The Zanu PF pundits are blaming MDC
and Biti for doing badly in terms of agriculture, but the table below shows that
agriculture has contributed more to GDP under the MDC Minister compared to the
period when Zanu Pf was in charge.
The Zanu Pf sanction mantra has
become the party’s major excuse for their non performance and the dinosaur party
has perpetually sung the song in a bid to cover up for their inadequacies and
corrupt activities in the diamond fields of Chiadzwa.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
11/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
FORMER South Africa President Thabo Mbeki will address
the Zimbabwe Diamond
Conference which begins at the Victoria Falls resort
Monday in a development
the government hopes will help address international
concerns about the
sector.
Said Mines Minister Obert Mpofu: “We have
invited (former President Thabo)
Mbeki and we are very proud to be
associated with him because of his
international resume. He is expected to
give the keynote address at the
conference.
“He is a renowned
international mediator who was responsible for initiating
the talks for our
unity government and at one time he was tasked with
mediating in the crisis
in Syria.”
Other top global diamond officials expected to attend the
meeting include
Kimberly Process chairperson Ambassador Gillian
Milovanovic, KP monitor
Abbey Chikane and renowned international diamond
expert Chaim Even-Zohar.
The Marange diamond find which is said to be one
of Africa's largest with
the potential to supply 25% of the world's diamonds
has led to increased
international focus on the country amid concerns over
transparency, human
rights abuses and alleged corruption.
Rights
groups claim that 200 people were killed in 2008 at Marange when the
country’s security services cleared small-scale miners from the
area.
Zimbabwe was consequently banned from the Kimberley Process, a
watchdog for
the diamond trade. The ban was only lifted when the government
said it had
pulled out security forces out of the area.
Still,
Finance Minister Tendai Biti Finance, a member of the anti-President
Robert
Mugabe MDC-T party, has complained that of the $600m in diamond
revenues
expected this year, only $46m has materialised.
He claims a "parallel
government" may be raking in much of the cash.
Officials say the conference
has been organised "to manage perception of the
Zimbabwean diamond industry
and lure more investment to the diamond
industry", according to the ministry
of mines.
Said the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and
Mining
Development Prince Mupazviriho: “The conference will also provide an
opportunity for everyone to see that everything that we are doing in terms
of the diamonds is above board. We have nothing to hide despite the
negative international views that we get regards our
diamonds.
“Preparations for the meeting are going on smoothly.
Most of the invited
delegates have confirmed their attendance. The main
highlight of the
conference is that we are now going beyond just the mining
of diamonds.
“We are now focusing on beneficiation to see how best the
country can
benefit from the diamonds. That is why we have invited all
stakeholders
from different countries to help us develop our own systems to
enhance
beneficiation from the diamonds.”
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
11/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has insisted that the
government is not looking to
nationalise the country's economy as he sought
to allay international
investor concern over the country’s indigenisation
programme.
Mining majors with interests in Zimbabwe, among them Anglo
Platinum and
Impala Platinum, have already moved to transfer control of the
operations to
locals in line with the country’s economic empowerment
legislation.
Under the law, criticised by analysts as unnerving investors
at a time the
economy is thirsting for international capital, foreign
companies must
transfer ownership and control of at least 51 per cent of
their Zimbabwe
operations to locals.
But speaking at the launch of a
community share ownership scheme at Bindura
Nickel Corporation (BNC) over
the weekend, Mugabe said indigenisation would
not lead to the
nationalisation of the economy.
“We have never nationalised anything
since independence despite all the
talk about Mugabe being a dictator and
all the dirt and filth that has been
said about Mugabe. We are not dirty and
filthy,” he said.
“The only dirt and filth has come from sanctions that
the west imposed on
us, yet we never reciprocated.”
The veteran leader
said international investors must be prepared to work
with locals and
understand that capital does not entitle them to ownership
of the country’s
resources.
“There has to be the good understanding that Zimbabwe’s
resources belong
primarily to Zimbabweans. Those who provide capital should
understand that
the master in Zimbabwe is the Zimbabwean,” he
said.
