http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
6 May 2009
The
political and human rights activists who were re-arrested on Tuesday
were
freed on bail Wednesday. The bail request was approved by the same
Magistrate who had refused to entertain it the day before. In this surprise
u-turn, Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda reversed her earlier decision
following an agreement with the legal teams. This clearly shows how Mugabe
continues to control the rule of law in Zimbabwe as it is believed the
Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, consented to the bail as a result of a
meeting between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara late Tuesday.
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai's spokesperson, James Maridadi, told SW Radio
Africa
that the Principals agreed in the spirit of the Global Political
Agreement
(GPA) that the bail conditions that were in place before the
activists were
re-arrested should be re-instated. He said they also summoned
Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa and asked him to implement what they had
agreed.
Maridadi quoted the GPA, saying 'people should be free of political
persecution and discrimination of any kind.'
Defence lawyer Charles
Kwaramba said they had filed a High Court bail
application on Tuesday and
were ready to go and argue the matter when they
were told that the Attorney
General wanted to discuss the matter on
Wednesday. The AG agreed to consent
to bail and to stick to the original
bail conditions.
Kwaramba also
clarified that there were actually 16 activists, including
Jestina Mukoko,
who had been formally charged on Monday with an alleged plot
to overthrow
Robert Mugabe - not 18 as previously reported.
After their abduction and
incarceration at the end of last year they had
been held incommunicado for
many months. They were first released on bail
two months ago. The lawyer
said after their re-arrest on Tuesday, 13 were
released from Chikurubi
Maximum Security Prison, except for journalist
Shadreck Manyere and MDC
officials Gandhi Mudzingwa and Chris Dhlamini, who
are still being held in
police custody in hospital. An application for their
bail has been filed in
the High Court and the matter is supposed to be heard
on
Thursday.
Analysts say the re-arrest and sudden freeing of the activists
merely shows
that ZANU PF continues to play 'games' to distract everyone
from the
critical issues that continue to negatively affect the unity
government.
Sadly this is happening at the expense of the accused persons,
who the MDC
say face trumped up charges. On the surface it would appear that
Mugabe is
giving ground on the issue of political detainees, but if he was
working in
the spirit of the inclusive government the charges against the
'political
detainees' would have been totally dropped.
One SW Radio
Africa listener asked: "If these individuals are accused of
trying to topple
Mugabe were they doing it for their own benefit? If they
were doing it for
the MDC then is the MDC also being indicted? What purpose
is this serving if
these persecutions serve to undermine the mirage we
thought was a unity
government?"
The political intervention in a legal matter continues to
raise more awkward
questions, as both the detentions and the release, twice,
on bail were
politically motivated. Lawyers say this is a serious indictment
on the
justice system as they are forced to rely on the 'charity of
politicians' to
ask for bail.
Kwaramba said: "What it means is that
politicians can hold accused persons
at ransom when they think they want to
bargain on the political level. It's
very bad and people lose confidence in
the courts."
The lawyer went on to say: "The decisions are made
politically and then you
try to implement them in court. We really don't
like this as lawyers."
Those indicted are:
1. Jestina Mukoko
2
Concilia Chinanzvavana
3. Manuel Chinanzvavana
4. Violet
Mupfuranhewa
5. Collen Mutemagawo
6. Kieta Kaseke
7. Audrey
Zimbudzana
8. Broderick Takawira
9. Mapfumo Garutsa
10. Regis
Mujeyi
11. Zacharia Nkomo
12. Chinoto Zulu
13. Fidelis Chiramba
14.
Gandhi Mudzingwa
15. Chris Dlamini
16. Shadreck Andrison Manyere
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16300
May 6, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and 14
others accused of
plotting against President Robert Mugabe were freed on
bail Wednesday
apparently after top-level intervention forced the magistrate
to reverse an
earlier the decision to re-detain them.
At a hastily
arranged court hearing, Harare magistrate Catherine Chimanda
reversed her
earlier decision without explanation.
On Tuesday, she had had denied the
15 bail. Mukoko and the others appeared
in court and were formally indicted
on terrorism charges and immediately
taken into custody.
"They've all
been remanded in custody, 18 of them," dejected lawyer Alec
Muchadehama said
on Tuesday
Chimanda, however, refused to free three others she had
ordered to be
returned to prison Tuesday, saying their case was more serious
because they
had allegedly been found in possession of
explosives.
Ghandhi Mudzingwa, a former personal aide to MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai,
and Chris Dhlamini a member of the security department of
the party - who
are part of the group - have been accused of possessing
firearms, charges
they deny.
Andrison Manyere, a freelance
journalist, is among the accused. The three
were re-arrested while receiving
treatment at a Harare Hospital.
The activists had been released on bail
only two months ago after being
arrested and held in secret last year on
various charges stemming from an
alleged plot against Mugabe.
Mukoko
testified during an earlier bail hearing that she had been tortured
and
assaulted during detention; the defendants had injuries and swollen
faces
during court appearances late last year.
Mudzingwa, Dlamini and Manyere
have made similar claims of torture.
Chimanda said Tuesday she was
re-detaining them again because of a formal
indictment filed by the
Attorney-General's office. Their trial is to start
July 4.
Earlier on
Wednesday, MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti had demanded at a
news
conference that the political prisoners be released.
At a hurriedly
arranged court hearing on Wednesday morning, Chimhanda
released 15 of the
eighteen suspects.
Sources said the release of the prisoners followed
top-level negotiations
between Mugabe and mainstream MDC leader Tsvangirai,
now Prime Minister.
Lawyers for the detainees had argued against the
re-detention of the
suspects, saying the earlier decision to release them
had been authorised
under the auspices of the new coalition
government.
Mukoko is the head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which
documented human
rights abuses surrounding last year's controversial
elections.
She was taken from her home on December 3 by a dozen armed men
who claimed
to be police, according to fellow activists, and was not seen
again until
she appeared in court three weeks later.
