NGO BILL [High] Alert
Wednesday 17 November 2004
Midnight Debut
for the NGO BILL
The NGO Bill made its Parliamentary debut yesterday and
today might be the
day of reckoning. Many thanks to those who heeded the call
and attended the
Parliamentary session yesterday, we need an even stronger
presence in the
public gallery today [never mind the schoolkids taking up all
the space,
just try to be there by 2pm]
Proceedings on the NGO Bill
began at 12:00 midnight amidst high drama and
ravaging debate and ended
today at 6am. Four MDC Mps were thrown indicating
the intensity of debate
around the Bill and the resoluteness of the state to
pass the Bill as it is.
The state indicated great concerns around the issues
of national security,
foreign interference, infringement of political space
and human rights. That
these concerns are unfounded is apparent, but what is
appalling is the fact
that there was little recognition on the state's part
of the great work that
NGOs have been doing in promoting national
development. All of a sudden NGOs
have become a national threat when
throughout the years they have essentially
been complementary partners to
government in fostering
development.
The debate will resume again today at 2:15pm with the
tabling of the meagre
amendments sent out by the Minister and voting on the
Bill.
The entrenchment of a Legacy of bad laws
As our Parliament
cotinues to invest in oppressive laws, about which it has
shown record
determination, the NGO Bill stands next in line and indications
show a high
likelihood of it being passed in its current state. The Adverse
Report by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee on the Bill was thrown out, thus
diminishing
the last hope of the Bill being redrafted. It therefore remains
for the NGO
Sector to start counting its losses and focusing on the
way
forward.
National Advocacy Committee Meeting
NANGO continues to
closely monitor the parliamentary process and will be
keeping you up to date
as events unfold. However speeded emphasis is now
being placed towards
cementing the post-Bill response strategy. In this
regard the National
Advocacy Committee will meet on Thursday to deliberate
on the way forward,
please be advised that the advocacy process will still
proceed even after the
promulgation of the Bill. The challenge remains in
spite of the Bill for us
all to continuously advocate for a positive and
enabling operating
environment and an unrestrained civil society
in
Zimbabwe.
Responses
We will be glad to respond to queries and
questions pertaining the Bill
process and the response strategy. Please
contact Jacob or Fambai on our
hotline 732612.
From: "Trudy Stevenson"
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:21
AM
Subject: House adjourned to Tues - NGO & ZEC Bills Committee
Stage
Parliament is adjourned to Tuesday. Today we did not proceed
to Committee
stage for the NGO and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Bills as
expected,
therefore they are most likely to be debated and passed on Tuesday
next
week.
Parliamentary Legal Committee report on the NGO bill
Posted 16 November,
2004
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY LEGAL COMMITTEE ON THE NON- GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANISATIONS BILL, 2004, [H.B. 13, 2004]
REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY
LEGAL COMMITTEE ON THE NON- GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANISATIONS BILL, [H.B. 13,
2004].
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Mr. Speaker Sir, the Parliamentary Legal
Committee ("your committee.")
considered the constitutionality of the Non-
Governmental Organisations
Bill, HB 13, 2004 ("The Bill") and regrets to
report that in the opinion of
the committee, the provisions of clauses 2, 9,
10, 11, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23,
24, 29 and 32 are inconsistent with the
Constitution of Zimbabwe and
therefore unconstitutional.
1.2 One of the
stated objectives of the Bill is said to be the provision of
"an enabling
environment for the operations, monitoring and regulation of
all non-
governmental organisations" and yet it is your committee's view
that far
from seeking to provide such an environment, the Bill, when read as
a whole
constitutes a determined and pervasive attempt to curtail and
extinguish the
fundamental freedoms of the people of Zimbabwe enshrined in
the
constitution. Mr. Speaker Sir, it is your Committee's opinion that this
Bill
is a cynical and comprehensive attack on the rights of the people to
organize themselves in the promotion, protection, defence and advancement of
their freedoms and liberties. It is a calculated attempt to all but
extinguish just about all the rights and liberties contained in the
constitution. To seek to control, circumscribe and prevent the people from
organising themselves into such bodies as they may deem fit for monitoring
and promoting respect for their constitutionally guaranteed rights is just
as good as saying the people do not have those rights.
1.3 Mr. Speaker,
Sir, Your Committee has taken notice of the historical and
present context
under which the Bill is being introduced. It has also
considered the objects
of the Bill as explained to the nation by the
government and in particular
the responsible Minister. We have also had the
privilege of having
government's underlying reasons for seeking to enact the
Bill explained to
us in some detail by one of our members Honourable
Kumbirai Kangai. We
understand that the government is extremely unhappy with
the work of many
non- governmental organisations particularly those working
in the field of
human rights, and hence seeks to control and close down some
if not all of
them because, it is alleged they have been used by imperialist
forces to
destabilize the country and effect regime change. The ban of
foreign funding
to non- governmental organisations, it is said, is in
response to some
statements by foreign powers allegedly indicating that they
are working with
the opposition and civil society to effect regime change in
the country. For
this reason, we have been told, the government can not sit
by while non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) work in cohort with the
opposition and
foreign powers to effect regime change in the country. We are
further told
that the government is determined at all costs to curtail human
rights in
the country in order to protect itself from being removed from
power by
foreign powers using local NGOs as a front.
1.4 Mr. Speaker Sir, it is your
committee's considered opinion that the
truth lies elsewhere. Our view is
that as the human rights situation in
Zimbabwe has deteriorated and worsened
in the last five years as confirmed
by the report of the African Commission
on Human Rights, which must have
been the last straw for the government. The
government has increasingly seen
the work done by NGOs particularly those
working in Human Rights, as
providing a recording of human rights violations
in the country, which have
contrasted sharply with the government's version
of a country at peace with
itself and with an impeccable human rights
record.
1.5 Mr. Speaker Sir, it is your committee's view that local human
rights
NGOs have played an important part in the struggle to protect,
promote and
defend human rights in the country and in particular in
informing
Zimbabweans and the world of the true human rights situation in
the country.
They have painstakingly recorded and reported on a varied range
of human
rights issues carefully documenting incidents of political
beatings,
intimidation torture, rape, killings, unlawful arrests and
detention,
destruction of homes and other properties, the suppression of
media
freedoms, etc, etc. They have provided legal, counseling, and medical
assistance to victims of human rights abuses. They have campaigned for a
return to the rule of law and a cessation of state sponsored human rights
violations. In doing all this work, the local NGOs have been heavily
dependent on foreign funding for their activities for the simple reason that
there isn't local funding to support this sort of work.
