http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
14
November 2011
There is growing evidence that two factions within ZANU PF
are uniting in
their attempts to try to remove the party’s 87 year old
leader, Robert
Mugabe. Reports say Mugabe has been alerted to an internal
plot to force him
to step down at ZANU PF’s December congress in Bulawayo.
His loyalists
retaliated by announcing that the congress will now be a
conference and
there will be no elections.
It’s being reported that
Mugabe initially wanted to use the congress to get
rid of senior officials
who were recently exposed by WikiLeaks as having
leaked ZANU PF secrets to
US diplomats stationed at the embassy in Harare.
However Mugabe was forced
into a u-turn when he realised it was actually him
who would be the
casualty, as rival factions united to oust him.
The main problem is
Mugabe’s health, and with Vice President John Nkomo
clearly unwell and very
frail, ZANU PF is aware their main candidate cannot
sustain the rigours of a
full election campaign. Mugabe has been to the Far
East more than 8 times
this year to seek medical treatment.
On Friday he left for what is being
billed as a week-long state visit to
China with his wife, Grace. It’s being
reported that Mugabe will use the
trip to attend his daughter, Bona’s
graduation in Hong Kong. Bona has been
studying at the City University and
is said to be graduating with a BBA
(Hons) in Accountancy. But given
Mugabe’s well documented, but closely
guarded battle with prostate cancer,
it’s likely he will also see his
doctors in Singapore during the
trip.
In October, political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya told SW Radio Africa
that
Mugabe’s health was a serious election issue for ZANU PF. “People will
doubt
him on the basis that how can someone who is always in hospital be an
election candidate. So it has dire consequences for Mugabe’s candidacy.
Mugabe is already unpopular, will not win an election and this (health) will
just worsen his candidature.”
“In 2012 Mugabe will be 88. Surely
before Mugabe says anything about what he
has to offer or what he doesn’t
have to offer, his age and his face are an
election issue. He is no longer
appealing to the people and his age is not
an age where people can invest
their future in an 88 year old, who is always
in and out of hospital,”
Ruhanya said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Corespondent Monday 14 November
2011
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s political parties will be barred from
showing their
strength or popularity in a violent manner, while supporters
will be banned
from carrying weapons to public rallies or marches under a
proposed new code
of conduct.
The code sponsored by the ZANU-PF party
of President Robert Mugabe, the MDC
of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
the breakaway MDC faction of
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube also requires
the parties to publicly call
for tolerance while denouncing political
violence.
The political pact -- the first one of its kind under which
Zimbabwe’ ever
squabbling parties will undertake to act to end violence --
comes amid
rising tensions and increasing clashes between supporters of the
parties
ahead of elections expected next year.
"The leader of a party
that has subscribed to this code will instruct the
party's officials,
candidates, members and supporters that no weapon of any
kind, including any
traditional weapon, may be brought to any political
rally, meeting, march or
other demonstration," the code says.
"A party that has subscribed to this
code will not engage in or permit any
kind of violent activity to
demonstrate party strength or to prove
supremacy," it adds.
The code
drafted by the country’s Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation
and
Integration has been sent to the political parties who will make further
suggestions to be included in a final document that will govern the conduct
and behaviour of all participants during the upcoming
elections.
Under the code, inter-party committees will be set up at
national,
provincial and district levels to deal with political violence,
while
national peace and reconciliation council will be established to
resolve
political disputes.
No date for elections has been set. But
both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have said
the country would go to polls once a
new constitution still under drafting
is adopted. Drafting of the new
governance charter is expected to be
complete by early next year.
The
new constitution is seen as a further bulwark against political violence
that has marked the country’s elections since the 1999 emergency of the MDC
as potent electoral threat to Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.
But the
increasing cases of political violence largely blamed on Mugabe’s
supporters
-- including youth militia, veterans of the country’s 1970s
independence war
and the military – have raised fears that the next polls
could yet again be
marred by violence even with a new constitution and code
of conduct in
place. -- ZimOnline
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare,
November 14, 2011 - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s formation of
the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) has asked the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the guarantor of the power-sharing pact in
Zimbabwe, to urgently intervene in what the party views as the deteriorating
political crisis in Harare.
In a letter dispatched on Monday to
SADC leaders, among them South African
President Jacob Zuma, the regional
grouping’s appointed mediator in the
Zimbabwe crisis, the MDC-T said the
political and
security situation was deteriorating at an alarming and scaring
pace and
“the MDC calls on Sadc to intervene to ensure the GPA does not
collapse.”
The lengthy letter follows incidents of political violence
which rocked
Harare and Chitungwiza in the past two weeks.
Noting
that it was now 32 months after the consummation of the inclusive
government, Tsvangirai’s party said despite the economic gains made thus
far, the political situation still remained precarious
with the potential
of degenerating into anarchy.