She later told a
court that authorities had beaten her on the soles of her
feet during
interrogations. Mukoko flatly denied charges that she had
recruited
militants to topple the government.
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/4095
Via Press Release
- The MDC has set next Monday as the deadline for the
resolution of all
outstanding issues, MDC secretary-general, Hon. Tendai
Biti has
said.
Addressing a press conference at the party's headquarters at
Harvest House
in Harare today, Hon. Biti said if the outstanding issues were
not resolved
by Monday, the party would refer the issue to the party's
supreme making
decision body, the National Council, which will meet on 17
May 2009.
He said the outstanding issues that remained unresolved were
the appointment
of provincial governors, permanent secretaries, ambassadors,
the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and the Attorney-General,
Johannes
Tomana.
He said the appointments of Gono and Tomana were
unprocedural in that they
were executive appointments done after the signing
of the GPA, which states
that such appointments must be done following an
agreement by the
principals.
Also of concern to the MDC was the
refusal by Robert Mugabe to swear in MDC
treasurer-general, Hon. Roy Bennett
as the deputy Minister of Agriculture
and the unilateral grabbing of
ministerial portfolios by Mugabe.
Hon Biti said Bennett was innocent
until proven guilty. He said according to
the GPA, which was now part of the
Constitution of Zimbabwe; Mugabe had no
powers to refuse to swear-in Bennett
after being nominated by his party. The
MDC secretary-general urged the
deputy-minister designate to go to his
office and start work.
The MDC
secretary-general also lashed out at the service chiefs for failing
to
respect "the new authority in town, which is the office of the Prime
Minister."
He said the service chiefs had shown reluctance to respect
the Prime
Minister, Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai during the Independence Day
celebrations
and at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.
"The delay
in finding a lasting solution to outstanding issues is of great
concern to
the MDC.
"In our view these issues should have been concluded soon after
the
formation of the inclusive government in February," Hon. Biti
said.
He said the party was worried that some elements in government,
Zanu PF, the
security forces and public media continued to disregard some
clear
provisions laid out in the Global Political Agreement
(GPA).
"There are a number of toxic and poisonous attitudes that some of
these
institutions are showing. Their attitude is as if they are in a war
situation," Hon. Biti said.
He said the public media, especially The
Herald and the ZBC, continued to
preach hate speech intended to assault the
MDC, which is a democratic party
that won the 29 March 2008 elections with a
clear majority.
Hon. Biti also raised concerns over the disregard of
human rights by some
State security agents in light of the re-arrests of
Zimbabwe Peace Projects
director, Jestina Mukoko, Ghandi Mudzingwa, former
personal aide of the
Prime Minister and 16 other MDC and civil society
activists.
"We find it unacceptable that when we want to make progress
there are some
people whose conduct is inconsistent with rebuilding a new
Zimbabwe," he
said.
He said the conduct of Zanu PF continued to undo
all efforts to rescue the
country.
The secretary-general, however,
assured MDC supporters and the people of
Zimbabwe that the party stood by
its principles and values that it had been
fighting for the past ten
years.
Hon Biti said the MDC has "an excellent relationship" with South
African
President Jacob Zumba and hoped that the new era in South Africa
would bode
well for Zimbabwe.
This entry was posted by
Sokwanele on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
06 May
2009
The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe has stuck to its guns and boycotted a
government media conference that was meant to start on Wednesday in the
resort town of Kariba. The national chairman of the Media Institute of
Southern Africa - Zimbabwe Chapter, Loughty Dube, told Newsreel they made it
clear to the government that as long as any journalist remained in
detention, under the same laws that are meant to be discussed at the
conference, their members will boycott.
The re-detention of former
ZBC newsreader and Zimbabwe Peace Project
director Jestina Mukoko, plus that
of journalist Shadreck Anderson Manyere,
on spurious banditry and terrorism
charges, triggered the initial boycott
move on Tuesday. Although Mukoko was
released on Wednesday along with other
political detainees, Manyere remains
locked up along with Gandhi Mudzingwa
and Chris Dhlamini in hospital. The
failure to release Manyere has prompted
the media groups to insist they will
not attend the conference.
Dube told us they met the Deputy Minister of
Information Media and
Publicity, Jameson Timba, at his request in the
morning. Despite Timba
assuring them that the government was doing
something to resolve the issue
the media alliance members reiterated their
position. 'We are not attending
unless something changes in the coming few
hours,' Dube told us.
Registration for the conference was meant to begin
Wednesday according to
Dube, but most journalists were still in Harare in
the afternoon suggesting
the boycott was being adhered to.
The media
alliance comprises the Media Institute of Southern Africa-
Zimbabwe Chapter,
Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe National
Editors Forum,
Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, and the African
Community Publishing
and Development Trust. Input from the groups is seen as
critical to shaping
a proper reform agenda for the media, especially given
the slow pace of
reforms so far.
But even before the latest controversy which triggered
the boycott, there
was already concern that the conference deliberately
ignored most of the
major stakeholders in the media and had an unclear
agenda. Not only did it
ignore exiled media organizations forced out by
repressive laws, but the
same people who persecuted the media, such as
former information minister
Jonathan Moyo, were selected to be keynote
speakers. A Zimbabwe Standard
newspaper commentary described the line up as
one of 'media taliban's' and
'characters with a violently unrepentant
disposition towards free speech.'
Reflecting the mess that has shrouded
the organization of the conference
informed sources claimed Moyo says he is
surprised that reports are saying
he is one of the key speakers, when he has
not received an invitation to do
so.
WASHINGTON (AFP) -
The IMF announced Wednesday that it had resumed technical
assistance to
Zimbabwe following consultations with the new unity government
in the
poverty-stricken nation.
The move is a key step toward ending the African
nation's isolation from the
international community and could open the door
to new financial aid to the
country for the first time in years.