1.6 The
government has been heavily critical, indeed antagonistic towards
the NGOs,
which have been doing this work accusing them of propagating and
disseminating false information concerning the human rights situation in the
country.
1.7 It is in this context that the true intentions behind the
attempt to
promulgate the Bill must be understood. To be fair, the
government has not
hidden its intention to control and if necessary to close
down NGOs accused
of recording and propagating false information about human
rights abuses in
the country. In his speech at the opening of this session
of Parliament on
20 July 2004, the President made it very clear that the
government intended
to deal with NGOs which stood so accused. He
said,
"Non- Governmental Organisations must be instruments for the betterment
of
the country and not against it. We cannot allow them to be conduits of
foreign interference in our national efforts."
1.8 The responsible
Minister had similar sentiments when he said,
"Some NGOs and churches are
causing too much confusion in the country
because they are converting their
humanitarian programmes into politics.The
government cannot allow that to
happen so we are saying they should go under
scrutiny where we revise all
modalities in the country. [See The Herald of 5
April 2004]"
1.9 Mr.
Speaker Sir, it is your Committee's view that rather than seek to
address
the human rights situation as recorded and reported by these NGOs,
the
government has, instead, chosen to kill the messenger by seeking to
control
and close down NGOs including, by the mere fact of denying them
access to
foreign funding, an act of itself, which will render any human
rights
organisation which will survive the registration process, completely
useless.
1.10 Mr. Speaker Sir, when read as a whole, it is plain that the
main
targets of the Bill are those NGOs which promote , protect and defend
human
rights and hence the definition of the term "governance issues" [in
the
circulated amendments to the Bill] as embracing the human rights
contained
in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It
seems clear
to us that the Bill's primary object is the closing down,
silencing and
rendering ineffective of all local human rights organisations
monitoring and
promoting human rights in the country as well as to prevent
international or
foreign human rights organisations from operating in the
country. Quite how,
it can be thought or believed that a Bill whose effect
is to achieve the
above, can possibly be consistent with the Constitutional
imperative and
directive to promote, protect and defend the human rights
outlined in the
Declaration of Rights is frankly mind-boggling.
1.11 It
is for this reason that your committee, Mr. Speaker Sir, has no
hesitation
in finding that a Bill, which seeks to curtail the ability of the
Bill to
protect, promote and defend their human rights, is inherently
unconstitutional. It is a most serious attack on the Declaration of Rights
to seek to prevent people from organising themselves in such forms and ways
they may deem necessary in order to collectively promote, protect and defend
the very rights the constitution has so elaborately pronounced.
1.12 Mr.
Speaker Sir, it is your Committee's view that the Bill does not
seek to
regulate but seeks to control, to silence, to render ineffective and
ultimately to shut down NGOs around which Zimbabweans have organized
themselves for the promotion, protection and defence of their
Constitutionally guaranteed rights. Ask yourself Mr. Speaker Sir, whether it
is sensible to provide in the Constitution that every Zimbabwean has the
freedom to personal liberty or the freedom from torture and then provide in
a subsidiary law that NGOs formed by Zimbabweans to secure those rights
through legal aid, providing medical assistance to victims or through
litigation cannot be registered if one member or director is not a
Zimbabwean domiciled in Zimbabwe or that they can not receive foreign
assistance to pay for the legal fees of an unlawfully arrested person or for
a victim of unconstitutional and unlawful acts of torture?
1.13 In short
it is ridiculous to say through the Constitution, that people
have human
rights but then go on through an Act of Parliament to prevent
them from
organising themselves to assert, protect, promote and defend those
very
rights the Constitution has guaranteed them. It is pretty much like
saying
someone has the right to life but they are prohibited from eating.
1.14 Mr.
Speaker Sir, it is for the above reasons that your committee finds
all those
clauses of the Bill which seek to achieve the silencing, the
control and
ultimately the closure of NGOs, to be unconstitutional. Each of
those
clauses are considered in turn below.
2. CLAUSE 2
2.1. This is the
interpretation clause of the Bill, which inter alia define
"foreign non
governmental organisation," "local non- governmental
organisation" and a "
non- governmental organisation" as follows:
2.1.1 "foreign non- governmental
organisation" means any association of
persons, whether incorporated or
unincorporated, that does not consist
exclusively of permanent residents or
citizens of Zimbabwe who are domiciled
in Zimbabwe;
2.1.2 "local non-
governmental organisation" means any association of
persons, whether
incorporated or unincorporated, that consist exclusively of
permanent
residents or citizens of Zimbabwe who are domiciled in Zimbabwe;
2.1.3 "Non-
governmental organisation" means any foreign or local body or
association of
persons, corporate or unincorporated, or any institution, the
objects of
which include or are one or more of the following-
a) the provision of all or
any of the material, mental, physical or social
needs of persons or
families,
b) the rendering of charity to persons or families in
distress,
c) the prevention of social distress or destitution of persons and
families,
d) the provision of assistance in, or promotion of, activities
aimed at
uplifting the standard of living of persons or families,
e) the
provision of funds for legal aid,
f) the prevention of cruelty to, or the
promotion of the welfare of animals,
g) the promotion and protection of human
rights and good governance,
h) the promotion and protection of environmental
rights and interests and
sustainable development,
i) such other objects
as may be prescribed,
j) the collection of contributions for any of the
foregoing;
but does not include-
i. any international organisation or
institution whose privileges,
immunities, rights and obligations in Zimbabwe
are governed by the
Privileges and Immunities Act [Chapter 3:03]; or
ii.
any governmental organisation or quasi- governmental organisation or
institution whose legal status is that of an instrumentality or arm of any
foreign government; or
iii. any institution or service maintained and
controlled by the state or
local authority; or
iv. any religious body in
respect of activities confined to religious work;
or
v. any educational
trust approved by the Minister; or
vi. any body or association of persons,
corporate or unincorporated, the
benefits from which are exclusively for its
own members; or
vii. any health institution registered under the Health
Professions Act
[Chapter 27:19], in respect of activities for which it is
required to be
registered under that Act; or
viii. any body or
association in respect of activities carried on for the
benefit of a
hospital or nursing home which is approved by the Minister; or
ix. any
political organisation in respect of work confined to political
activities;
or
x. the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society established by the Zimbabwe Red Cross
Society Act [Chapter 17:08]; or
xi. such bodies, associations or
institutions as may be prescribed;
2.2 It is obvious that the definition of
non- governmental organisation is
extremely wide. It covers just about every
conceivable organisation or
association involved in any aspect of civic
work, including humanitarian
assistance, social assistance, legal aid,
recreation and entertainment.