“They think the fact that they have capital gives them the right to
own our
resources. No! It only gives them the privilege to partner with
us.
“We want you to form partnerships with foreign companies at 51 to 49
per
cent . . . even partnerships with our African colleagues; we have no
objection at all with such partnerships provided that they understand our
policies.”
Mugabe however, said Zimbabweans should be wary and not
merely be used as
fronts for foreign interests.
“Ngatichenjerei . . .
kana Satan akati ngatidye tese, itai zi-spoon rinobva
kuno nekoko yokumba
share yako (You need a long spoon to eat supper with the
devil),” he said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Sunday, 11 November
2012 14:52
Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) and Didymus Mutasa
HARARE - For
most struggling Zimbabweans, it is an unimaginable expense:
$6,5 million on
a conference centre for Zanu PF's 13th national people's
conference.
It gets worse when reports suggest the party is being
funded by Marange
diamonds, which citizens are praying could be used to turn
the country’s
fortunes around.
The construction of the imposing
convention hall, 15km along the Gweru-Mvuma
Road, deep in the countryside of
Midlands Province, has included offices for
the presidium, a giant stage, a
5 000-seater convention hall,
state-of-the-art public address system and
other gizmos and amenities to
carry the party’s “very, very important
visitors” into the five-day
conference which opens on December 4.
But
while Zanu PF maintains the convention hall is a legacy project
bankrolled
by well-wishers, this has failed to quell Zimbabweans outrage
over the high
cost of the project, along with reports that millions more
dollars whose
sourcing remains a secret will be spent on accommodating the
thousands of
delegates.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC is pushing for a
parliamentary probe
on the “election monster.”
The legislature could
be asked during the fifth session of Parliament to
probe funding for the
convention centre, MDC officials say.
Asked about the $6.5 million
convention centre, Zanu PF administration
secretary Didymus Mutasa did not
attempt to deny the cost of the convention
centre.
Instead, he talked
vaguely about “exaggerations” and denied it was a sign of
misplaced
priorities.
“People are not struggling because of the hall; people are
suffering because
Tsvangirai brought sanctions to this country,” Mutasa told
the Daily News on
Sunday.
“He is still calling for sanctions without
any embarrassment, if anyone
should be ashamed it is
Tsvangirai.
“There is absolutely no connection between the hall and the
lack of service
in the country. That hall is in fact about the comfort of
the people who
come to the conference.”
Mutasa, who is also the
minister of State in the President’s office, said
Zanu PF had rich
friends.
“Money does not rain from the skies, mari inotsvagwa muminda,
mumaindustry
uye kubva kumadzisahwira (we get our money from agriculture,
industries and
also friends),” said Mutasa.
Zanu PF, founded in 1963,
has an official headquarters in Harare, in
addition to several conference
facilities at its disposal countrywide.
Housing and Social Amenities
minister Giles Mutsekwa, the Defence secretary
in Prime Minister
Tsvangirai’s MDC, called the expenditure on the Zanu PF
conference centre
not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given the country’s
social needs,
but also possibly illegal.
“When I heard about the construction of the
hall in Gweru I was shocked,”
Mutsekwa said.
“Zanu PF is our partner
in government and they claim that they represent the
people (but) for them
to splash such an amount on a hall is embarrassing. I
am struggling to give
people houses because the government is broke. I do
not know where they are
getting money to buy such a structure.
“If I had been given that money, I
could have built houses for more than 300
people, the Willowvale flats I
built cost $8 million,” added Mutsekwa.
Zimbabwe remains one of the
world’s most unequal countries, with millions
living in poverty and
post-independence frustrations regularly boiling over
into street protests,
especially by women’s groups such as Woza.
Critics of Zanu PF say the
party and its wealthy leaders have lost touch
with ordinary Zimbabweans and
the imposing Gweru structure is one such
example of a leadership at tangent
with the populace.
The majority of households are struggling with lack of
access to basic
services such as water while millions remain on the housing
waiting list.
The UN says 1,6 million are in dire need of food assistance
and are not
getting it.