The
International Monetary Board's executive board "decided to lift the
suspension of Fund technical assistance to Zimbabwe in targeted areas"
effective May 4, a statement from the Washington-based institution
said.
The board took into account a "significant improvement in
Zimbabwe?s
cooperation on economic policies" to address its problems over
arrears,
which amounted to 133 million dollars, the statement
said.
Zimbabwe has also moved to address "severe capacity constraints in
the IMF?s
core areas of expertise that represent a major risk to the
implementation of
the government?s macroeconomic stabilization
program."
The decision followed consultations after Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
took office in February in a unity government with long-time
President
Robert Mugabe, whose government was shunned by the international
community
and narrowly averted expulsion from the IMF over
arrears.
Tsvangirai has made a priority of trying to restore ties with
international
lenders and the IMF sent a mission to Zimbabwe just one month
after he took
office.
The IMF mission was the first to Zimbabwe since
2006, when Mugabe's
government narrowly averted expulsion from the body over
arrears.
The Fund has long criticized Mugabe's economic policies but had
praise for
the efforts of the new unity government.
The IMF said that
a track record of sound policy implementation, supported
by targeted
technical assistance, from the Fund and other international
groups, was a
"critical first step" to securing donor financial support for
the
reconstruction of Zimbabwe?s economy and regularizing arrears to
creditors.
The Fund said that technical assistance could be provided
to Zimbabwe in
areas such as tax policy and administration, payments
systems,
"lender-of-last-resort" operations and banking supervision as well
as
central banking governance and accounting.
A separate statement on
the IMF assessment following consultations with the
government said Zimbabwe
"is now at a critical juncture."
While the IMF welcomed efforts by the
unity government to "seize the
historic opportunity" to improve economic
growth prospects and poverty
reduction by political consensus, the Fund also
cautioned that "downside
risks were significant."
It warned that
"potential political instability and limited implementation
capacity may
undermine reform and stabilization efforts, weakening the
prospects for
mobilizing donor financial support and attracting private
capital
inflows."
Economic and social indicators in Zimbabwe worsened
significantly in 2008,
the IMF said.
The economy could have
contracted by about 14 percent in 2008 on top of a 40
percent cumulative
decline during the 2000-2007 period due to economic
disruptions caused by
hyperinflation and a further significant deterioration
in the business
climate, it said.
Poverty and unemployment have risen to "catastrophic
levels," with 70
percent of the population in need of food assistance and a
cholera epidemic
claiming more than 4,000 lives, it said.
http://www.bloomberg.com
By
Nasreen Seria and Mike Cohen
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe's economy
contracted 14.1 percent in 2008,
while public spending collapsed, pushing
unemployment and poverty to
"catastrophic" levels, the International
Monetary Fund said.
Between 2000 and 2007, the economy shrunk 40 percent,
while inflation was
estimated at a record 500 billion percent last
September, the
Washington-based lender said in an e-mailed statement today.
The economy
will probably rebound this year, expanding an estimated 2.8
percent, the IMF
forecast.
Zimbabwe's economy has shrunk every year
this past decade after President
Robert Mugabe seized farms belonging to
white farmers to redistribute to
blacks. That slashed export earnings,
resulting in shortages of food, fuel
and foreign exchange. Mugabe agreed
this year to share power with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change,
paving the way for Zimbabwe to
begin negotiating with the IMF and other
lenders for loans.
"A decade of high inflation, severe economic decline,
and rising poverty has
culminated in an acute, ongoing humanitarian crisis,"
the IMF said.
"Zimbabwe is now at a critical juncture."
The IMF's
Executive Board agreed today to lift its suspension of "technical
assistance" to Zimbabwe and plans to help the country with advice on tax
policy, payments systems and banking supervision, the fund said.
The
IMF requires Zimbabwe to clear its arrears to all multinational lenders
and
demonstrate a sound policy track record before it can resume lending to
the
southern African nation. Zimbabwe's debt arrears total about $3.8
billion,
with about $133 million owed to the IMF and a total of $1.1 billion
to the
World Bank and the African Development Bank.
Inflation May
Slow
Inflation in Zimbabwe will probably slow, the IMF said, after the
Zimbabwe
dollar was abolished and the government switched to using the South
African
rand and the U.S. dollar as its main currencies in
circulation.
Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma said on April 20
that Zimbabwe
wants to avoid a repeat of the practice of printing money that
fueled
inflation and won't reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar for at least
another
year. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has printed money in the past few
years
to repay its debts and to pay subsidies to farmers and state-owned
companies.
South Africa has agreed to give Zimbabwe 800 million rand
($95 million) in
funding, which will comprise of 300 million rand in
budgetary support and
500 million in credit lines, while Botswana is
considering a $70 million
loan for Zimbabwe.
Revenue
Collapsed
Zimbabwe's revenue and expenditure collapsed last year as
hyperinflation
took hold and the economy contracted, the IMF said. Budget
revenue fell to
$133 million, or 4 percent of gross domestic product, last
year, from $1
billion, or 25 percent of GDP, in 2005, the fund
said.
Expenditure declined to $258 million from $1.4 billion in the same
period
"causing an almost complete collapse in the provision of public
services,
including a significant reduction in electricity generation
capacity,
collapse of water supply, and major disruptions in railway
services," the
IMF said.
The IMF said the government's Short-Term
Emergency Recovery Program,
outlined by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, was
based on "sound principles of
macroeconomic management" of fiscal
discipline, a multi-currency monetary
framework and halting the central
bank's "quasi-fiscal activities."
Still, there was "significant" downside
risks because of political
instability and limited "capacity" to implement
the reforms, the fund said.
Economic revival will depend on attracting
foreign and domestic investment
and improving the nation's competitiveness,
the fund said.
"It is essential that the government ensures the
protection of property
rights, maintains the rule of law, guards against
protectionism, and pursues
prudent wage and income policies," the IMF
said.
http://www.ft.com/
By Tom Burgis in Johannesburg
Published: May 6
2009 18:54 | Last updated: May 6 2009 18:54
Zimbabwe's power-sharing
rivals are on course for a showdown after members
of the former opposition
to Robert Mugabe's party set a deadline of Monday
for demands including the
removal of the central bank governor to be met.