2.3 To the extent that the definition of NGO
includes political parties,
trade unions and employers' organisations, it is
plain that it is
unconstitutional since section 21 (3) (c) of the
Constitution specifically
excludes trade unions, political parties and
employers' organisations from
having to be required to register for any
purpose whatsoever. It is no
answer to say a poltical party would be
required to register only for those
activities not "confined to political
activities", whatever this might mean.
Nor is it enough to say a trade union
would be required to register if its
work is confined to the exclusive
benefits of its own members. The fact is
that, in its wisdom the
Constitution excludes these organisations from
having to be required to
register. The simple fact is that no legislation
can seek to compel trade
unions, employers' organisations and political
parties to register at the
risk of not being allowed to operate and of
criminal sanctions.
3 CLAUSES
9, 10 AND 11
3.1 Mr Speaker Sir, it is your committee's considered view that
the
registration process provided in clauses 9, 10 and 11 is inconsistent
with
sections 17, 19, 20 and 21 of the Constitution.
3.2 No time limit is
set for the consideration of an application. The
application is required to
reveal considerable amount of "personal" details
concerning the
organisation, the provision of which information would be an
undue
infringement of the right to privacy as protected in section 17 of the
Constitution. There is also no provision for the making of representations
to the Council which considers the application. There is the prohibition
against commencing or carrying out activities until registration. An
application can be rejected and a registered organisation can be de-
registered if it is concluded that it is not operating in bona fide
furtherance of the objects stated in its application. The appeal against a
rejection is to the same Minister who appoints the Council which would have
rejected the application. If any member of the Council were to be in favour
of the registration of an organisation against the wishes of the Minister,
the Minister has the power to dismiss that member.
3.3 It is your
committee's view, that when read together and taken
cumulatively these
provisions are an undue and unconstitutional limitation
to the freedoms of
expression, association, conscience and privacy.
3.4 Clause 9 provides that
no NGO shall commence work or carry on its
activities or seek financial
assistance, unless it is registered. It is your
committees view Mr. Speaker
Sir that the proposed requirement for
individuals who have associated with
each other for the protection of their
interests to register, is in
contravention of Section 21 of the
Constitution. Its effect is to hinder
individuals from associating together
in the promotion or protection of
their rights and interests. The hindrance
of the enjoyment of the freedom of
association in this manner can only be
deemed constitutional if it is in the
"interests of public defence, public
safety, public morality, public health
and town and country planning." It is
plain that the hindrance of this right
in the manner proposed in the Bill
has nothing to do with interests of
interests of public defence, public
safety, public morality, public health
and town and country planning. Even
if it were, it would fail the test of
being reasonably necessary in a
democratic society as envisaged by section
21 (3) of the Constitution.
3.5 It is the Committee's opinion that clause 9
also infringes Section 19
and 20 of the Constitution. Section 19 of the
Constitution provides for the
protection of freedom of conscience. The
interpretation section in the Bill
defines the objects for which individuals
must register when they associate
together. They must register if they are
to do charity work, to alleviate
suffering and distress, and to uplift the
standard of living of families and
communities. Religious communities, in
terms of section 19 of the
Constitution, have the fundamental right to
manifest and propagate their
religion through worship, teaching, practice
and observance. The practice
and observance of religious faith often
involves charity, alleviating
suffering and distress, and uplifting
standards of living of families and
communities.
3.6 This work is not a
matter of preference; it is a fundamental part of
religious faith. The Bill
seeks to permit religious communities to work
without registration only
where they do "religious work" or where they
operate educational trusts
approved by the Minister of Education. The term
"religious work" is not
defined, but specific mention of charity,
alleviating suffering and distress
and uplifting standards of living to the
fact that these things are not
necessarily included in the term 'religious
work.'
3.7 Each religion
defines what its followers must do in the practice of that
religion. The
Bible defines what Christians must do in their practice of
Christianity; the
Koran defines what Moslems must do in the practice of
Islam. The Bible
states in several places in both the new and the old
testaments that
Christians are to do charity work, to care for the widow and
the orphan, to
provide for those in need. The Christian faith for example in
Luke Chapter 4
verse 18 provides in the words of Jesus Christ that;
The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor, He
hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach
deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that
are bruised (King James Version). Other versions say, "to
set at liberty
them that are oppressed."
3.8 A Christian is one who follows and
practices these things that Jesus
Christ instructed him to follow and do, by
example. A Christian must
therefore, in the practice of Christianity, engage
in a Ministry of mental,
physical and emotional healing, in providing for
the needy, in championing
and promoting the rights of those who are
oppressed, in providing education,
including religious instruction. Thus the
work of charity, alleviating
suffering and distress, and uplifting standards
of living for which the Bill
covers requires religious bodies to register.
Essentially, the work of the
religious group is human rights work. It is
human rights work to strive to
enable individuals and communities to access
their rights, and this is what
Christ requires Christians to do.
3.9
Doubtless other believers in other religious faiths are required to work
of
the same nature. The Constitution enshrines the right to do, manifest and
propagate their faith through practice and observance of their faith. It is
an integral part of the faith and their identity, which is protected in
section 19 of the Constitution. To require religious groups to register with
anybody inorder to practice and observe faith is to hinder them in the
enjoyment of their right, which is enshrined in Section 19 of the
Constitution. Thus clauses 9 and 2 are unconstitutional to the extent that
they would oblige religious bodies to register to do so called religious
work.
3.10 An essential element of the work of NGOs is to share, access
and
disseminate information. They also individually or collectively commit
themselves to the dissemination of such information to sections of the
community who do not ordinarily have access to it. NGOs also commit
themselves to the dissemination of information on Zimbabwean laws to
communities in need. Access to and dissemination of information is part of
the fundamental freedom of expression as protected in Section 20 of the
Constitution. To require anybody to register before engaging with others in
accessing and disseminating information is to hinder the enjoyment of the
fundamental right. For this reason too, clause 9 is in our view
unconstitutional.
3.11 Clause 9 (4) of the Bill provides that no foreign
NGO that engages
principally or solely in issues of governance shall be
registered. The
interpretation section defines issues of governance as
including the
promotion of human rights and further defines a foreign NGO as
one, which
includes people who are not citizens or permanent residents
domiciled in
Zimbabwe. This means that an NGO which includes Zimbabweans
domiciled
outside Zimbabwe cannot be registered. This means that people who
are
domiciled in Zimbabwe are prohibited from forming NGOs with, for
example,
Zimbabweans residing outside Zimbabwe for a common interest. For
example, a
development association for the development of a rural area or
community
from which such people originally come, cannot be formed with
people
originally from that area who are domiciled outside Zimbabwe even
though
they might be citizens. This provision is patently unconstitutional.