It listed issues the party considered
to be detrimental to the functionality
of the Inclusive Government as well
as political and economic stability in
Zimbabwe and specifically mentions
state sponsored and sanctioned political
violence.
“Violence and
intimidation are the biggest challenge to a free political
environment in
Zimbabwe. Since the formation of the Inclusive Government,
the cycle of
political violence has not been broken and politically
motivated, State
sponsored and sanctioned violence has not stopped ,” reads
part of his
letter in possession of the Radio VOP.
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za
Eyewitness News | 6 Hour(s) Ago
President
Robert Mugabe is meeting with jewellers in Hong Kong as part of
his official
visit to the region.
The Zimbabwean leader is looking for Chinese buyers
for the country’s
controversial Chiadzwa diamonds, which have been cleared
for export by the
Kimberley Process.
According to state media, he is
also keen to find investors to mine Zimbabwe’s
gold, tantalite, platinum and
lithium.
At least two Chinese firms are already mining diamonds in
Chiadzwa.
Mugabe is also scheduled to visit his daughter Bona, a graduate
at City
University in Hong Kong.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
14 November
2011
Diamond mining giant De Beers has indicated that it will not be
selling
stones mined at the controversial Chiadzwa alluvial fields in
Zimbabwe,
because of their ‘low quality’.
Stephen Lussier, the CEO of
the high quality diamond side of De Beers,
Forevermark, said at the launch
of the brand in South Africa last week the
diamonds are generally too small
and low in quality for the brand to sell.
Lussier made no direct
reference to concerns about the human rights
standards of the mines, but
said that Forevermark “carries a guarantee that
the diamonds used for our
products have contributed positively to
communities, the environment and
supply chains along the way.”
“In a diversifying and maturing industry,
consumers seek more from their
luxury purchases. Not only do they demand
value for money, but there is
increasing interest in the source of their
purchase and the journey it has
travelled. Forevermark offers customers a
promise of responsible sourcing,
paired with rarity and beauty. Less than 1%
of the world’s diamonds are
eligible to be branded Forevermark,” he
said.
De Beers for many years held an exploratory licence at Chiadzwa,
but in 2006
claimed it had found nothing meaningful in terms of high quality
diamonds.
Earlier this year the Zim government reportedly launched an
investigation
into De Beer’s activities during its explorations, accusing
the group of
pilfering large quantities of diamonds.
Chiadzwa
diamonds were meanwhile earlier this month given the green light to
be put
on sale, after almost two years of debate by members of the
international
trade watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP). KP members in 2009
fell short of
banning Zimbabwe from diamond trade, despite evidence of
murder and other
abuses at Chiadzwa. Instead, the group gave Zimbabwe time
to fall in line
with minimum trade standards.
This included removing the military from
the highly militarised diamond
zone, ending human rights violations, and
putting a stop to rampant
smuggling. According to human rights groups and
media reports, none of this
has happened. But the KP, in an apparent effort
to save face in the diamond
industry, more than a week ago cleared Zimbabwe
to resume exporting.
The decision has been slammed by civil society for
appearing to sideline the
critical issues of human rights and smuggling,
which Zimbabwe’s Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu has since admitted is still
rife. Meanwhile, some
diamond groups have already indicated they will not
take part in Zimbabwe’s
trade. The US based Rapnet diamond trade network has
warned its members not
to purchase the diamonds, saying in a trade alert
that “diamonds from these
sources have been involved in human rights
abuses.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
14 November
2011
Hundreds of Zimbabweans over the weekend added their voices to calls
for
justice for the Gukurahundi genocide, during the launch of a new lobby
group
in South Africa.
The group, the Gukurahundi Genocide Victims
for Justice (GGV4J), was
launched on Saturday at the Hillbrow Recreation
Centre in Johannesburg.
Hundreds of Zimbabwean exiles gathered to support
the group, which aims to
lobby for the trial of perpetrators of the
Gukurahundi massacres, and the
exhumation and reburial of the victims’
remains.
Speaking at the GGV4J launch the organisation’s chairperson,
Magugu Khumalo,
said the group would campaign for delivery of justice for
the estimated
20,000 victims in the 1980s, which was only last year
officially classified
as “genocide”.
“How can Gukurahundi be a closed
chapter when the blood of our dead
relatives is still boiling, when the
bones of our relatives are lying
everywhere without proper burial?” Khumalo
said.
Khumalo continued by saying that the GGV4J would campaign for the
reburial
of the victims and pursue litigation against the perpetrators of
the
genocide.
“We need to have those who died reburied; we need to
bury our dear departed
according to our own customs. We need to identify and
engage with the
survivors of Gukurahundi. There are a lot among us even here
now. We are
going to set up a platform where these survivors will come
upfront and tell
their stories to the whole world,” she said.