The ultimatum is a sign
of the difficulty the Movement for Democratic Change
faces implementing the
reforms donors are insisting on before they will
release funds to rebuild
the shattered economy.
"The delay in finding a lasting solution to
outstanding issues is of great
concern to the MDC," said Tendai Biti, the
party's secretary-general and
finance minister in the unity government
formed in February after last year's
elections.
Mr Biti said that the
reappointment of Gideon Gono, the central bank
governor who has presided
over hyperinflation and has been accused of
channelling funds to Mr Mugabe's
allies, violated the power-sharing
agreement.
Regional officials see
Mr Gono's continued tenure as a principal obstacle to
unlocking the hundreds
of millions of dollars in aid that the International
Monetary Fund says is
required to meet the funding gap in Mr Biti's
reforming
budget.
Meanwhile, civil servants' pay remains low, hunger is rife and a
cholera
outbreak has killed thousands.
"The ordinary citizens of
Zimbabwe are paying a heavy price for delays
occurring at a political
level," said Bella Matambanadzo of the Open Society
Initiative in Harare.
"We need to start seeing tangible results that enable
our country to take
full hold of the reconstruction opportunities ahead."
However,
underscoring the MDC's lack of leverage over the authoritarian
president,
Nqobizitha Mlilo, a party spokesman, told the Financial Times: "I
don't see
the possibility of a withdrawal from the government at this
stage."
Instead, if Monday comes and goes without the MDC being
satisfied, the party
will convene its highest decision-making body a week
later to weigh its
options.
Despite a series of pledges by Morgan
Tsvangirai, the MDC prime minister,
the party is still struggling to exert
authority even over some of the
ministries it controls, in the face of
resistance from the security forces
and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
06 May
2009
There has been a fresh outbreak of violent attacks on Chegutu's
Mount Carmel
farm, with invaders viciously beating a farm worker as well
destroying the
property, all in retaliation to a court order demanding they
leave the land.
The High Court order was handed down to the invaders on
Monday, as part of
an ongoing effort by the farm owner's, Ben Freeth and his
parents-in-law, to
have the invaders removed from their land. But the
retaliation started in
earnest on Tuesday night, with the invaders
threatening to burn down the
family's home. The gang also used tractors to
dig up the garden around the
house, all while the family was locked inside.
When the thugs eventually
left, they took out their anger on the farm
workers, threatening to burn
down the worker's village before abducting the
farm foreman.
Freeth explained on Wednesday that the foreman was only
found on Wednesday
morning, after he had been severely beaten and then
detained at the Chegutu
police station. The worker is now recovering from
serious injuries, after he
was beaten across the head and feet, and Freeth
said he is unable to hear on
one side anymore. Freeth continued that there
has been ongoing intimidation
and threats against his staff, with one worker
being told by the invaders
that they would "cut his lips off if he did any
work."
"There has once again been absolutely no support from police, and
these
people are just being allowed to destroy our farm," Freeth said. "This
controlled anarchy means we are all living in fear."
The farm has
been taken over almost completely by invaders working for ZANU
PF top
official, Nathan Shamuyarira. The invaders moved onto the farm more
than a
month ago, and have since turned the property into a mass looting and
camping site. Completely protected and supported by local police, the
invaders have used violence and intimidation repeatedly, viciously beating
the farm workers. Many were forced into hiding during the worst of the
attacks, while seven spent more than two weeks behind bars on trumped up
charges. They have since been released on bail, but have to report to the
police station on a daily basis.
The farm's legitimate owners, Mike
and Angela Campbell, have since left the
property that they co-own with
their son-in-law, Ben Freeth. They have had
to watch as the land has been
destroyed and plundered, with all their
produce being sold off by the
invaders at local markets. Tuesday night's
attack has come on the back of a
ministerial order for the invaders to leave
the land, and allow farming
activities to resume. Freeth explained that
there is no hope for the future
of Zimbabwe, when even the orders of the
Deputy Prime Minister don't prompt
any action.
"We don't really know what to do anymore, we're just hoping
this government
does something soon to make this all stop," Freeth
said.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16282
May 6, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
MUTARE - Former Zanu-PF strongman, Edgar Tekere says the
inclusive
government will not receive any meaningful financial assistance
from the
international community as long as President Robert Mugabe remains
at the
helm.
Tekere told journalists attending Press Freedom Day
commemorations held in
the eastern border city at the weekend that allowing
Mugabe to be in charge
of the inclusive government was a grave mistake which
could prove very
costly to Zimbabweans.
"A big mistake was made to
allow Mugabe to lead the government after he lost
elections in March,"
Tekere said. "The money that we want as a country will
not come because the
donors know that Mugabe and (Reserve Bank governor,
Gideon) Gono will have
access to that money."
The former Zanu-PF secretary general and cabinet
minister said as long as
Mugabe was in charge of the country no meaningful
development would be
realized.
Tekere said while it was also his wish
for the inclusive government to be
successful it was unlikely to receive the
much needed financial help from
the international community as long as
Mugabe was at the helm of the
government.
"I want the inclusive
government to be a success but the assistance will not
come because donors
know there is no way Mugabe and Gono will fail to dip
their fingers into the
funds received from them," Tekere said.
Tekere spoke as the inclusive
government, formed by the three main political
parties in Zimbabwe,
struggles to attract financial assistance to shore up
the country's
economy.
The United States and Britain have indicated Zimbabwe needed to
undergo more
radical political change before they can move in with the much
needed
financial assistance.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the two MDC
political parties led by Morgan Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara formed an
inclusive government to address the political
and economic crisis besetting
Zimbabwe since 2000.