It
seeks to hinder people living in Zimbabwe from enjoying their freedom to
associate with whomsoever they please for the promotion of their interests,
in contravention of Section 21 of the Constitution.
3.12 Just how the
prohibition of Zimbabweans from associating with other
Zimbabweans domiciled
elsewhere and indeed from associating with foreigners
can be thought to be
consistent with the constitutional guarantee of the
freedom of association
is beyond your committee's comprehension.
3.13 It is important to note that
under Section 21(3) (c), the Constitution
specifically allows a law to deal
with the registration of companies,
partnerships, societies and other
associations of persons. Undoubtedly the
right to register will have to be
conceded, but it is the manner in which
the registration and thereafter the
control of non- governmental
organisations is proposed in the legislation
that is subject of the
challenge. The point will have to be made that
reference to "registration"
in Section 21 (3)(c) of the Constitution is to
be construed as no more than
registration. It does not permit of control
thereafter, since control is
quite a distinct concept to the formalities of
registration.
4 CLAUSE 17.
4.1 Clause 17 of the Bill provides that no
local NGO shall receive foreign
funding or donations to carry out activities
relating to issues of
governance. This clause is in contravention of section
19, 20 and 21 of the
Constitution. If an individual needs money in order to
exercise the
enjoyment of any of her/ his rights, then he/ she should be
able to receive
money from whatever source she/ he desires. For example, if
a religious
organisation requires funds to carry out its human rights work
extending
charity, alleviating suffering, providing education or hospitals,
then it
would be allowed to receive funds even from other religious
organisations
outside Zimbabwe. If an NGO requires funding in order to
exercise the
enjoyment of its right to disseminate information, it should be
able to
receive funding from whomsoever, including organisations and
individuals
outside Zimbabwe. To prohibit NGOs from receiving foreign
funding is to
hinder the enjoyment of their fundamental rights enshrined in
the
Constitution. It is also an infringement of the right to freedom of
association in Section 21 of the Constitution. If an NGO wishes to associate
with a foreign-based individual or organisation in an agreement for the
provision of financial aid, then the exercise of such a fundamental right
cannot be hindered.
4.2 Ironically and so much for the supposed evils of
foreign funding, the
NGO Council is itself permitted to receive foreign
funding with the approval
of the Minister.
5 CLAUSE 11 AND 15
5.1 For
the same reasons advanced above clauses 11 and 15 of the Bill are
unconstitutional. Clause 11 provides for the cancellation by the Council of
the registration of any NGO on various vague grounds such as that the NGO
has ceased to operate in genuine furtherance of its objects or that it has
failed to comply with any condition under which it was registered or that it
has ceased to operate as an NGO. There is little, if anything at all, which
an NGO can do to prevent its de- registration, An appeal against de-
registration lies to an interested party who controls the Council, in the
person of the all powerful Minister possessed of the unlimited power of life
and death over NGOs. The outcome of an appeal of an unwanted NGO is a
foregone conclusion. When taken together, the provisions of clauses 11 and
15 are inconsistent with the freedoms of association, expression and the
secure protection of the law and hence violate sections 18, 20 and 21 of the
Constitution.
6. CLAUSE 20
6.1 Clause 20 of the Bill empowers the
Registrar to order the separation of
a branch of an NGO from its mother
body. It is your committee's view that
this clause is unconstitutional for
it directs and forces people who have
chosen to associate with each other to
stop so associating in violation of
section 20 of the Constitution.
6.2
Individuals decide that they want to associate together for a common
purpose
as provided for in the Constitution. They determine how they wish to
carry
out their work, including the formation of their branches. They submit
an
application for the registration in terms of their own agreement as
individuals associated together and commence their work as agreed. The
Registrar of NGOs then unilaterally decides the individuals should not work
together in one association. This is unconstitutional because the decision
on whom to associate with is entirely up to the individuals concerned in
terms of Section 21 of the Bill of Rights. Their decision on whom to
associate with is inviolate, only the individuals change their minds.
7.
CLAUSE 22, 23 AND 24
7.1 Clauses 22, 23 and 24 provide for extensive and
intrusive powers to
violate the right to privacy of NGOs under the guise of
investigation. The
Council has power to investigate "maladministration"
within an NGO.
Maladministration includes not only financial wrongdoing but
also improper
conduct by people within the NGO that would justify
cancellation of the
registration. The Registrar may institute an
investigation and the Minister,
at the request of the council Chairperson,
can appoint a public officer to
conduct an investigation. This inspector can
inspect not only the financial
affairs of the NGO but also "any aspect of
the affairs or activities of any"
NGO. If, after such investigation, the
Council finds that there is
maladministration, it can take various measures,
the most drastic of which
is to cancel the registration of the NGO. If the
Council considers that the
maladministration warrants suspension of all or
any of the NGO's executive
committee, it can refer the matter to the
Minister. The Minister may suspend
all or some of the members of the
executive committee. If the suspension is
not lifted within 30 days, the
members' posts become vacant.
7.2 Mr. Speaker Sir, it is your Committee's
view that clauses 22, 23 and 24
being excessively intrusive, are a violation
of the right to privacy as
contemplated and provided for in Section 19 of
the Constitution. They are
also an undue hindrance to the freedom of
association as provided for in
Section 21 of Constitution and for that
reason too they are
unconstitutional.
8. CLAUSE 29
Clause 29 seeks to
empower the Minister to dissolve NGOs. For the same
reasons that have been
outlined above, this clause would infringe the
freedom of association and is
consequently unconstitutional.
9. CLAUSE 32.
9.1 Clause 32 states
that;
Every NGO which, immediately before the date of commencement of the Act
was
lawfully registered as a private voluntary organisation under the
repealed
Act shall be deemed to be registered as an NGO under this
Act.
9.2 The import of this clause is to create hordes of outlaws in respect
of
institutions and organisations that have hitherto lawfully operated as
univesitas or trusts as it assumes that all NGOs that are not registered
under the Private Voluntary Organisations Act [Chapter 17;05] are illegal
and yet common law provides for such bodies. It is submitted that to the
extent that clause 32 seeks to ban such organisations and to criminalise
their existence without giving that transitional period within which to
bring themselves into compliance with the new law. It is unduly oppressive
and arbitrary. It can hardly be consistent with the letter and spirit of
Section 21 (1) of the Constitution. To that extent the Clause is
unconstitutional.
10. CONCLUDING REMARKS:
10.1 Taken together, the
provisions of this Bill will allow the Government
of Zimbabwe to stop human
rights organisations from operating. At the very
least, they will enable
completely politically partisan actors to interfere
at every turn in the
affairs of these organisations and to de- register them
at the drop of the
hat. The provision prohibiting any foreign funding
whatsoever cuts off the
very livelihood of these organisations.