The
calls for justice come as civil society is being urged to push the
debate
for Transitional Justice in Zimbabwe, which analysts say is not being
prioritised by the government. A recent report on Transitional Justice by
the Zim Human Rights NGO forum found that a significant portion of society
has experience violence, with almost complete impunity on the side of the
aggressor.
Independent political analyst Leon Hartwell told SW Radio
Africa that “the
biggest mistake that Zimbabweans can make is to assume that
an election,
even if it is free and fair, will solve all your problems.” He
said at this
juncture, it was important to prioritise the transitional
justice debate and
work on how to move that process forward, calling it
vital for the country’s
future.
“If you don’t link these processes of
election and justice, it will be
difficult to imagine that Zimbabwe will
experience long-term stability,”
Hartwell said.
He added: “It is
important for civil society to push the transitional
debate. You can
anticipate resistance and don’t expect to please everyone on
what the final
product will look like.”
http://www.radiovop.com
Bulawayo, November 14,
2011-Bulawayo city councillors have blocked Zanu-PF’s
bid to use free of
charge the council’s facilities at the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair
(ZITF) during the party’s conference in December.
The party wanted to use
the Bulawayo City council‘s pavilion at the trade
fair grounds without the
consent of the local authority, the city’s deputy
mayor confirmed to Radio
VOP.
“Zanu-PF wanted to use our property at their conference without
following
formal procedures. Council treats every organisation and
individuals as
equal .If the party want to use our facilities they should
follow the proper
procedures,” said the city’s deputy mayor Amen
Mpofu.
Mpofu said Zanu-PF had negotiated with the ZITF Company for the
premises
instead of directly engaging the council over the
issue.
“That pavilion is not owned by ZITF Company. It is owned by the
council and
we do not know why Zanu-PF is negotiating with a second party,”
he said.
Zanu-PF scheduled to hold its congress from 6 to 10 December in
the city has
also announced its intention to use the facilities of some
government
colleges and schools in the city to accommodate its delegates
without paying
anything to the institutions.
The former ruling party
has also been using the public transporter, Zimbabwe
United Passenger
Company (ZUPCO) to transport its supporters to political
rallies and
conferences without paying anything as well.
The Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC-T) has also attacked Zanu-PF’s
intended plan to use state
resources without paying for them.
“It is wrong for Zanu-PF to try to use
public facilities without paying
anything. In April we held our congress in
the city and we were denied
accommodation at most government institutions in
the city despite the fact
that we wanted to pay for the services. We ended
up hiring private
companies,” said Tabitha Khumalo, the MDC –T deputy
national spokesperson.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Chengtai Zvauya and Nkululeko Sibanda
Monday, 14 November
2011 13:34
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HARARE - President Robert
Mugabe and his strategists are turning back on
plans to make the December
Zanu PF conference an elective congress after
rival factions united to
hijack the event to pressure the increasingly
unpopular 87-year-old to stand
down before the next election.
Mugabe surprised many within his
party when he declared that this year’s
Zanu PF annual conference would
effectively be turned into an extra-ordinary
congress as he had effectively
already won endorsement to be the party’s
presidential
candidate.
It is only at congresses that Zanu PF gets a chance to
change its
leadership. Party sources said Mugabe had planned to use the
December
meeting as an opportunity to get back at top leaders, including his
deputy
Joice Mujuru, implicated in having told American diplomats Zanu PF
secrets.
The Zanu PF constitution only allows for top leadership
changes at a
congress held every five years, except when an extra-ordinary
congress is
called.
Mugabe and his strategists had hoped to
replace those exposed as privately
opposed to his rule with loyalists ahead
of watershed elections
by turning the December conference into
an extra-ordinary congress, sources
said.
Internal sources
told the Daily News last week that Mugabe had realised the
plot was
thickening, forcing a somersault. The conference, the party now
says, will
not be turned into an elective body as earlier pushed by Mugabe
and his
strategists.
Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed this position
to the Daily News on
Friday.
“I am aware that we are having a
conference and not a congress,” said Gumbo.
“Unless things change
later on I will stick by what I know, which is that
the conference will be a
conference and not a congress,” Gumbo said.
Mugabe has in the
past confirmed that he lost the March 2008 presidential
first round vote to
rival Tsvangirai because some of his senior lieutenants
publicly supported
him but privately campaigning against him.
This resulted in the
veteran politician getting fewer votes than his
Parliamentary and local
council candidates in some areas.
“This is an election that
presents his last chance to overturn that historic
stain of losing an
election. And he knows he is unlikely to win if he goes
into battle with a
team of double faced running mates,” said a source,
adding that rival
factions were more likely to compromise on a unified
candidate other than
Mugabe “than ever before”.