The tough-talking Tekere also took a swipe at Gono,
the Reserve Bank
governor, saying he should shoulder much of the blame for
the collapse of
the country's economy.
He questioned Gono's wisdom in
printing a ten trillion bank note saying it
was very illogical.
Gono
has also come under fire from several quarters for his policies which
are
blamed for exacerbating the country's economic woes.
Tekere said he was
surprised regional grouping Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
allowed Mugabe to lead Zimbabwe after losing a presidential
election to
Tsvangirai, leader of the mainstream MDC political party.
He said Mugabe
should now step down and pave the way for a much younger and
more vibrant
leader.
Tekere also told the gathering he was worried Simba Makoni's
Mavambo
movement had failed to transform itself into a political party,
saying the
failure to do so was "unfortunate and
disappointing".
Tekere was dismissed from Zanu-PF in 1989 after he
publicly challenged
Mugabe and his top lieutenants who were intent on
transforming Zimbabwe into
a one-party state. Tekere also incurred the wrath
of his colleagues by
launching a war on corruption.
Tekere was fired
from Zanu-PF and formed the Zimbabwe Unity Movement which
contested general
elections in 1990. His party lost the poll but he cried
foul saying the
electoral process had been rigged in Zanu-PF's favour.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
06 May 2009
The new
school term has started under a cloud of confusion this week, with
many
teachers still waiting for the go ahead for a nationwide strike that
was
threatened to begin on Tuesday.
The strike was narrowly averted Monday
following a crisis meeting between
education ministry officials, teachers'
union leaders and international
donor representatives. 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. Teachers have been demanding, among
other things, a significant
wage increase of more than US$1,000, and had
threatened the mass action to
coincide with the start of the new school term
on Tuesday.
But the
mass action was averted after the Ministry and the teachers' unions
agreed
that teachers' children would receive free education; banks would be
encouraged to reduce their charges to teachers; and the ministry would
negotiate a five-year benefits plan for teachers. The donor community has
also pledged to help find financial support for the country's education
sector, delaying a strike that would likely have sparked a chain reaction of
mass action across the public service.
But while many teachers have
reported to work at the start of the term on
Tuesday, many of those who did
arrive embarked on a 'go-slow', refusing to
teach classes until the message
from their unions to strike or not was
received. In Mashonaland, only six of
the province's nine schools have
reportedly reopened. Many teachers across
the country have also been unable
to afford the transport fees to return to
their teaching posts.
Oswald Madziva, the Programmes and Communications
Officer for the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), explained on
Wednesday that
the late finish of Monday's crisis meeting meant not all
teachers received
the message that the strike had been called off. He said
that as of
Wednesday, more teachers were back to work, and overall there was
a positive
response from teachers to the news that the strike had been
averted.
Madziva explained that the academic year is likely to be marred
by the
financial worries of the government, acknowledging that "the plight
of
teachers will only be resolved with the resolution of the political
deadlock."
The ongoing violations of the Global Political Agreement
that are
threatening the future of the unity government mean international
donor
assistance has been held off, leaving the education sector struggling
against almost total collapse.
http://www.mineweb.com/
Despite new rules allowing gold producers to sell
directly to world market,
major mining houses are still avoiding
Zimbabwe.
Author: MacDonald Dzirutwe
Posted: Wednesday , 06 May
2009
HARARE (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's gold output plunged 76 percent
during the first four months of
2009 after most miners shut their operations
last year at the height of a
political crisis, a senior industry official
told Reuters on Tuesday.
Gold producers are now re-starting production
after new rules allowed them
to sell gold directly to the world markets but
uncertainty over ownership
laws is likely to keep big mining houses away
from exploring the country's
rich mineral deposits.
Chamber of Mines
President, David Murangari, said the entire mining sector
was struggling due
to lack of capital to re-start and increase production.
"The major
challenge to the mining sector at the moment is financing needed
to resume
production as well as re-start exploration and development of new
deposits.
This is particularly so for gold mines," Murangari said in an
email in
response to questions from Reuters.
Murangari said gold output between
January and April this year stood at 335
kg, down from 1,407 kg during the
same period in 2008.
Gold production for the whole of last year hit a
record low of 3,072 kg from
6,798 kg in 2007. At its peak, Zimbabwe produced
an average of 2,400 kg of
gold a month.
Gold contributes one-third to
Zimbabwe's dwindling export earnings since the
collapse of commercial
agriculture after President Robert Mugabe's
government started in 2000
forcibly taking land from white farmers to
resettle blacks.
Miners
have since 2002 struggled with a political and economic crisis and
foreign
currency shortages, forcing mines to shut down while skilled labour
flocked
to neighbouring South Africa and as far as Australia.
But gold producers
now want to re-open their mines after Zimbabwe's central
bank in February
relinquished its role as sales agent for gold, allowing
firms for the first
time to sell the metal and keep all the proceeds.
The country's biggest
gold producer, Metallon Gold, London-listed Mwana
Africa and Canada's New
Dawn Mining Corp, have plans to re-open their mines
within
months.
Formed in February, Zimbabwe's new unity government of Mugabe and
his main
political rival Morgan Tsvangirai ended a long period of
uncertainty and
this has buoyed investor interest in mining, Murangari
said.
"There are several enquiries from new investors interested in
investing in
the mining sector. This is more so after the formation of the
inclusive
government," he said.
"The formation of the inclusive
government should help encourage investment
in the mining sector as this
builds confidence in the future stability of
the country."
But
existing gold miners are still owed millions by the government for their
past gold deliveries, Murangari said.
"A final decision (on this
issue) is needed from government to assure
investors who are appearing
hesitant to put new money to resuscitate the
gold sector," he said. (Editing
by James Macharia and Peter Blackburn)
http://www.radiovop.com/
CAPE TOWN, May 6 2009 -
Save Zimbabwe Now, a coalition of civic
society organisations, which seeks
to galvanise the solidarity and support
of individuals and organisations in
Southern Africa to promote democracy in
Zimbabwe, on Wednesday protested
against the labeling of Zimbabweans as
exclusively economic migrants during
the opening of Parliament.