10.2 If the major human rights
organisations in Zimbabwe are silenced and
closed, this will be a
devastating blow to the cause of human rights in
Zimbabwe. Without these
organisations, many human rights abuses will go
unreported and unpublicized
and most victims will be left without any
protection whatsoever.
10.3
Without the legal assistance organisations, many people will be taken
into
custody, and will be held for long periods and brutalised, and no
lawyers
will be engaged to do do whatever they can to try to protect the
rights of
these victims. Without medical assistance organisations, many
victims of
torture and violence will be left without any medical treatment
and
psychiatric counseling.
10.4 Mr. Speaker Sir, it is your committee's
conclusion that clauses 2, 9,
11, 17, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 29 and 32 are
unconstitutional. We recommend
this conclusion to the house.
Prof. W.
Ncube
CHAIRMAN
From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 17 November
Mugabe forces in harsh new
legislation
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's ruling party yesterday
suspended
Zimbabwe's constitution to drive a batch of repressive new laws
through
parliament. Zanu PF has said it will sit through the night all week
to bring
in the changes, including a ban all foreign-funded human rights
organisations. Mr Mugabe wants the slew of bills passed into law before Dec
1, when Zanu PF holds its annual conference. Parliament's legal committee,
in which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has the
majority, has said all the bills are unconstitutional. With its overwhelming
parliamentary majority, Zanu PF yesterday suspended parliament's standing
orders, which would have required a three-week delay to redraft the laws to
bring them in line with the constitution. Among the bills is the creation of
a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to run elections. It will have five
commissioners, all appointed by Mr Mugabe, who has said elections will be
held in March. This legislation went through its second reading yesterday.
When it is signed into law by Mr Mugabe, it will be an offence for any
foreign-funded organisation to provide voter education. "Why is voter
education a threat to national security?" demanded Tendai Biti, an
opposition MP, during a rowdy parliamentary session yesterday. The new
electoral laws for the first time will allow members of the Zimbabwe
National Army, the police and prison services to be election officials.
Mail and Guardian
Zim Parliament rejects own election
report
Harare, Zimbabwe
17 November 2004
11:19
Zimbabwe's Parliament has rejected an adverse report on its own
electoral
reforms, despite the report having been written by a parliamentary
committee.
Heated debate between the ruling Zanu-PF party and the
opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) this week saw a report by
the parliamentary
legal committee being thrown out by 75 votes to
37.
The MDC said clauses in new electoral reforms dealing with voter
education
and the banning of foreign funding are
unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said:
"The prohibition of
foreign funding is intended to ensure that the
sovereignty of the state and
its government is not undermined. Foreign
donations usually come with
foreign interests and strings
attached."
Chinamasa claimed foreign funding in "the electoral process"
is banned in
many countries, including the United States and
France.
He also said Zimbabwe is "well ahead" of most Southern African
Development
Community (SADC) nations in the implementation of new electoral
norms and
policies.
The MDC, which won about half the elected seats
in Parliament in 2000, said
Zanu-PF-initiated reforms make it impossible to
hold free and fair elections
in March next year. The party is calling for
parliamentary polls to be
postponed.
The opposition is also
threatening to boycott next year's election unless
"meaningful change" is
implemented by Mugabe's Zanu-PF government.
The MDC argues it is denied
access to public broadcasters and the
state-controlled media. It also wants
draconian press and public-order laws
to be abolished, saying the laws are
used exclusively against the
opposition.
The SADC's parliamentary
forum said Zimbabwe's parliamentary polls in June
2000 and the presidential
election in 2002 were "not a free expression of
the will of the people". --
Sapa
IOL
Concern about electoral reform in Zimbabwe
November 17
2004 at 08:27AM
By Peta Thornycroft
Zimbabwe's
"electoral reform" isn't going to happen. On the contrary,
new laws before
parliament will, for the first time, officially allow the
police and army to
be employed as election officials. And Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa
made it clear to parliament the past week that two new
Electoral Bills were
the total package of "reforms".
A detailed analysis by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Support Network (ZESN),
a non-governmental organisation (NGO),
concludes that the fundamentals in
the two Bills are worse than existing
legislation governing elections.
One will create a Zimbabwe
Election Commission (ZEC) which has already
been heavily criticised by ZESN.
It has also received an adverse report from
parliament's legal committee and
the second will replace the existing and
much-amended Electoral
Act.
Constitutionally the elections are only due by October 2005
but
Zanu-PF wants them in March ahead of celebrations to mark President
Robert
Mugabe's 25 years in power on April 18.
Since announcing
"electoral reform" ahead of a Southern African
Development Community (SADC)
summit in August, when Mugabe signed up to free
and fair electoral
principles, Zanu-PF has created four new pieces of
legislation:
a.. To establish a maximum two year
sentence for journalists found
working without accreditation from the
state-appointed media commission -
passed by parliament last
week;
a.. To ban human rights and governance NGOs, like
ZESN;
a.. To create the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, bringing
to four the
number of election authorities. The ZEC will only allow voter
education by
government approved, locally funded organisations. Its chair
and four
commissioners, all ultimately appointed by Mugabe must recruit
staff from
the army, police and prisons;
a.. To replace the
existing Electoral Act retaining all previous laws,
adding new ones but
without even replacing two voting days by one, as
specifically announced by
Mugabe.
The latest ZESN analysis on the Electoral Bill says that
existing
authorities, plus new ones have "overlapping responsibilities,
leading to
confusion and appear to be usurping the functions of the
constitutionally-established Electoral Supervisory Commission."
Nowhere in either of the electoral Bills are provisions for fair
access to
the only electronic media, the partisan Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation.
Election observers "will have to be accredited by
a committee
dominated by nominees of various government ministers, including
the
President's Office, and only persons invited by a minister or by the
(existing) Electoral Supervisory Commission will be eligible for
accreditation", reads ZESN's analysis.
"The Bill will require
state employees, including members of the
defence forces, the police force
and the prison service, to be seconded to
the Electoral Commission during
elections."
"The Bill's provisions regarding access to voters'
rolls are similar
to those in the present Act," which ZESN says means there
is no fixed date
to check for accuracy of the current roll, nor access to
its electronic
version.
While ZESN says it welcomes the
abolition of mobile polling booths it
questions the lack of rules to ensure
sufficient fixed booths. The
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
estimated 100 000 Harare residents
were unable to vote in the 2002
presidential election because of a reduction
of polling booths in its
largest urban stronghold.
Postal votes are ruled out, except for
voters absent from their
constituency on "government business," which ZESN
says is "unfair" given
that so many have been forced to leave
Zimbabwe.