The humiliating 2008 betrayal remains
fresh in Mugabe’s mind, evidenced by
how he recalled the treachery during an
inter-party anti-violence indaba on
Friday.
But he has also
been alerted to how the tables have turned as rivals quickly
hijacked
Mugabe’s December strategy to plot Mugabe’s ouster in a project
aimed at
reviving the party.
This will not be the first time Zanu PF top
officials have planned to oust
Mugabe.
All such efforts, such
as the one planned ahead of the party’s 2006 congress
in Goromonzi, have in
the past failed because none has mustered enough
courage to carry it through
in the face of bullying by Mugabe loyalists.
Sources said members
of rival factions had this time vowed to execute the
Mugabe retirement
project given his age and failing health.
Exposures by his top
aides that Mugabe is in ill-health and unlikely to
effectively tackle the
rigours of an election campaign have in recent months
been buttressed by the
former guerrilla leader’s frequent visits to Asia,
particularly Singapore
where his doctors are based.
Top aides told US diplomats that
Mugabe was battling cancer but had ignored
advice by doctors to
rest.
The confidential conversations became public after
whistle-blower website
WikiLeaks published US diplomatic
cables.
Many of Mugabe’s close party officials and government
ministers who publicly
swear by his name, held secret conversations with US
diplomats leaking
sensitive information about his health and how he had
become unpopular in
the party. The Zanu PF sell-outs also plotted ways of
ousting Mugabe with
the help of the Americans.
One of the
cables states that Mugabe was in 2008 spotted at Gleneagles
Hospital, a
private medical facility in Singapore.
The cable claims a US
citizen confirmed that Mugabe had seen an oncologist
based at Gleneagles
Hospital, a 272-bed private institution in the Asian
country.
Mugabe has been to Singapore no less than half a
dozen times since last
December. During one of the visits Mugabe’s spokesman
George Charamba said
the trip to Asia was for an eye operation review as
well as checking in on
the president’s daughter Bona, who is studying
there.
Yet senior party members eager to see his back remain
unconvinced.
“People believe he has to rest now. There is a lot
of disgruntlement amongst
party members over other members of the presidium
as well whom we feel
should be changed if the conference is turned into a
conference,” said a
party member with knowledge on the goings on in the
party.
“Nkomo (Vice president John) is frail. Why do we have to
punish him by
keeping him in office? Now is the time to rest both of them.
It will be
suicidal to go into an election with the two most senior leaders
suffering
health problems.”
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Pindai Dube
Monday, 14 November 2011
13:43
BULAWAYO - Welshman Ncube the leader of the smaller faction of
MDC said he
will not form a coalition party with mainstream MDC adding that
some
journalists are only writing stories praising Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai as if he is God.
Addressing 500 of his supporters
at Nketa Hall in Nketa high density suburb
yesterday an angry Ncube said the
smaller MDC was not formed to support
Tsvangirai.
“Some
journalists especially those from the Daily News Harvest House take
Tsvangirai as a God; they do not want to write about bad things he is
doing.
“Recently he wrote a book full of lies, but they do not
want to talk about
it."
Some of these journalists ran away
from this country and are now
broadcasting from Washington but they behave
the same as ZBC.
Again you can go on and cartoon us as many times
as you want but we do not
care,” said Ncube.
Tsvangirai
recently published his book “At the Deep End” and in one of the
revelations
claimed that the MDC split was caused by former South African
President
Thabo Mbeki in collaboration with Ncube.
Ncube said he is not
looking for a coalition partner in the Tsvangirai-led
MDC saying his party
will remain an independent entity.
“You hear journalists writing
that what I said undermines the possibility of
a coalition. Please
understand that Tsvangirai and his party are not our
allies just as much
Zanu PF is not our ally.
“We are not looking for allies but we
are looking for the support of the
people of Zimbabwe,” he
said.
He challenged Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe for a
live debate on
television on party policies just before next elections
saying that he will
show them how brilliant he and his party
are.
Tsvangirai and Ncube launched the united MDC together in
1999 with the
former becoming the president while the latter became the
secretary-general
of the party.
Following its formation, the
MDC had proved to be the most serious
challenger to Mugabe’s uninterrupted
rule since independence in 1980.
However, there was an
acrimonious split in 2005 over strategy and
participation in senate
elections.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
14
November 2011
Julius Malema was found guilty of provoking divisions
within the ruling ANC
party and of bringing the organization into disrepute
on Thursday last week.
The national disciplinary committee suspended him
from all office and
membership of either the ANC or Youth League for the
next five years.
But the close links he had with Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF
also caused
‘turbulence’ at Luthuli House, the headquarters of the
ANC.
Our sources in Johannesburg told us relations between Malema and
high
ranking officials of the ANC turned very sour when it was discovered he
was
allegedly being funded by ZANU PF to undermine President Jacob Zuma’s
mediation efforts in Zimbabwe.