"This protest will make the
point that Zimbabwean nationals entering
South Africa are not exclusively
economic migrants, but are also refugees
who are unable to return to their
home country for fear of doing so.
"It must be recognised that
they are in danger and that these actions
place their lives under serious
threat," said the organisation in a
statement released prior to the
demonstration.
In a petition presented to SA's speaker of
parliament, Max Sisulu,
Save Zimbabwe Now indicated that none of the
mechanisms put in place by the
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and Zimbabwe's government of
national unity, could protect its citizens from
the 'military generals and
their belief to the right of
might'.
Save Zimbabwe noted that Zimbabwean courts on the May
05 ordered the
detention of seventeen previously released Zimbabwean civil
society and
opposition activists.
Save Zimbabwe noted that
Zimbabwean courts on the May 05 ordered the
detention of seventeen
previously released Zimbabwean civil society and
opposition
activists.
"The detention of these activists amounts to nothing
more than another
round of extra legal abductions and they should be viewed
as political
detainees. That such actions can take -place in the face of
global attention
being paid to the current developments in Zimbabwe
indicates the arrogance
of the political and military
elites.
"That they take place at a time when the GNU, including
the MDC, is
arguing for reinvestment and confidence building around the
transition
process, exposes them as spoilers intent on destroying all
efforts aimed at
peaceful change," said Save Zimbabwe.
The
petition indicated that the rule of law in Zimbabwe had become a
mockery of
justice where court rulings 'can be changed in one day to the
next or simply
ignored'.
"As guarantors of the agreement, SADC and AU are
compelled to speak
out forcefully on these detentions. They are in direct
violation of
agreements reached between the principle stakeholders within
the mediation
process and are further evidence of the total disregard in
which Zimbabwean
people are being held.
"We implore the
South African Parliament to use all its influence to
ensure the speedy and
safe release of the political detainees and urge SADC
to use every means at
its disposal in ensuring that abductions, torture and
all forms of
repressive violence and political prisoners are released
immediately. Allow
humanitarian agencies responding to the deepening cholera
and HIV/AIDS
epidemic and the food shortages to work in an unrestricted
environment,"
said the organisation.
It also called for the scrapping of
unjust legislation that restricts
the right to organise and tell the world
what is going on including the
Access to Information and Protection to
Privacy Act (AIPPA) as well as the
public Order and Security Act (POSA) and
the creation of conditions for the
adoption of a people driven constitution
and a legitimate, free and fair
election.
The organisation
however commended the South African government for
granting Zimbabwean
nationals a 90-day visitor's permit and the lifting of
visa restrictions on
crossing the South African border on May 4.
"We have concerns
about its distribution and some of the details of
the arrangement, but this
recent decision seems to be a positive
development. However if Zimbabwe
continues to violate human rights in such a
manner; South Africa is only
dealing with the symptoms of the problems
created by mass
migration.
"The Zimbabwean government must face consequences,
action must be
taken by South Africa against the Mugabe Regime. The new
parliament of South
Africa can no longer be seen to be standing by ZANU PF,"
said Save Zimbabwe.
Thabeth Chikwature, a Zimbabwean who took
part in the protest, said
all she wanted was to be treated well in South
Africa.
"Seven people were burnt to death while they were
sleeping in their
shack at night and up to now the South African Police have
not brought the
criminals to book. I want to be able to walk into the
Department of Home
Affairs offices and be able to have my asylum permit
renewed without having
to wait for three weeks," she said.
Farisai Nyamukohwa, another demonstrator said she wanted Zimbabweans
to be
allowed to stay in South Africa until the situation back home has
normalised
and outstanding issues between the political parties had been
resolved.
People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression
and Poverty leader
Braam Hanekom, called on the opposition MDC to take
necessary measures
against continued politically motivated
arrests.
"We will not allow the unity government to be
distracted by ZANU PF.
MDC is making a big compromise by allowing the
situation to prevail. Mugabe
has violated the people of Zimbabwe and can not
be allowed to continue," he
said.
Women of Zimbabwe Arise
National Coordinator Jenni Williams said
although there has been some
stabilisation following the dollarisation
process, the culture of fear and
politically motivated arrests have remained
the order of the day.
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 05 May 2009 ** 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: - 26 Cases and 1 deaths added today (in comparison with 89 cases and 3 deaths
yesterday) - Cumulative cases 97 7821 - Cumulative deaths 4 266 of which 2 618 are community deaths - 93.3 % of the reporting centres affected have reported today 56 out of 60
affected reporting centres - Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7% - Daily Institutional CFR = 0 %.
* 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.
http://mensnewsdaily.com
It may be difficult to believe but on
Monday next week, the MDC would have
been in government for 100 days. On
Tuesday the Prime Minister will address
Parliament and on Wednesday he will
launch the next 100 day programme at the
International Conference Centre in
Harare.
The day before that he will address Parliament for the second
time and give
the country an overview of what has been/has not been achieved
in the first
quarter of the two year Transitional Government. I expect the
next election
will be about June 2011 and we have therefore 10 quarters of
this
arrangement of which the first has come and gone.
I was a part
of the "transition team" established by Morgan Tsvangirai in
January 2008
when it was expected that we would win the March election. As
everyone knows
we did win but were again denied the right to rule because of
fraud and the
regional community. So when we eventually did get a deal -
over the dead
body of the South African President, it was a rather nasty
compromise that
tied us to Zanu PF in a close embrace that is not
appreciated by either
Party.
Secretly each of the two Parties looks over the shoulder of the
other
towards the 2011 election and thinks only of what they have to do to
win.
For Zanu PF it is quite simple - hold onto what they have left and no
compromise on anything that might ease their grip on the electoral
process.