Although ZESN welcomes the establishment of an Electoral
Court it
says: "the judges appointed to the court must be selected through
an
impartial process. It is unfortunate, too, that there are no time-limits
laid down for the hearing of election petitions".
Only two of
40 legal challenges by the MDC to the 2000 parliamentary
and presidential
poll have been concluded, both in the MDC's favour.
Significantly,
the Electoral Bill does not preclude Mugabe from
amending electoral laws
using his absolute power as contained in
Presidential Powers (Temporary
Measures Act). MDC legal secretary David
Coltart, who co-ordinated the
party's legal challenges to the previous two
national polls said: "The
combination of these two Bills makes the electoral
environment far worse
because of the proliferation of electoral authorities
and because the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is even more subject to
government control
than its predecessor."
"The commissioners will be appointed by the
president, leader of a
political party, and can be sacked by the justice
minister who will be a
candidate in the next election."
"The
Electoral Bill is a crude attempt to pull the wool over SADC's
eyes."
"Zanu-PF has taken the bulk of the provisions of the old
Electoral Act
and slapped in a few even more draconian
provisions."
"There is no reform to provide for any free and fair
election," he
said.
The MDC says it will not take part in any
election until Mugabe
adheres to SADC electoral
principles.
.. This article was originally published on
page 7 of Pretoria
News on November 17, 2004
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: : The Reverend Noel
Scott
Dear All
The Reverend Noel Scott needs our prayers from the
wider Church. For the
last two weeks or so this trial has been going on in
Bulawayo. The
Prosecutor has presented all his witness and have brought
nothing to the
case.
For those not in the know, the Reverend Noel Scott
is being charged with
ignoring a police order. This took place in February
of 2002 just before the
election, The story goes like this Fr Noel as
required by the law of the
country under POSA (Public Security Act) to give
notice to police to have a
pray, and march service. This involved going
around four churches in
Hillside Bulawayo. The Churches include, Christ the
King (Catholic),
Presbyterian, Methodist and Finally Ascension(Anglican) .
Instead of
walking Fr Noel advised us that the police had prohibited the
walk and
effectively prohibiting the pray and walk. Instead it was agreed
that,
instead of walking, we would drive in a convoy depicting the death of
democracy and freedom of worship in the country. After the last stop Father
Noel was taken to the police where he was charged.
So on Thursday he
takes the stand himself and judgment will be delivered
afterward. And so far
all the magistrates in the country have sort to rule
in favour of the state
to safe guard they jobs. So we face an up hill
struggle but with prayer we
will conquer.
1. I plead to each one of you to first send this e-mail to
your own list,
2. Secondly to pray for Father Noel and indeed many activists
in our country
3. If you do live in Bulawayo to cancel all your appointments
and to make
time for the court session on Thursday the 18th of November 2004
at the
Tredgold Building Court One at 2:00pm.
I am sure whatever you are
doing on Thursday can wait. It could be anyone of
us standing in this trial.
Please do support by prayers and by your
presence. Let us fill the court
room and show solidarity to a strong
Christian Leader, Fr Noel Scott, "Our
Beloved Rector Emeritus."
Remember if one Christian is prosecuted for
standing for Gospel values the
all are prosecuted. This is The Kairos moment
to stand together and to be
seen and to witness for God in our Time.
With
Love Prayers
Father Barnabas Nqindi
.
The Rector
71 A Leander
Avenue
Hillside
Bulawayo
Zimbabwe
00 263 9 241186
00 263 23
748171
To Participate
or Not?
In March this year the government of Zimbabwe announced that they
were going
to hold the next scheduled parliamentary election in March 2005.
They said
they were giving the country a year in which to prepare itself for
this
event. They also made the snide remark that they thought it would give
the
MDC time to get ready for the election.
Since it was formed the
rationale of the MDC has been to fight elections -
we have said from day one,
that we believed in a democratic transition that
was peaceful and lawful. We
have strictly adhered to those principles
despite 4 years of extreme
provocation.
However, when we came to consider what it would mean to go
into another
election under present conditions, we paused for thought and
eventually came
out and said "unless the following 15 demands are met, we
will not contest
the election". Since then we have come under intense
pressure from the
regional and international community to run again. We have
not moved our
position and continue to say that until our demands are met, we
will not
contest the election.
Hope rose when the SADC summit of
regional leaders agreed to a clear set of
principles by which they would
manage the democratic process in their
countries. Mugabe signed and the
region breathed a sigh of relief. We
watched, suspicious and cautious from
the sidelines. What would that wily
old devil, Mugabe do?
Well now we
know - he has bulldozed through Parliament new legislation that
will further
weaken the democratic process and tighten his own grip on the
administration
of elections. He has made some token concessions in the
direction of free and
fair elections but these steps have been totally
overwhelmed by the
tightening of laws governing the electoral process, the
role of civil society
and the media. On the ground there is no relaxation of
any of the other
instruments of suppression that he holds. There is no
freedom of speech, no
freedom of association; the legal system is still
being used every day to
suppress opposition activity and to maintain their
total grip on all civil
activity.
The food weapon is in place and ready to be used, the message
that "you
cannot do anything without us" is being spread across the country.
Business
is being told to stay in line or else. The slightest threat of
public
protest or dissent is greeted with overwhelming force.
But just
as serious is the total lack of regard for Parliament. Serious
questions
asked by the opposition are treated with distain. Opposition MP's
are
threatened in public by Zanu PF Ministers and MP's who are quite sure
they
will face no recrimination. New legislation that is in conflict with
the
Constitution is simply rammed through Parliament and a compliant
Supreme
Court can be relied upon to back up the actions of the State. Even
the
standing rules of Parliament are abused daily so that nothing stands in
the
way of the State.
The reality is that Mugabe has no intention of
holding a free and fair
election in Zimbabwe any time in the near future. We
are in effect seeing
just another form of the classic African coup - carried
out under the very
noses of the region and the global community. The question
is do we dignify
the process by our continued participation?
The
answer is clearly no! Not while this farce is being played out. We do
not
live in a democracy, we live under a dictatorship. We do not live in a
free
market economy; we live in a kleptocratic State. We do not have a
functioning
Parliament - that is simply expensive camouflage for the States
real
activities and it is time we brought the masquerade to a close.
I know we
have not yet made that decision but it is clear that few of our 15
key
demands are going to be fulfilled. It is also simply too late to
even
contemplate an election in March 2005 when certain of these
fundamental
reforms have not been put in place. So if Mugabe sticks to his
guns on the
issue of timing and Mbeki on his stance of non-intervention in
the affairs
of another African State (unless it is in West Africa or the
Great Lakes
region or at war with itself using military arms), then I simply
cannot see
the MDC contesting next year's election.