The ANC also accused ZANU PF of using
Malema to try to topple Zuma, amid
allegations the youth leader was being
given Marange diamond funds to
confuse Pretoria, the ANC and South Africans
in general, in their
interactions with Zimbabwe.
Malema allegedly
made no secret of this when he confided in a few ‘friends’
that he was out
to get Zuma with the help of ZANU PF. Unknown to him, the
top leadership of
the ANC got wind of this and dispatched a high level
delegation to Harare to
confront ZANU PF.
That five-member delegation in September was led by
Secretary-General, Gwede
Mantashe who accused ZANU PF of sponsoring and
influencing Malema. It is
believed Mantashe told ZANU PF that the South
African government security
agencies were aware that Malema was being
trained and funded by Zimbabwe’s
state intelligence officials and receiving
direct advice from senior ZANU PF
officials.
Mantashe held separate
meetings with then acting President John Nkomo, Vice
President Joice Mujuru,
Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa and
party Chairman Simon Khaya
Moyo.
‘It is difficult to say whether Malema was an idiot, a fool, or a
lunatic.
Otherwise who in his right mind would confide in fellow colleagues
that he
was in the process of getting rid of Zuma using cash from Zimbabwe,’
one
source said.
On Saturday the beleaguered Malema also openly told a
meeting of the Youth
League that he was going to ask Mugabe for money to
fund the League’s
programmes.
The daily Sowetan newspaper said league
members who attended the National
Executive Council meeting on Saturday
confirmed that Malema complained that
the Youth League’s programmes were not
well funded and he accused the office
of treasurer-general Pule Mabe of not
doing its work.
South African based political analyst Munjodzi Mutandiri told
SW Radio
Africa that Malema’s close links with certain figures in ZANU PF
alarmed and
deeply concerned the ANC. Malema had visited Zimbabwe in April
this year
where he received a heroes welcome from ZANU PF supporters.
‘It
has been an open secret that since his visit to Zimbabwe, Malema became
very
radical to a point where he declared his intention to dethrone Zuma
from the
ANC leadership.
‘It was obvious to the ANC he had been radicalised in
Zimbabwe because that
is when he started his rhetoric to nationalise land
and mining companies.
This also alarmed investors, and the die was cast that
his days in the ANC
were numbered,’ Mutandiri said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
14
November 2011
The saga surrounding the mysterious death of retired army
General Solomon
Mujuru deepened over the weekend, after his 69 year old
elder brother Joel
Tazviwinga Mujuru told a local paper that the family
suspect he was
murdered. Mujuru died in a farmhouse fire in Beatrice, this
year in August.
Speaking to NewsDay from Goromonzi, Joel said all
indications were that
Mujuru was murdered and “he vowed to leave no stone
unturned in unravelling
the mystery behind the death.” Joel said they would
also pursue ‘traditional
practice consultations’ to establish what happened
to Mujuru.
“Solomon was unable to go back to his vehicle where he left
his phone,
groceries and documents. It was not possible for him to leave his
phone in
the vehicle and go to sleep,” the elder Mujuru told
NewsDay.
“Secondly, I did not hear that the car keys were found. Solomon
could have
escaped through the window if it was a genuine fire. Where he
died and where
his bedroom was there was some distance.”
He added:
“Solomon could have been burnt on the bed, not where he was found
dead. The
fire was coming from the other side going to his bedroom, but
Solomon died
where the fire was coming from. All this gives me unanswered
questions,” he
said.
Joel Mujuru said the family had suspicions surrounding the handling
of
Mujuru’s body. “For us to be satisfied as a family that this was Solomon,
we
were supposed to identify him while he was still at the spot. But I found
Solomon removed. Can that satisfy me that this was Solomon? Who had
identified him? I very much suspect foul play, (but) God knows,” he
said.
The story took an even more dramatic turn as it was reported that
Joel was
denied entry into the official residence of Vice President Joice
Mujuru in
Harare. Joel told NewsDay he was “pushed out by a rifle butt as he
tried to
gain entry into the family’s Chisipite house.” He was also told he
would
“disappear” if he continued following up on circumstances that led to
his
brother’s death.”
Joel said he went to the house to ask Joice
Mujuru if she had seen the
police report on the investigations into her
husband’s death. Police have
kept the report under wraps and instead
announced that they had forwarded it
to the courts for an inquest to be
conducted.
“On October 4, I was chased from (the) house by security. I
wanted to
discuss with the VP as a ‘wife’, but I was told that there is a
list of
people allowed entry and I was not one of those allowed. One officer
came
out and pushed me with a rifle butt,” Joel said.
A Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent at the gate, identified only
as
Zambuko, told him: “You old man, you and your entire family will
disappear
if you continue coming here”. Joel told NewsDay he was sure the
Vice
President was aware he was being chased from the gate because “her
daughter
was the one who came to the gate and told him he was no longer
wanted at the
house.”
“Before Solomon died I used to frequent his house. I had my own
bedroom with
my own set of keys. Whenever I went there I did not need to ask
where to
sleep,” he said. “I do not know what has happened now to the extent
of being
warned by Zambuko that I will disappear because of my brother’s
death.”
Rather curious is the fact that Joice Mujuru is reported to have
never
spoken to Joel since the death of Mujuru. Not only has the Vice
President
not responded to his phone calls but even her children are
refusing to talk
to him. There was a suggestion the VP might be angry at
Joel for speaking to
NewsDay, but then that would not explain the cold
shoulder given to him
since Mujuru’s death in August.
http://www.radiovop.com
Karoi, November 14, 2011 - Aspiring
soldiers are being asked to go through
rigorous vetting by Hurungwe war
veterans as Zanu-PF steps up efforts to get
rid of "sell outs and
unpatriotic youths in the army".
This comes amid revelations that army is
due to recruit junior officers at
Magunje's 2:3 Infantry Battalion this
week.
"We are submitting our certificates including birth, Ordinary level
even
Grade Seven and a recommendation letter from Zanu-PF local leadership
from
our wards " said one youth speaking on condition that he is not
named.
Radio VOP reporter visited Karoi town and wittnessed hoardes of
the
youngsters clutching files that were to be submitted at Hurungwe
District
War Veterans offices within Zanu -PF offices in the small farming
town at
the weekend.
Some were coming from rural areas around
Hurungwe and other farms
surrounding the town.
Sources said the war
veterans will submit the names to recruiting officers
at Magunje battallion
situated about 35 kilometers west of Karoi away.
It is alleged youth
officers from Ministry of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment
whose employment is questionable are also
assisting in the vetting
process.
The army workforce is depleted due to resignations, ill health
of some but
it is considered a security issue to expose. It was not
immediately known
how many soldiers will be recruited although some sources
say "the army is
in massive recruitment drive as it will not do so for the
next five years .
The target age is from 18 to 22 years although there
will be few exceptions
. There was no immediate reaction from the army at
the time of writing .
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
14/11/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A MINISTER was ordered out of the business class of an Air
Zimbabwe flight
to make way for President Robert Mugabe’s
aides.
Water Resources Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo (MDC-T) cut short his
sleep to
catch the 6.30AM flight from Harare to Bulawayo last Thursday – but
he and
dozens of other passengers were made to wait until 9AM when Mugabe
turned up
with his typically large entourage.
“Air Zimbabwe officials
said they were sorry that I had been downgraded from
business class to
economy because the President was travelling to Bulawayo,”
Nkomo told
NewsDay on Monday.
Air Zimbabwe’s B737 has 12 seats for business class – 11
of those were
grabbed by Mugabe’s aides and bodyguards.
Nkomo
blasted: “I am the President’s minister, appointed by him and I see no
reason why I was downgraded to economy class.”
Air Zimbabwe chairman
Jonathan Kadzura said Nkomo had been moved over
because Mugabe was “more
senior”.
The 87-year-old leader was on his way to Bulawayo for the
National
University of Science and Technology graduation ceremony where he
capped
1,234 graduands.
http://www.ipsnews.net/
By Ignatius Banda
PLUMTREE, Zimbabwe, Nov
14, 2011 (IPS) - Collecting the monthly
subscriptions for her co-operative
has always been a headache for Thelma
Nare, 41. This is because Nare lives
in Tshitshi, Plumtree in rural
Zimbabwe, about 60 kilometres away from the
humdrum of the nearest town
centre where banks are located.
"We meet
after a long time as here in the rural areas our homesteads can be
very far
from each other. So members of our club do not meet or contribute
regularly," Nare said.
In fact, the women in the co-operative do not
have a bank account. Until
recently, Nare and the other co-operative members
had to physically be
present to make their monthly contributions.
But
now, these "unsophisticated" rural women find themselves at the centre
of
efforts by mobile phone service providers to introduce mobile phone money
transfers in Zimbabwe.
Those without bank accounts, like Nare and her
co-operative, can now send
and receive cash via their mobile
phones.
The system is fairly simple. A user registers for mobile phone
banking with
their service provider and is given a mobile "e-wallet" - an
application on
their sim card that is linked to their phone
number.
When the user wants to pay for services or transfer money to
someone they
simply have to go to an agent and pay the desired amount, which
is loaded
onto the "e-wallet". The payment is made and the recipient can
withdraw the
money from an agent. There are various agents affiliated with
the mobile
service providers across the country, making the service easily
accessible
to those in rural areas.