David Coltart, minister of Education, Arts,
Sports and Culture and a member
of Welshman Ncube’s MDC, whose ministry is
surviving on the goodwill of
donors to bankroll its programmes, said
Mugabe’s party has warped
priorities.
“We have a warped system in
Zimbabwe, a history of misplaced priorities;
this hall in Gweru and the
military college in Mazowe constructed to the
tune of $100 million,” he
said.
“If that money had been channelled towards the rehabilitation of
schools,
then we would have improved the learning
institutions.”
Government in 2010 signed an agreement with China to use
Marange diamonds to
pay off the $100 million for the Zimbabwe Defence
College, which was
completed well ahead of schedule.
Schools around
the country are in a state of disrepair with children having
to learn seated
on hard floors or perched on stumps under the cover of
trees.
Coltart, whose ministry received only $8 million for this
year, said he has
engaged the ministry of Finance over lack of
funding.
“I have talked to Finance minister Tendai Biti over budget
allocation to the
education sector and I should say he was very
sympathetic.
“Unfortunately he has little room to manoeuvre. We need a
complete change in
our priorities” said Coltart.
Coltart spoke as
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation chairperson
Godwills Masimirembwa
admitted this week that a paltry $150 million out of a
projected $600
million from Marange diamonds was going to be remitted to
Treasury by
year-end, raising questions about the flow of diamond money.
Opposition
Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa, an ex-Zanu PF politburo member, said
one day
the truth will haunt his former party as questions on the source of
the
money to bankroll such a huge project rise.
“It remains a question of
where is Zanu PF getting this money,” Dabengwa
said. “One day the truth will
come out to haunt Zanu PF. Whoever the donors
are will be known and that
will be embarrassing.”
The fallout over the $6,5 million conference
centre comes at a politically
sensitive time for Zanu PF, which is seeking
re-election in forthcoming
watershed elections.
Dewa Mavhinga, a
civil rights campaigner and political analyst, said Zanu PF
should do some
soul searching.
“The first question for Zanu PF is: where is the money
coming from?”
Mavhinga asked. “But a more important question that calls for
Zanu PF
leaders to do deep soul-searching is: why throw such lavish and
obscene sums
towards the construction of a hall when the people of Zimbabwe
have numerous
urgent and pressing needs including the resuscitation of a
collapsed health
sector; provision of clean water in the cities; or general
support to an
ailing economy.
“This flamboyance and extravagance
points to a party out of touch with the
people; a party living in cloud
cuckoo land,” added Mavhinga.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Sunday, 11 November 2012 13:42
BULAWAYO - As the
country edges towards an election likely to be held next
year, political
parties have descended on Matabeleland North province,
turning the region
into a battlefield characterised by hyper-political
activities.
The
province, which is the other half of Matabeleland and located in the
southern region of the country, has courted the attention of at least four
political parties who are vying to get the bigger chunk of the cake come
elections.
Leading the pack is minister of Mines Obert Mpofu, who
holds rallies every
weekend where he doles out maize to villagers who have
been ravished by
drought.
Mpofu, who holds a seat in Umguza district
in Matabeleland North, has
sacrificed his personal resources to campaign on
behalf of his party Zanu
PF, which has struggled in the Matabeleland region.
The minister — who
declares himself king of Matabeleland and a super
minister at his weekly
rallies —has routinely proclaimed that the entire
region will become one of
Zanu PF’s strongholds.
“People are
underestimating us and come election time, they will be
surprised.
This time we are taking the province from those who have
failed to serve the
people. I have given you maize and if someone comes and
gives you more maize
than me, inform me and I will triple the maize that the
person would have
brought,” Mpofu said at one of the rallies.
On
average, Mpofu donates 60 tonnes of maize whenever he holds a rally. Zanu
PF
has several parliamentary seats in the area, although the MDC dominates
the
entire Matabeleland region.
Apart from Mpofu in Umguza constituency, Bubi
is under Clifford Sibanda,
Nkayi North with Sithembiso Nyoni, Lupane West
with Martin Khumalo and the
senator for Bubi-Umguza is Lot Mbambo, all Zanu
PF members.
