compromise, and also
two officials from JOMIC who perhaps will have to confirm in court that it
was indeed an agreement as the political parties, that the accused persons
be admitted on bail."

The defence team said the latest developments send a very bad signal,
especially to the international community. "Particularly when you take into
consideration what we already know about the prisons. We know that those
things are death traps and surely you can't expose somebody who had gained
their liberty to again be exposed to those kind of situations. We believe
that in all fairness and given the nature of the case they are facing -
particularly the lack of evidence - we don't believe that there is any basis
for them to be put back in custody," Makoni added.

Meanwhile rights lawyers have written a letter to the co-Home Affairs
Ministers Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi, to ask them 'to explain their
alleged complicity in the continued incarceration' of Mudzingwa, Dhlamini
and Manyere.

This emphasises the difficult nature of the unity government, with Mutsekwa
being tainted by the same brush, even though it's members from his MDC party
who are being 'abused' by the State. Observers say it also highlights the
fact that the MDC have no real power in this unity government.

Harare diocese elects Chad Nicholas Gandiya as bishop

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_107301_ENG_HTM.htm

By Matthew Davies, May 04, 2009

[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Canon Chad Nicholas Gandiya, Africa
regional desk officer for the U.K.-based mission agency known as USPG:
Anglicans in Mission, has been elected to serve as the next bishop of the
embattled Diocese of Harare in Zimbabwe.
Gandiya will succeed Bishop Sebastian Bakare, who has served as the
diocese's interim bishop since December 2007 when Bishop Nolbert Kunonga was
deposed after illegally separating from the Province of Central Africa and
installing himself as archbishop of Zimbabwe. Kunonga has been an avid
supporter of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who has let the country slide
into ruin during his 28-year rule. Kunonga has supported the intimidation
and persecution of Anglicans in Zimbabwe for opposing his and Mugabe's
leadership.

Gandiya's election was held on May 2 at the Arundel School Chapel in Harare,
where the 22-person Elective Assembly was composed of six clergy and six lay
members from the diocese, three clergy and three lay people from the
province, three bishops, and the dean of the province, Bishop Albert Chama
of Northern Zambia.

In his role with USPG, Gandiya has been responsible for "mutually
representing the society and the churches in Africa and the Indian Ocean to
each other," said an announcement from Bishop William Mchombo, acting
provincial secretary of the Province of Central Africa, which includes 15
dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Under Gandiya's supervision, USPG has supported Zimbabwe with mission
funding as it attempts to reconstruct the Harare diocese. Previously,
Gandiya has served the Diocese of Harare as a parish priest and later as
principal and lecturer at Bishop Gaul Theological College in Harare,
Zimbabwe. Gandiya is married to Faith. They have three children.

Founded in 1701, USPG was originally called the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. After a merger in the 1960s, it was known as
the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

-- Matthew Davies is editor of Episcopal Life Online and international
correspondent of the Episcopal News Service.

Daily cholera update and alerts, 03 May 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 187.2 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:

- 40 Cases and 0 deaths added today (in comparison with 28 cases and 1 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 97 706

- Cumulative deaths 4 268 of which 2 611 are community deaths

- 50.0 % of the reporting centres affected have reported today 30 out of 60 affected reporting centres

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 0 %.

Progress Fuels Hope In Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

The Following is an Editorial Reflecting the Views of the US Government

02 May 2009

What a difference a year makes.

On April 18, Zimbabweans celebrated their national Independence Day, marking
29 years since gaining full self-determination from the United Kingdom.
Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangarai, former political rivals and now
colleagues in a transitional government, presided over ceremonies in the
national stadium hailing the work done to rebuild the battered nation and
pledging cooperation for future progress.

That's a far cry from Independence Day 2008 when the 2 men were locked in a
bitter, sometimes violent presidential campaign, and the nation's serious
social and economic problems went unaddressed.

Today, government work is getting done as civil servants are being paid at
least modest sums and the hyperinflation that wiped out savings and
businesses has ended with the adoption of the dollar and the rand as the
nation's currencies. The improvement has fueled hopes among many Zimbabweans
that Independence Day 2010 may be even better.

The United States, a strong supporter of Zimbabwean independence and the
first country to open an embassy in the newly independent nation, shares in
these hopes. In a statement on Independence Day, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton commended the transitional government and the progress it has
achieved toward reforms that will benefit the Zimbabwean people.

The effort is a work in progress, though. Political prisoners still languish
in Zimbabwe's jails and there are continued violent attacks by Mugabe
supporters on white-owned farms, once the backbone of one of the strongest
agricultural sectors in Africa. There are still food shortages, and schools
and hospitals need rebuilding.

The U.S. encourages the government to continue the important steps it has
taken as it works for a more promising future for Zimbabwe. There has been
progress, but much more needs to be done.

Making schools work

Photo: Obi-Akpere/Flickr

Few children were at school in 2008

HARARE, 4 May 2009 (IRIN) - The authorities announced a package of measures on 4 May to revive Zimbabwe's beleaguered education system and get teachers and children back into classrooms, as schools are expected to reopen this week.

"Cabinet will shortly decide on tuition fees, which will be substantially reduced," David Coltart, the minister of education, sport, arts and culture, told a press conference.

He said school fees would be reduced and parents would only have to pay admission fees to keep their children in schools while consultations on the fees to be charged took place. The admission fees range from US$5 to US$20.

Teacher unions have said educators would not return to work unless their salaries were improved, so as an inducement to get them back to school he announced that their children would not have to pay school fees.

Coltart said he had met with several donor organisations who had promised to help the government revive the education sector through capitalization. Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, with around 90 percent unemployment and crippling shortages of basic commodities, has made survival a priority.

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), school attendance rates dropped from 80 percent to 20 percent in 2008. Unaffordable school fees and absentee teachers meant more than 90 percent of Zimbabwe's rural schools, which most children attend, could not reopen at the beginning of the 2009 school year.

At present, school fees will cost the parents of primary school children in affluent low-density suburbs US$150 per child, while those in high-density townships will pay US$20. Civil servants earn about US$100 a month, making education unaffordable for most children.

The parents of high school students in low-density areas will have to fork out up to US$280 per term, while those in high-density areas will have to lay out US$180.

Students in rural secondary schools are expected to pay US$50 per term, but even with provisions to stagger payments, parents throughout the country failed to pay fees.

According to available statistics, more than 20,000 teachers left the profession between 2007 and 2008 in search of greener pastures, mainly in neighbouring southern African countries.

While individual teachers said they would "wait and see", union leaders on 4 May urged their members to return to work. "We are calling on all teachers to report for duty. We are doing this with heavy hearts, but we have faith in the minister," said Sifiso Ndlovu, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association.

Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, told IRIN that donor representatives had assured them they would receive money to improve salaries. "After meeting the donors, we have reason to believe that our case is now in legitimate hands ... we have confidence in them."