So they have spent the past three months simply stonewalling the MDC
in all
the critical areas linked to the electoral process. They have no wish
to
demonstrate who plays the best cricket, they feel they just have to
filibuster the MDC until they get to the point where they can go into an
election where the same mix they have used to win and hold onto power for 30
years can be brought into play. First prize for them is the collapse of the
GNU, second prize is a flawed election that they can win in
2011.
These areas of conflict have become labelled by Tendai Biti as the
"toxic
issues", described as such because of their potential to destroy the
GNU and
undermine the success of the transitional government.
On the
part of the MDC we have sought to make the deal work and to try and
get the
situation in the country back to normal - whatever that is! So you
have seen
the Prime Minister leaning over backwards to accept his Zanu PF
colleagues
as such and to work with and not against the President. While we
have stuck
with the demand that the GNU be fulfilled in full and in spirit,
Zanu PF has
simple refused to back down on any issue that might threaten
their hold on
what remains of their State power.
This has made for an uneasy
relationship and an uneven record of achievement
and failure. We had worked
hard on the issue of macro economic stabilisation
and on our future
relationship with the multilateral institutions before the
new government
was formed. Because of this we were able to agree and adopt
Sterp within two
weeks. This stopped world record inflation in its tracks..
We amended the
exchange control regime and lifted certain regulations and
adjusted import
conditions. The results were startling; food came into free
supply, market
conditions recovered and after a couple of weeks, prices
began to
fall.
We went out on a limb and decided to halt all quasi fiscal activity
and take
the fiscal crunch with cold turkey. We paid the civil service in
hard
currency and told all Ministries they could only spend what they had in
the
under the mattress. In four weeks we produced a new budget, tore up the
old
one and slashed government expenditure by two thirds.
The patient
survived - but only just. People found they could buy things,
workers could
get on a bus to work, had real money in their hands, not piles
of useless
paper. Business found that the huge sums of money they had in
their accounts
were actually just paper and when the cyclone of change had
swept through,
they had virtually nothing left. Banks had no customers,
building societies
no bonds.
Everybody found themselves on the floor, bruised and battered
but alive and
we all watched the sun rise slowly over the dawn horizon of a
new day.
Cyclone Gono was gone, but the evidence of its passage was
everywhere.
So now we pick over the rubble and try to rebuild our lives.
Food is in free
supply, but expensive, the emergency services are feeding
the really needy
and health services are meeting basic needs. Clean water is
scarce and
shelter is still a problem even though our population was sharply
reduced by
the cyclone.
We still face major threats and problems.
Pirates and gangs of criminals
roam the countryside looting what remains and
exploiting the chaos and lack
of legal norms and institutions. The
authorities are slow to respond and
have little capacity to protect the
rights of the population. The previous
government was destroyed by the
cyclone because they failed to prepare for
its arrival and passage. It will
be two years before we get a chance to
elect a new government; in the
meantime we have a weak and inadequate
administration that is only partly
functional.
At the Victoria Falls retreat four weeks ago we took what
comprises our
temporary government and asked them to map out the future and
develop a 100
day programme to start our long road back from disaster. On
Wednesday the
results of that process will be published, warts and all and
government
Ministers will then be judged on how they perform against their
own
benchmarks.
We survived! But at what a cost and many are now
asking "would we be better
off dead or living elsewhere"? Things are tough,
very tough. Prisoners and
long term patients in State hospitals are dying of
hunger. Child mortality
remains high and human flight to other countries
remains at unacceptable
levels. Our population and our economy are still in
sharp decline.
Given the world crisis and the political problems
surrounding aid flows, we
are going to have to rebuild the country using our
own resources and
efforts. This may be healthier in the long term but it
will take longer. In
the meantime the most important priority of the people
is to determine how
to keep the pirates and thieves out of the next
government to be elected in
2011. If we can and do, then we can pick up the
pace of recovery and look
forward to better days and a real
future.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 4th May 2009
European
Commission Delegation in Zimbabwe Environmental
Conference under the high patronage of the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Hon.
Morgan Tsvangirai Mandel
Conference Centre[1] Monday 11
May 2009 PROGRAMME
AND AGENDA 8.30 a.m. Arrival and
registration 9 am Welcome and Introduction: EC Head of
Delegation, Ambassador Mr Xavier Marchal; Opening remark Minister
of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Hon. Gordon Moyo 9.20 Thematic
presentations 1. Professor Mandivamba Rukuni:
Land and tenure 2. Dr Enos Shumba: Forests and forest
management 3. Dr David Cumming:
Wildlife and land use 4. Mr Charles Jonga: Environment and civil
society 10.35-11.00
COFFEE/TEA 11.00-11.30
Plenary
discussion: Implications for policy and
practice Key discussion points: Land and
Renewable Natural Resources, Water, Energy, Wildlife, Forests, Policy &
Legislative Frameworks
11.30-12.00
Way Forward –
Recommendations 12.00 Concluding remarks and
Closure 12.30-14.30
Europe Day Reception
Chisipite
http://www.swradioafrica.com
TANONOKA JOSEPH
WHANDE
Why is there no encouraging news coming out of Harare concerning
Thabo Mbeki's
illegitimate child named 'the Government of National
Unity'?
These silly misnomers remind me of how despots hide behind words in a
vain
attempt to divert attention from their true selves.
How
democratic is the Democratic Republic of Congo? How much democracy
flourishes in the Democratic Republic of (North) Korea?
Why did they
name the political rape of the MDC, forcing it to jump into bed
with
ZANU-PF, "a government of national unity"?
The MDC did not want the
settlement that was imposed on it. They were even
given deadlines to
consummate the political marriage.
There was no unity, let alone anything
remotely resembling national scope.
As each day passes, evidence mount
that what SADC and Mbeki did in Zimbabwe
will soon explode into violence and
chaos because what this so-called
government of national unity achieved is
to lull people into believing that
change was on the way.
And if that
does not happen, the people might react in a manner that might
not be easy
to control.