The smaller MDC led by Welshman Ncube won Nkayi South with
Abednigo Bhebhe,
who was later to defect to the mainstream MDC.
It
also won Lupane East with Njabuliso Mguni, who like Bhebhe, defected to
the
mainstream MDC and the senatorial seats for Nkayi and Lupane are under
Rabson Makhula and Dalumuzi Khumalo of Ncube’s party.
The party also
won Tsholotsho South with Maxwell Dube and the senatorial
seat with Believe
Gaule.
Tsholotsho North was won by serial political flip flopper Jonathan
Moyo,
then an indepedent candidate before rejoining Zanu PF.
The
mainstream MDC won all the seats in Binga and Hwange constituencies. “I
want
to say if MDC wants the Umguza seat they should send Tsvangirai
(Morgan) and
if the other MDC wants to contest they should send Ncube
(Welshman) because
there is absolutely no-one who can be able to take that
seat away from me,”
Mpofu boisterously says.
Ncube, who leads the smaller faction of the MDC
and is one of the
politicians scrambling for seats in the province, hit back
at Mpofu at a
rally in the mines minister’s home town of Jambesi in Hwange a
fortnight
ago.
Ncube, who is also Industry minister in the fragile
coalition government
said Mpofu “is a small boy” and he would rather
challenge his party superior
President Robert Mugabe. The MDC led by Ncube
has also criss-crossed the
province staging rallies from Hwange to Lupane,
where they have dished out
bicycles in party green colours. So intense has
been Ncube and Mpofu’s
canvassing that one villager remarked that “this year
we are going to be
rich in maize and bicycles”.
The mainstream MDC
has not been left out in the scramble for Matabeleland
and Bhebhe, now the
party national deputy organising secretary, has been
holding rallies in some
of the province’s rural districts.
Recently they paraded one Moyo who
claimed that he was top campaigner of
Mpofu and had defected to the MDC
because of unfulfilled promises by Zanu
PF.
However, this did not go
down well with Mpofu, who distanced himself from
Moyo and said this was
cheap politics by MDC to undermine him. Whatever the
case maybe, it can only
be an intriguing and unpredictable election
battle. - Lloyd Mbiba
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
11/11/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
A CROP of relatively young business executives
and professionals are set to
represent Zanu PF in Parliamentary elections
next year as the party explores
ways of connecting with the youth
demographic ahead of the key ballot.
Zanu PF has largely resisted
pressure for leadership change and renewal with
President Robert Mugabe – at
the helm of the country since Independence in
1980 - set to run for another
term in office next March when he will be 88.
The party’s youth leader,
Absolom Sikhosana, is in his 60s.
Still, the party appears to recognise
that the so-called born free
generation – young people born just before and
after Independence – now
constitute a key part of the voting
population.
Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed Sunday that a crop of
young
executives and professionals were being targeted to help re-invigorate
the
party.
“The issue of these so-called new Turks is an interesting
and important
dimension for the party and we would like to put it on record
that we
welcome all these young and enterprising people who are coming from
the
corporate world to invigorate the party,” Gumbo told the Sunday
Mail.
“All the young guns have to do is to show commitment, loyalty and
support
the policies of the party. They must demonstrate that their
allegiance is
not a fly-by-night attraction but that it has deep foundations
guided by the
principles and values of the party.”
The
privately-owned Independent newspaper claimed Friday that provincial
party
leaders were warned during a recent trip to China that Zanu PF needs
to be
prepared to implement leadership renewal.
“We were warned of the need to
constantly renew our party leadership so that
we remain relevant and adopt
as a priority economic development strategies
that boost the economy and
empower the masses,” a party official told the
newspaper.
But Zanu PF
has, over the years, notoriously resisted any attempts at
leadership change.
A number of senior officials were slapped with five-year
suspensions after
attending a meeting in Tsholotsho in 2004 where a
re-gigging of the top
positions was allegedly discussed.
Former Cabinet Ministers and Politburo
members Simba Makoni and Dumiso
Dabengwa also quit ahead of the 2008
elections, frustrated by the party’s
refusal to entertain any change in its
top echelons.