It is a convenient system that no
longer limits the women’s movements. Nare
and the women in her co-operative
make regular trips to Bulawayo to sell
produce, like Mopani worms. This
means that they miss paying their monthly
subscriptions.
And as with
many co-operatives, or money clubs as they are called here,
defaulters are
not particularly valued. But these women would have not been
able to cope
with the country’s failing economy if it had not been for the
money
club.
For the women in Nare’s money club, belonging to the co-operative
is what
cushioned them during the tumultuous years of empty shop shelves in
Zimbabwe. In the mid-2000s the country experienced hyperinflation and nearly
94 percent of the country was unemployed.
It was on a recent trip to
Bulawayo, some 100 kilometres from Tshitshi, that
Nare discovered mobile
cash transfers.
Mobile network giant Econet Wireless, which has five
million subscribers,
introduced the service in September and was quickly
followed by its
competitors, the government-owned NetOne and
Telecel.
These service providers have affiliated agents throughout the
country, which
include the Zimbabwe Post Office, supermarkets and stores
where people like
Nare can access their funds.
"I was in the city and
was told about the use of mobile phones to transfer
money. When I told the
other women in my money club, it seemed to be the
answer to our problems,"
she said.
The model is borrowed from Kenya’s pioneering M-Pesa, which has
experienced
phenomenal growth from 20,000 users at its launch in 2007 to an
estimated 14
million this year.
Girlie Moyo, 40, another member of
Nare’s money club said that in the past
the women had to gather under a tree
to make physical contributions. Now,
the convenience of the mobile transfers
means "we can co-ordinate our
contributions without concerns about
distance."
"Sometimes even if you have the money you will have no clue
how to get it to
the club members because our co-operative does not have a
bank account like
some in the city," she said.
While money transfer
services sprouted across the country in the aftermath
of the mass exodus of
Zimbabweans to work across the world, the "bureaux de
change" remained in
the cities. So those in the rural areas were forced to
rely upon
undependable and expensive cross-border transporters who demand up
to 20
percent of the total amount being sent.
Mobile banking seems to be the
best solution for rural Zimbabweans, as a
report released on Nov. 9 by the
Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA)
found that Africa has the fastest
growing mobile phone market in the world
and is the world's second-largest
mobile market by connections, after
Asia.′The GSMA report predicts that
there will be more than 735 million
subscribers in Africa by the end of
2012.
In Zimbabwe, it is expected that with the majority of the country’s
population living in the rural areas, mobile phone money transfers will
likely meet with the same success as seen in Kenya. The GSMA report noted
that Kenya was the leader in mobile phone money transfers.
According
to Econet Wireless, by 2015 mobile money transfers in Africa will
reach 200
billion dollars.
"These are services which people, especially rural
women, have always
wanted," said Viola Matongerere, an economist and gender
and development
specialist.
"Zimbabwe is one of many developing
countries where the efforts of rural
women to improve their livelihoods has
been thwarted by little things which
men have ready access to, like bank
accounts for example.
"I think for women, these mobile phone-based
services provide opportunities
for the realisation of financial autonomy as
they can now easily move their
money without relying on anyone," Matongerere
said.
Money transfer agents affiliated with the country’s service
providers are
already reporting huge interest in the initiative as the
government of
Zimbabwe continues its promotion of paperless banking
transactions.
"What has been great so far since the introduction of the
service is the
amount of cash that is moving to rural areas," said Stewart
Manyora, who
works with the Zimbabwe Post Office.
"We have not
registered much business of our own lately, yet we can already
see that the
mobile phone money transfers are making a difference," Manyora
said.
However, service providers are yet to release figures on the
amount of money
that has been transferred since the introduction of the
service.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report
titled the
Information Economy Report 2011 stated that there remain huge
hindrances for
women entrepreneurship, and this has been particularly worse
for rural-based
women.
The report noted that there are an absence of
programmes and initiatives
that promote the use of ICTs to assist women.
Mobile phone banking is being
touted by development agencies as a starting
point towards empowering rural
communities.
"Even when we get money
from husbands’ working in Botswana and South Africa,
it has been a problem
sending this money to our children who are attending
school away from the
village," Moyo said.
"The fact that we can organise ourselves as women in
our co-operative
through our phones is what matters," she said.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Wilstaf Sitemere, the MDC Masvingo
provincial chairperson was today arrested by police on allegations that he
teamed up with a group of MDC youths and assaulted seven residents of
Morningside on 4 November. He was detained for over five hours at Rujeko Police
Station before being released in the afternoon and will appear in court
tomorrow.
The police are claiming that seven residents who include Nyasha
Mazorodze and six other unidentified women were assaulted by MDC youths who were
following orders from Sitemere.