What does that
mean? We have already been joined in our stance by two
minority Parties who
have also said they will stay out of the process. The
UN has not been asked
to help with the election because that would open up
the process and it is
already too late for UN intervention. Will Zanu simply
declare itself the
winner of all 120 seats - Mugabe then appoint another 30
seats and then
declare that Zanu is re-elected for another 5-year term?
Such an outcome
would be a disaster for everyone. It would close the door to
any sort of
democratic process of change, cast a pall across the whole of
Southern
Africa, keep all forms of international and multilateral aid shut
down and
give NEPAD a crushing blow. Zimbabweans would continue to flee the
country as
economic and political refugees and living standards and life
expectancy
would continue to shrink.
We all know this - and yet we search in vain
the international press for any
sign, that we are even a discussion point. So
far I have seen no sign that
the global community is concerned or has any
sense of urgency about the
crisis in Zimbabwe. If we got hold of a few AK
47's and shot a few people
that would change overnight. So long as we do not
prepared to start
shooting - we are a problem that can be ignored. The fact
that 5 million
people have died or fled the country is not an issue. That
life expectancy
has crashed from 59 years in 1990 to 35 years today. That
half our
population is hungry and malnourished. That our hospitals are
mortuaries and
our schools, day care centers simply does not
matter.
South Africa continues to stand on the sidelines, Pagad, the
deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs says "show me the bodies and we will act",
his boss,
Zuma, says they are "not taking sides." OK - if that is how you
want to play
the game, so be it, we hope they can live with the
consequences.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 17th November
2004.
Daily News online edition
Canadian lawyers take on Mugabe over
rights abuses
Date: 18-Nov, 2004
JOHANNESBURG -
Zimbabwean and Canadian lawyers say they expect to have
President Robert
Mugabe locked up for crimes against humanity before next
year's March
parliamentary election.
Human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba and
Amir Attaran a University of
Ottawa law professor who are leading a campaign
to indict Mugabe to Canada
for trial said chances of success were now
brighter than ever.
"We are now appealing to Canadians who were
tortured in Zimbabwe or
anyone who has attained Canadian citizenship but was
in Zimbabwe at the time
when he or she was tortured," said
Shumba.
Shumba said they needed the list of Canadian victims
after the
Canadian government indicated it could consent to indictment if
there was a
Canadian connection to the crimes against humanity committed by
Mugabe's
government.
Attaran said the campaign to have
Mugabe arrested, which started more
than a year ago, has been strengthened
by the recent appointment of House of
Commons backbencher, Irwin Cotler as
Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada.
He said
Cotler strongly supported them when they started the move to
indict Mugabe.
"We think he is the right man to deal with the issue now,"
said
Attaran.
Cotler, an international human rights lawyer is a
former special
adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the
International Criminal
Court and has served as counsel to former prisoners
of conscience in the
former Soviet Union, South Africa and
Asia.
Attaran was optimistic that Cotler would expedite their
case by
granting the government consent that they require before they can
apply for
Mugabe's arrest warrant in Canada.
If granted,
Mugabe could be arrested in any of the Commonwealth
countries that have an
extradition agreement with Canada.
Mugabe and most of his
cronies have been slapped with travel bans by
the US and European Union but
still travels to countries such as Malaysia
and South Africa where he risks
being arrested should the lawyers obtain an
arrest warrant.
The lawyers said they would apply for the arrest warrant using the
Crime
Against Humanity and War Crimes Act passed a few years ago.
The
main objective of the act is to bring perpetrators of crimes
against
humanity to justice.
Mugabe is accused of perpetrating violence
against his opponents and
the massacre of about 20 000 Ndebeles in the early
1980s during political
disturbances in Matabeleland. He has however
expressed regret over the
killings saying it was "an act of madness". Over 1
000 Zimbabweans have died
in political violence since 2000.
conservatives.com
South Africa must do more about
Zimbabwe
South Africa must take urgent action to bring about change
for the
people of Zimbabwe, President Mbeki was told today when he visited
the
European Parliament.
Conservative MEPs Geoffrey Van Orden
and Neil Parish met Mr Mbeki and
handed him a letter urging him to take
action on this issue.
In their letter, the MEPs wrote:
"Earlier this year the European Parliament called upon 'South Africa
in
particular to act effectively to bring about change in Zimbabwe'. South
Africa holds the key to change in that oppressed country.
What
has been your response to the appeal of the international
community and of
those millions of Zimbabweans suffering under the Mugabe
dictatorship?
Conditions in Zimbabwe have deteriorated
dramatically in the last
year. We therefore call upon you to take action, as
a matter of urgency, to
help bring about change for the better for the
people of Zimbabwe."
Recent action by Conservative MEPs has already
had results. Mr Van
Orden said:
"We have deterred a banned
Mugabe Minister, Kumbirai Kangai, from
attending the forthcoming EU-ACP
(African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries)
Joint Parliamentary Assembly in
The Hague this weekend.
This is in spite of the willingness of the
Dutch Government to issue a
visa to him. If we keep up the pressure we can
make a difference. Now we
need the support of President Mbeki."
Activists criticise UK's resumption of forced repatriation
[ This report
does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 17 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Zimbabwean human rights
activists have
criticised the British government for its decision to end a
two-year
suspension of the forced repatriation of failed asylum
seekers.
Des Browne, the British minister for citizenship and
immigration, announced
on Tuesday that while "there has not been any
improvement in conditions in
Zimbabwe", he was removing the suspension put
in place in January 2002, as
it was being abused.
"We can appreciate
the fact that the suspension was perhaps being abused,
but the timing of the
announcement - ahead of the [Zimbabwe] general
elections [in March 2005],
when a number of opposition party supporters
could possibly face persecution
- is unfortunate," said Bidi Munyaradzi,
director of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Association.
"There are a number of Zimbabweans who have fled
because of economic
reasons, but there remains a substantial number who face
pressure because of
their political leanings," he told IRIN.
Maeve
Sherlock, the chief executive of the UK-based NGO, the Refugee
Council,
which works with asylum seekers, has called on the British
government to
monitor "what happens to those who are sent back. No one
should be sent back
to Zimbabwe before monitoring procedures are in place".
Citing asylum
statistics released this week, Browne pointed out that in the
first nine
months of 2004 the British government granted asylum to 195
Zimbabweans, and
some form of protection to more than 25 others, out of a
total of 2,025
applicants.
With a 90 percent refusal rate and the dismissal of 82
percent of subsequent
appeals to the independent adjudicator, "the clear
message is that the
majority of Zimbabwean asylum applicants are able safely
to return to
Zimbabwe," he added.