Said Makoni in a recent interview: “There has been,
going back to the mid-’90s,
a discussion within Zanu-PF about the need for
change. We started about
change of direction, change of policy and, much
later, change of personnel.
“I was fully committed to participate in the
making of change from within.
We came through a number of landmark events.
The Goromonzi (Zanu-PF) annual
conference of 2006 was quite a
watershed.
“The extraordinary congress of December 2007. Expectation and
probably even
anticipation of change was crescendoing from Goromonzi to
Harare. And when
no change took place, at the extraordinary congress of
2007, that's when I
convinced myself that making change from within was not
feasible.”
Even so, the party has come up with a number of measures aimed
at connecting
with the youth demographic and the decision to embrace young
professionals
and business executives appears to be part of the
strategy.
Those said to be eying Parliamentary seats include journalist
Supa
Mandiwanzira, business executive Chamu Chiwanza, top Harare lawyer,
Jonathan Samkange, miller Tafadzwa Musarara, Zimpapers chairman, Paul
Chimedza and former RBZ advisor, Munyaradzi Kereke.
Gumbo however,
insisted that the inclusion of the “young turks” would not
divide the
party.
“We have made it clear that there is not going to be any imposition of
candidates in the forthcoming elections, so everyone will be on an equal
footing when the primary elections come,” he said.
The party has also
deliberately targeted its economic empowerment programme
at the youth with
about US$1 million recently made available to each of the
country’s 10
provinces for businesses run by young entrepreneurs under its
indigenisation
programme.
“Zanu PF goes for the real thing. Your wealth is the basis of
your
prosperity. If you control wealth, the future of the youth is assured,”
said
party strategist Chris Mutsvangwa.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
10/11/2012 00:00:00
by
NewZiana
THE government plans to build modern flats in major
cities to alleviate the
shortage of accommodation across the country, a
cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking after touring Mutare, Minister Giles
Mutsekwa said the government
would build six state-of-the-art apartment
blocks in the eastern border city
and other urban centres in the country to
reduce the housing backlog.
Mutsekwa said construction would begin in
January next year.
"We are rolling out a scheme to build flats in the
country's biggest cities
to alleviate accommodations challenges. We are
targeting Harare, Mutare,
Bulawayo and Gweru," Mutsekwa said.
He said
the government had mobilised the resources to build the flats and
was only
waiting for the local authorities to make the land available to his
Ministry.
In Mutare, the Ministry intends to build six modern flats
which would reduce
the number of people on the municipality housing waiting
list.
Acting Mutare Mayor George Jerison welcomed the government plans
saying
would reduce the housing waiting list, which currently stands at
50,000.
"Statistics that we have show that about 50 000 people are on our
housing
waiting list. Such a programme will solve accommodation problems in
Mutare
and probably other cities," he said.
Water Resources and
Development Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo accompanied
Mutsekwa.
Nkomo
pledged that his Ministry would drill 10 boreholes in the high density
suburb of Dangamvura as well as to resuscitate the irrigation scheme at
Nyanyadzi, about 35 kilometres south of Mutare.
Earlier Nkomo had
toured the irrigation scheme where he pledged to write off
US$27,000 which
farmers owe the Zimbabwe National Water Authority.
http://nehandaradio.com
on November 11, 2012 at 12:58
am
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has urged
Government to
increase capital expenditure on power generation and water
supply in order
to revive the manufacturing sector.
The calls
come as the Minister of Finance, Mr Tendai Biti, prepares to
present the
2013 National Budget on Thursday.
Industry experts say the manufacturing
sector, facing myriad obstacles
ranging from the cost of raw materials to
power outages, requires an
estimated $2 billion to operate at full
capacity.
Currently, Zimbabwe is generating 1 329 megawatts (MW), with an
additional
100 MW being imported from neighbouring countries, against a
national demand
of 2 200 MW to meet both industrial and household
use.
In an interview last week, CZI chief economist Mrs Lorraine Chikanya
said
Government must invest in key projects that will add value to
much-needed
growth in the economy.
“Government must identify key
projects which will add instant value to the
economy. Projects on power
generation and water supply are very important to
economic recovery.