Meanwhile, Hon. Tongai Matutu, the MP for
Masvingo Urban has urged the youths to maintain discipline and integrity ahead
of the forthcoming elections and said the MDC is ready to complete the struggle
for democracy and bring real change to Zimbabwe through the ballot box. Hon.
Matutu made the call at a youth forum held at Building Brigade, Mucheke, on
Saturday. The event was attended by hundreds of youths from Masvingo Town.
Hon. Matutu is the Deputy Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation
and Empowerment.
“We are in the twilight zone of the struggle and we are
ready for the elections and the youth must engage in serious mobilisation
because we must win the next plebiscite and that is very critical,” said Hon.
Matutu.
“For us to win, the youth must be able to sell party policies to
the people. Above all we need a disciplined and dignified Youth Assembly. All
youths must register to vote and that is the way we can protect our vote,” he
said. Hon. Matutu castigated Zanu PF terror squads, particularly Chipangano, for
causing mayhem in the country adding that violence should not be tolerated among
MDC youths.
“Zanu PF thugs are causing mayhem in the country but as the
MDC, we should not tolerate violence as we believe a free and fair election is
the only way forward. We must shun violence and bickering. Let us do away with
the spirit of infighting. We should not thrive on cheap political grandstanding
and we are very serious on the need to stop violence. You must reflect cohesion
and discipline .We don’t need confusion, bitterness and internecine fighting,”
he said.
Meanwhile, Hon. Josiah Rimbi the Senator for Chipinge in
Manicaland province has encouraged the people to maintain peace and register to
vote in preparations for the next elections as it was the only way to bring
about a new Zimbabwe with jobs and food. Hon. Rimbi made the remarks on Saturday
while addressing hundreds of party supporters gathered for an MDC Real Change
Peace Rally at Mutovhoti Business Centre in Chibuwe, Musikavanhu.
“If we
stay committed to peace and justice, another world is possible. One based on
human needs not corporate greed, on people not profits, on justice not power.
Let us all go and register to vote so that we add our voice as every vote
counts. This is the only peaceful way to bring about the Zimbabwe want, Zimbabwe
with food, jobs, security and freedom,” he said.
The people’s struggle
for real change: Let’s finish it!!
--
MDC Information
& Publicity Department
“The Zimbabwe National Ballet Centre was destroyed
on Sunday 30th October after the roof caved in leaving the building unsafe and
unusable. The Dance Trust of Zimbabwe announced that the collapse of the centre,
which was built 35 years ago and has housed and trained the national dancing
community for decades, is a national disaster and throws doubt over the future
of dance in Zimbabwe. All dancers, teachers, parents and friends of dance were
devastated by the news as it leaked out. Fortunately the centre was not in use
at the time and there were no casualties.
The National Ballet centre, situated on East Road, Harare
(behind Reps Theatre) has staged many shows over the years including its annual
dance festival Starlight Dancing. It is also registered as a Royal Academy of
Dance (RAD) examination centre and its facilities are used daily by many of
Zimbabwe’s top dance studios and dancers including the Tumbuka Contemporary
Dance Company, The Dance Foundation Course, The Outreach Project and the
National Ballet dancers themselves.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:
The National Ballet was formed
approximately fifty years ago by teachers and lovers of ballet. It was, and
still is, run by a committee of volunteers. The name "National Ballet" was
chosen because, at that time, it was possible for the company to tour nation
wide. The National Ballet was registered as a Welfare Organization in 1978. The
original members of the National Ballet were dancers, teachers or persons, who
were interested in furthering the cause and course of ballet in Zimbabwe.
Affiliated to the National Ballet were "The Friends of the Ballet", who assisted
to raise a large proportion of the funds required to buy the land and build the
Centre.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL
BALLET:
to the benefit of some of the pupils of the Dance Training Courses
Chairman of The Dance Trust of Zimbabwe, Tereza Carter, said that "Rebuilding the National Ballet Centre is critical to ensure that all gains over the past 35 years are not jeopardised. Dance in Zimbabwe must continue and it is important that the National Ballet Centre remains the hub of that national project.”
We are appealing to well wishers, friends of Dance and the
Corporate World to assist in our appeal for funds to rebuild the National Ballet
Centre. Donations to the fund no matter how small would be most sincerely
appreciated.
Please feel free to contact The Dance Trust Of Zimbabwe on
dtz@ecoweb,
Gary Jenkins on garyj@zimbiz.net or visit the DTZ websitehttp://dancetrustofzimbabwe.com
The account for donations is as follows:
Bank : Stanbic
Branch : Belgravia
Branch Code : 3103
Account Number : 0240090176202
Account Name : Dance Trust Of Zimbabwe
Swift Code : SB1CZWHXXXX
Reference : Gary Jenkins Fund Raising Initiative
This account is solely for donations towards the disaster