However, Sherlock said, "Far too
many valid applications are being turned
down".
Several million
Zimbabweans are reported to have sought refuge outside their
homeland as a
result of the political and economic crisis in their country.
IOL
Mugabe 'building up his arsenal' before polls
November
17 2004 at 01:01PM
President Robert Mugabe has ordered tons of
police anti-riot equipment
and other military hardware worth millions of
dollars from China to prepare
his security forces for quelling
anti-government protests before and after
next March's general
elections.
Authoritative sources said the police and the military
were being
fully prepared to deal with internal disturbances being mooted by
the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) should it boycott next
year's poll.
Mugabe has opted for equipment from China after
several European
countries imposed an arms embargo on his
regime.
The exact details of the new order placed slightly over a
week ago
could not be ascertained, but officials said police anti-riot
equipment,
including several tons of teargas, would constitute the
bulk.
It is understood that the MDC is planning a sustained civil
disobedience campaign if it decides to boycott next year's
poll.
MDC spokespersons have not publicly spoken about their "Plan
B", but
in private, party officials say the MDC is not prepared to become
irrelevant
or die a natural death. - Independent Foreign
Service
.. This article was originally published on
page 4 of Cape Argus
on November 17, 2004
SABC
IMF says no new Zimbabwe loans, but lauds changes
November
17, 2004, 15:30
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has no plans to
resume lending to
Zimbabwe, but commended central bank-led efforts to turn
around the
struggling economy, an IMF official said today.
Abdoulaye
Bio-Tchane, the director of the IMF Africa department, told state
radio that
tight monetary policy pursued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was
stabilising the economy, which the IMF says has contracted by 30% in the
past five years. "There have been strong measures around the monetary area,
the central bank has been very active in putting forward a strong monetary
policy supported by fiscal policy that has held back inflation. There has
been clearly a turn around," Bio-Tchane told the radio.
But the radio
quoted Bio-Tchane as saying the IMF had no plans to make new
loans to
Zimbabwe. The IMF halted aid to Zimbabwe in 1999 over disagreements
with
Harare's economic policies and last year began steps to expel Zimbabwe,
which has been in arrears since 2001. The state-owned Herald newspaper
reported that Bio-Tchane had met Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe,
yesterday and officials from the Finance Ministry.
Ready to cut
ties
Mugabe, who in the past has said Zimbabwe was ready to cut ties with the
IMF, in early September snubbed a scheduled meeting with Rodrigo Rato, the
IMF chief, during an African summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Bio-Tchane
said there was still room for the central bank to continue tightening its
monetary policy while strengthening the fiscal policy in order for the
economy to create jobs, facilitate exports and lure investors.
He
said the IMF would continue monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe. In
September the IMF expressed concern over Zimbabwe's economic crisis, the
worst since independence in 1980, saying corruption and lack of rule law had
severely dented confidence and hurt its neighbours. But the central bank
says its policies have slowed down inflation, stabilised the exchange rate
while largely snuffing out a thriving parallel market for foreign exchange
and resulted in higher export earnings.
The RBZ last December pushed
interest rates to over 900%, which made
borrowing expensive and helped to
stamp out rampant speculative trading.
Monetary supply growth slowed to 320%
in August from 500% in January.
Zimbabwe has been making quarterly payments
to the IMF since the start of
the year on its almost $300 million debt.
Critics blame Zimbabwe's economic
crisis illustrated by shortages of foreign
currency and fuel, a jobless rate
of more than 70% and an inflation rate of
over 200% on mismanagement by
Mugabe's government. Mugabe instead charges
that domestic and foreign
opponents led by Britain have sabotaged the
economy to punish him for his
policy on seizures of white-owned farms for
landless blacks. - Reuters
From News24 (SA), 17 November
Criticising Mugabe is a
crime
Harare - An unemployed Zimbabwean was sentenced to 140 hours of
community
service for calling President Robert Mugabe a dictator and saying
British
Prime Minister Tony Blair was a liberator. Reason Tafirei, 31, was
arrested
on November 10 and kept in police cells until his trial on Monday
and
Tuesday on a charge of "undermining the authority of the president."
That
offence is included in the draconian Public Order and Security Act, a
law
widely condemned by human rights lawyers and groups in Zimbabwe and
internationally. Douglas Saungweme, an official of Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF
party heard Tafirei tell other passengers on a bus that "Mugabe is a
dictator who rules by the sword while Tony Blair is a liberator." Saungweme
ordered the bus driver to go to the police, who arrested Tafirei. At his
trial, Tafirei, who could not afford a lawyer, pleaded guilty. "I plead for
forgiveness," he told Magistrate Shelton Jura in Harare's Chitungwiza
suburb. "The truth is I committed the crime through shouting these words.
May you please be merciful." Jura said: "A wholly suspended sentence would
meet the justice of the case." He imposed an eight month jail term, half of
which was suspended on condition Tafirei commit no similar offence in the
next five years, the other half on condition he completes the community
service at a school. He will likely clean and do other janitorial duties
during his service. Mugabe, 80, and in power since 1980 independence, is
facing widespread discontent over runaway inflation, unemployment and food
shortages. Mugabe claims mounting opposition is a British conspiracy to
reverse the redistribution of 5 000 formerly white owned farms to black
Zimbabweans.
'Exam Leakage Probe Almost Complete'
The Herald
(Harare)
November 17, 2004
Posted to the web November 17,
2004
Harare
INVESTIGATIONS into the leakage of the Mathematics
Ordinary Level
examination paper in Kadoma are nearly complete and the
culprits are
expected to appear in court soon.
Zimbabwe Schools
Examination Council (Zimsec) spokesperson Ms Faith
Chasokela said the probe
had reached its final stages.
"Investigations are still ongoing and some
people have been picked up for
questioning by police. More suspects are
expected to be picked up," said Ms
Chasokela.
"I cannot disclose the
identity of those picked up so far until they appear
in court, but what I
can say is that none of the suspects are Zimsec
employees."
The
Mathematics Paper 1 that had initially been set for November 10 was
rescheduled to November 12.
Zimsec said the leakage occurred when
spoilt papers were being taken for
destruction.
Ms Chasokela said
there was a tendency for people to blindly blame Zimsec
for any
examination-related problem, yet there are many players in the
running of
the exams.
She gave an example of the printers she said Zimsec had no
control over.
Acting Minister of Education, Sport and Culture Dr Ignatius
Chombo has since
exonerated Zimsec.
In a ministerial statement he
issued in Parliament last week, Dr Chombo said
Zimsec had professionally
discharged its duty of running examinations.