Industry is also concerned on the continued decline of
the proportion of the
budget being allocated to capital expenditure,” said
Mrs Chikanya.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 November 2012 14:52
Jonathan
Moyo
HARARE - Veteran broadcaster Tapfuma Machakaire has described political
flip
flopper and former minister of Information Jonathan Moyo as the major
cause
of the crumbling of once-vibrant state broadcaster Zimbabwe
Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC).
In his new memoir entitled A Nose for
News launched at the Bulawayo Press
Club on Friday, Machakaire said Moyo’s
reshuffling of staff and his firm
hand on the media led to the demise of the
broadcaster.
“Drastic changes at ZBC resulted in unbudgeted costs in
terms of relocated
fees and hotel accommodation.
The minister had
discouraged advertisers on the main news, claiming that
some banks that were
advertising on ZTV were influencing programme content,”
Machakaire, a former
senior ZBC employee and now a freelance journalist
said.
“Forced by
serious financial challenges, the board decided to retrench 450
workers
where each department had to compile a list of persons deemed to be
excess
baggage,” he said.
Machakaire, who is one of the finest journalists ever
to emerge in Zimbabwe,
said Moyo forced journalists to throw ethics out of
the window. “Jonathan
Moyo killed ZBC and he wanted me to bend my
principles.
But I urge journalists never to be used by politicians.
Journalists should
base their reporting on fairness, balance and
truthfulness,” Machakaire
said.
The former Toringepi anchor alleges
that his bitter rivalry with the
minister led to his transfer from Montrose
Studios in Bulawayo to Harare’s
Pockets Hill in 2001 as a reporter, which
according to Machakaire was a
demotion. “It was a way of getting me out of
the way,” Machakaire said.
In the memoir, Machakaire makes stunning
revelations of his clashes with
Moyo at a Smart Partnership Dialogue Summit
in Malaysia in November 2000
when the then minister accused him of
ignorance.
As a result of the feud, Moyo used his ministerial powers to
file stories to
ZBC in the process disregarding Machakaire’s post as a
seasoned journalist
who had travelled with the president for
years.
Moyo’s time at the information ministry resulted in the use of
harsh media
and security laws to arrest journalists and close down
newspapers. ZBC has
been in shambles since Moyo’s time.
Recently, the
National Social Security Authority moved to confiscate ZBC’s
vehicles over
$700 000 which the state broadcaster owes the workers’ social
protection
institution in employees’ pension contributions since 2009.
It is also
apparent that ZBC is in serious problems as it was ordered to pay
Zimbabwe
Music Rights Association $600 000 for musicians’ royalties dating
back to
2009. Machakaire’s memoir was produced as part of a programme by the
Media
Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe chapter called Journalists in
Residence which gives veteran journalists the chance to chronicle their
experiences in the journalism fraternity. - Nyasha Chingono
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
SUNDAY, 11 NOVEMBER
2012
By Correspondents
FIFA has informed the Zimbabwe
Football Association (Zifa) that ordinary
courts are not to be approached to
intervene in the life bans slammed on the
15 players and officials
implicated in the Asiagate scandal.
The world’s football mother body said
there are statutes that prohibit
affected parties to approach the ordinary
courts.
“In this respect we would like to draw your attention to article
64
paragraph II of the Fifa Statutes which stipulates that ‘recourse to
ordinary courts of law is prohibited unless specifically provided for in the
Fifa regulation,’ as well as to paragraph III of the said provision, which
underlines that member associations shall ensure that this stipulation is
rigorously implemented within the respective association and further
provides that ‘the associations shall impose sanctions on any party that
fails to respect this obligation( . . .)”’ reads part of the letter to
Zifa.
This follows a letter written by former Warriors coach Sunday
Chidzambwa’s
lawyers.
Chidzambwa wrote to Fifa, saying he had lodged
an application to the
Zimbabwe High Court against the decision they were
rendered by Zifa.
According to the letter, Fifa called for the
implementation of the statutes
at national level.