Today, slowly, Mugabe and ZANU-PF are awakening as they
realise that the MDC
will never do them any harm.
I have never felt
as distraught as I did when I heard media reports coming
out of Zimbabwe
saying that there is disgruntlement among Tsvangirai's top
cabinet
colleagues who now feel stranded since their leader is now reluctant
to
criticise Robert Mugabe, both in cabinet meetings and in public.
That the
MDC long lost the script is not in dispute. They were forced into
this unity
government at a time when the MDC itself had two distinct camps,
each trying
to influence and impose its position on the party. Things only
settled down
a few weeks after the SADC meeting.
Today, the MDC does not appear to be as
powerful and strong willed as it was
then, mostly because the element of
personal interest has slipped into the
equation.
To make matters
worse, Tsvangirai suffered two horrific tragedies in
succession. Losing his
wife of more than 30 years was devastating. Then he
lost a grandchild
immediately after that.
Some of his officials say that Tsvangirai returned to
work too soon after
these twin tragedies.
They are only desperately
trying to justify the extinguished fire in him.
Tsvangirai is failing to
stand up to Mugabe but this cannot be blamed on the
unfortunate tragedies
that visited him.
Tsvangirai has done a lot and he still remains a courageous
man, more than
any other in the party.
But he is tired.
He has gone
through much more than Robert Mugabe went through. Being locked
up in Ian
Smith's prison's and coming out with a university degree does not
indicate
as much suffering as we saw on Tsvangirai's face when he was
brutally beaten
up by Mugabe's goons one particulary weekend.
It might not be fair to
keep on criticising Mr Tsvangiari yet he has really
done so much for his
party and the fake, unease respite reportedly reigning
over the country
today must be credited to him.
What else do we want him to do?
After
so many sacrifices, it must be devastating for him to see journalists,
teachers and others demonstrating against his government yet he has no
authority to change anything that Mugabe does not want changed.
I can
almost feel his pain when he helplessly watches his closest associates
and
confidants, like Ghandi Mudzingwa, a former bodyguard, and Roy Bennett,
being bundled off to jails and he failing to rescue them from what the other
half of his own government is doing.
The helplessness runs deeper
when he considers the inability to help party
supporters who are being
harassed and thrown into jails on trumped up
charges.
It doesn't help
much that he is considered responsible for all the
complaints raised against
the government and that all the shortcomings of
this unity government are
heaped at his feet.
His former allies, while they still give him the
benefit of the doubt,
wonder more and more what he is doing as they see that
the agreements
contained in the GNU are not being met, with a lot of
outstanding issues
still unresolved.
After having been forced into this
deal and having accepted it "in good
faith" after much acrimony in his own
party, Tsvangirai definitely feels
betrayed by Mugabe.
He sits on a
pedestal where he can now easily be humiliated by both events
within the
country, within government and within his own party.
Civil society is
rightly up in arms over its exclusion from the drafting of
a new
constitution and Mr Tsvangirai appears to have no energy left to
tackle
these issues.
Did we push this seasoned brave warrior too much and too
far?
The grumblings within his own party are a scary development at this
particular time, given the fragility of the unity government.
Memories
are still fresh of how Welshman Ncube almost destroyed the MDC over
trivial
issues but somehow managed to cause enough chaos to split the MDC
into
two.
We are expecting a little too much from Mr Tsvangirai. He has to
contend
with changing strategy, and that in itself is a headache. It appears
that it
might have been easier to oppose Mugabe and ZANU-PF from outside,
but it is
quite another to be part of the people one once so vehemently
opposed.
Since the unity government came into existence, Mugabe has been
slowly
applying the pressure and has been quietly showing Zimbabweans who
really
holds the balance of power in the country.
Meanwhile, the MDC is
also trying to show its supporters and allies that
they can handle the
situation. With Mugabe's intransigence, all this
pressure is being piled on
Tsvangirai, having for so long become the symbol
of resistance against
Mugabe.
But now things are not going so well.
As we talk right
now, journalists have taken to the streets in protest, this
being Mr
Tsvangirai's government. Abductees were re-arrested by Prime
Minister
Tsvangirai's police.
Poor Jestina Mukoko, with compatriots like this, does
she need enemies? Oh,
if this is not Mr Tsvangirai's government, who is
doing all these things and
what is Mr Tsvangirai doing about it?
He can't
do anything about it.
No, we don't prefer that Tsvangirai and Mugabe be
always at each other's
throat.
We prefer that Tsvangirai and his party
stay clear of this nonsense. He
himself admits there are problems and he has
been encountering them for a
long time now. But we just want to urge him on
as if we can't see where we
are headed. We refuse to see his
limitations.
Haven't we heard that ice-cold water quenches little thirst?
How far will
the USA $100 a month take us if we cannot rectify the simplest
of things in
as short a time as possible?
Where will it all end if
the MDC cannot stand its ground? Why should the MDC
be the Samaritan always
betraying its supporters' aspirations while ZANU-PF
is not changing anything
about itself?
I have faith in what the past taught me. I have experienced
it. What's in
our future? I don't believe in clairvoyances or crystal
balls.
The heart of the matter is that Mugabe is real and he is a destroyer
not to
be given an opportunity.
The MDC, but especially its leader, is
paying a heavy prize for its
association with the monsters in
ZANU-PF.
My wish is for Mr Tsvangirai to go into real retreat and regroup
emotional
and psychologically. He needs to rediscover his inner strength. We
want the
old warrior back but only after he returns to his former inner
self.
We are not pushing him but we notice a creeping weakness that ZANU-PF
is
eagerly waiting to exploit and we cannot afford that.
Thank you Mr
Tsvangirai, your job is not done yet; please don't backslide
now.
Fellow
Zimbabweans, what do you say? Send me your comments on
tano@swradioafrica.com
I am Tanonoka
Joseph Whande and that my compatriots, is the way it is today,
Thursday May
7th, 2009.