“In the view of the
above and considering that associations shall ensure
that this stipulation
is implemented at national level and, if need be,
impose sanctions on any
party that fails to respect the obligations
previously mentioned (article 64
paragraph III of the Fifa statutes), we
respectfully ask you to keep us
informed of any claim lodged with an
ordinary court by players and/or
officials involved in the above mentioned
matter that comes to your
attention and in that event of the appropriate
action the Zimbabwe Football
Association will take action against
aforementioned officials in order to
guarantee the respect of the Fifa
Statutes.”
Fifa called for Zifa’s
immediate co-operation to resolve the issue.
Zifa chief executive officer
Mr Jonathan Mashingaidze yesterday confirmed
receiving the letter and
warned those who have approached the courts.
“We are bound by the
statutes of Zifa and Fifa in terms of our conduct, we
were left with no
choice, but to crack the whip on any individual who wants
to go to court,”
he said.
Mr Mashingaidze said Zifa will make sure that the country’s
football is
clean and it will enforce the statutes governing football in the
country.
Last month, Zifa banned 15 individuals from participating in
football
related matters after they were found guilty of match fixing and
betting in
Asia. Other sentences are being released in batches.
Zifa
has since set up a Special Appeals Committee to deal with appeals set
to be
lodged by the affected individuals.
Deep foreboding about
the future of Zimbabwe was evident in London this week. As the clock ticks down
to the next elections, fears were expressed that Zimbabwe is facing a trial of
enormous consequence.
This view emerged
most forcefully from the exiled MDC-T Treasurer General Roy Bennett, who spoke
at a crowded meeting in one of the main committee rooms in Parliament. Among
those attending was the Archbishop of York, the Ugandan-born Dr John Sentamu,
who famously refuses to wear a clerical collar until Mugabe goes.
‘My message is a
simple one’, Roy said. ‘There needs to be a clean break with the past in
Zimbabwe – and very soon – or else the country will be a permanent basket case
akin to the Democratic Republic of Congo or the Central African Republic, or any
of the other forgotten and forsaken backwaters in Africa, distinguished only by
occasional atrocities and marked by the utter, grinding poverty of their
inhabitants.’
Roy dismissed as a
pipe dream the idea that Zimbabwe would gradually evolve towards democracy and
prosperity by co-operating with a ‘reformed’ Zanu PF. He warned that if the MDC
and civil society did not drive Zanu PF from office and ‘complete the return to
democratic normality’ in the next three years or so it might be too late.
‘Zimbabwe will degenerate into a Somalia. It will just be another perennial slum
in Africa, a shantytown, a bantustan where the dream of the citizens extends no
further than emigration. The privileged few will gorge themselves on the
scraps.’ For full text of Roy’s speech, see: http://nehandaradio.com/2012/11/09/zimbabwe-could-degenerate-into-a-somalia-bennett/.
The occasion for Roy’s comments was a meeting in memory
of Mike Campbell, a farmer who, with his son-in-law Ben Freeth, took Mugabe to
the SADC Tribunal after their violent eviction from their farm. They won the
case but SADC then suspended the Tribunal. During the course of the case they
were abducted, beaten and tortured. Mike Campbell subsequently died of his
injuries. Mr Freeth told the meeting that
preparations were being made to steal the elections planned for next year.
Ben came to join us at the Vigil today and urged us to
keep up the struggle. ‘We are encouraged because every week we see you are still
there.’
After the Vigil he attended the monthly meeting of the
Zimbabwe Action Forum held at the India Club down the road from the Vigil. He
recalled how his own house had been burnt down along with that of Mr Campbell.
‘Zimbabwe continues to burn yet we are four years into the new government. The
country has not really moved forward. Huge problems continue and no real reforms
are taking place.'
The Joint Operations
Command was still in place, the election machinery was exactly the same as in
the last elections with the same people in charge who had declared those
elections free and fair despite the violence. The elections supremo Mudede
claimed the voters’ roll was perfect, although a third of those on it were dead
or absent.
‘We expect violence’
he said, ‘forced meetings, Zimbabweans leaving home, crimes against humanity and
the plight of the Zimbabwean people being disregarded.’ Ben said he looked to
the Vigil for help in creating pressure and said our partner organization
Restoration of Human Rights was part of the answer. He was applauded when he
told the gathering that he did not think the solution was in violence. He went
on to lead us in prayer for courage and wisdom.
Other
points
·
One disturbing
reminder of how difficult things were becoming in Zimbabwe was from a supporter
at the forum who said her parents in Zimbabwe had appealed to her not to go to
the Vigil because they had been threatened. People agreed that we must
nevertheless focus on getting our message to relatives in Zimbabwe. They must
realise how much the diaspora, with regular remittances, is helping to keep the
country going.
·
Vigil co-ordinator
Dumi Tutani expressed anger at reports that Morgan Tsvangirai was staying in a
luxury hotel nearby, the Savoy, which charges a minimum of £400 a night. He
asked why Mr Tsvangirai had not contacted the diaspora, who would have liked to
have asked him why the MDC was denying them the vote. Dumi suggested that the
Vigil should make the UK an uncomfortable place for anyone from the Government
of National Unity. After the meeting he and several others headed off to protest
at the Savoy.
·
We have received an
invitation to attend a special service on 22nd November at Southwark
Cathedral to mark the 50th anniversary for the Prisoners of
Conscience Appeal Fund. There will be music by a Zimbabwean choir and readings
by distinguished patrons of the fund including the Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky
who has visited the Vigil. See ‘Events and Notices’ for
details.
·
Our article for the
Independent which we put in last week’s diary can be seen on their blog on this
link: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/11/06/the-zimbabwe-vigils-10th-anniversary-is-no-cause-for-celebration/
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website.
FOR THE
RECORD: 64 signed the
register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
Next Swaziland
Vigil. Saturday
17th November from 10 am – 1 pm. Venue: Swazi High Commission, 20
Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB. Please support our Swazi friends. Nearest
stations: St James’s Park and Victoria. www.swazilandvigil.co.uk.
·
Relaunch
of ROHR Liverpool Branch.
Saturday 17th November from 12 noon – 4 pm. Venue: Sally Eccleston
Centre, Moss Lane, Litherland, L21 7NJ. ROHR Zimbabwe continues with its renewal
campaign. The Liverpool branch relaunch follows hard on the heels of other
successful launches over the last 6 weeks: Central London Branch, Birmingham and
Cambridge. Members of ROHR, human rights activists and friends of Zimbabwe are
all invited. Discussions will focus on the Zimbabwe crisis and the strategies
going forward. A new branch executive will also be elected and the ROHR UK
National Executive will be in attendance.
·
50th
anniversary service for the Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund.
Thursday
22nd November at 3 pm. Venue: Southwark Cathedral, Montague Close,
London SE1 9DA. The service will be an interesting mix of readings by PoC
patrons including Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, Zoė Wanamaker CBE and Reverend Dr.
Nicholas Sagovsky, music by a Zimbabwean choir and personal stories from
prisoners of conscience who have been helped by the charity. See: http://www.prisonersofconscience.org/about_poc/events/default.aspx
·
Election of
Substantive ROHR UK Executive. Saturday
8th December. Further details as they become
available.
·
Zimbabwe Vigil
Highlights 2011 can be viewed on this
link: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/363-vigil-highlights-2011.
Links to previous years’ highlights are listed on 2011 Highlights
page.
·
The Restoration of
Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil
to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s
mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other
website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents the
views and opinions of ROHR.
·
ZBN
News. The Vigil
management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not
responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that
they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no
control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.
·
The Zim Vigil
band
(Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our
Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video
check: http://ourvigil.notlong.com. To watch other
Zim Vigil band protest songs, check: http://Shungurudza.notlong.com and http://blooddiamonds.notlong.com.
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
·
Vigil Myspace
page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil.
·
To sponsor the Mike
Campbell Foundation expedition ‘Sailing across the Makgadikgadi Pans’ which will
raise money for the work of the Foundation, go to www.justgiving.com/Mike-Campbell-Foundation.
·
Useful websites:
www.zanupfcrime.com which reports on Zanu
PF abuses and www.ipaidabribe.org.zw where people can
report corruption in Zimbabwe.
Vigil
co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
