http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, November 17,
2012 - Struggling national airline, Air Zimbabwe, which
this week returned
to the skies making history by flying back from
Johannesburg empty has
slashed prices to regain lost business.
Air Zimbabwe on Friday issued an
advert for its promotional fare to
Johannesburg as it attempts to lure back
long lost customers.
“Air Zimbabwe is pleased to announce further
promotional fares. Return
ticket to Joburg USD 350 including taxes and
service fees. One way USD 180
including taxes and service fees,” read the
promotional statement send to
Radio VOP.
South Africa Airways which
had virtually taken over Air Zimbabwe business
during its almost over a year
absence from the skies charges USD 630 for a
return flight to Johannesburg.
It can go up to USD 800 during peak periods.
The promotion is valid until
the end of December.
Meanwhile British Airways operated by Comair has
also launched a promotional
package to encourage travellers to fly with
it.
They have launched the British Airways Christmas Shopping special
promotion.
It is offering passengers two bags at 23 kgs for free during
the christmas
season until the 11 of January 2013.
Competition in the
Zimbabwe aviation industry is likely to get stiff as more
airlines are
making a return to the country after years of withdrawal. Dutch
KLM which
left in the late 1990s made a return last month offering a direct
link
between Harare and most European capitals via Amsterdam.
Emirates also made
an entry a few months ago with a direct flight from
Harare to Dubai. Kenyan
Airways has since increased its flight frequency
between Harare and Nairobi
by introducing an
afternoon service. Mozambique’s LAM also started a service
between Harare
and Maputo.
Other airlines such as Qatar airways are
said to be waiting in the wings to
get licences to fly into
Harare.
The Harare international Airport last year commissioned Africa’s
longest
runway which allows the airport to handle even the biggest aircrafts
in the
world. Recently Ethiopian airways flew its Boeing dreamliner into the
country with so much ease.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
16/11/2012 00:00:00
by Business
Reporter
THE country’s economic prospects now hinge on a rebound in the
mining sector
which has the capacity to generate over US$14 billion over the
next four
years, Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said.
Presenting
his 2013 budget statement to Parliament Thursday, Biti suggested
that the
government was coming round to considering mining as the mainstay
of an
economy long considered agriculture-based.
“Mining is going to be the
anchor driver of this economy in the output
period on the way to 2018
capable of generating US$14 billion dollars
annually. As of 2009 mineral
export was 230 percent by the end of 2011
mineral exports accounted for 47
percent of total exports led by platinum 43
percent gold 28 percent and the
diamonds 20 percent,” said Biti.
Agriculture has traditionally been the
main driver of the country’s economy
but changes brought on by the land
reforms as well as persistent droughts
have seen output plummeting over the
years although tobacco and cotton
production have been recovering
lately.
In contrast, mining output has been rebounding since the
government ended
the hyperinflation of the last decade with the ditching of
the Zimbabwe
dollar and introduced a raft of key liberalisation measures to
improve the
operating environment.
The sector is expected to grow by
16.7 percent this year, up from the
initial forecast of 15.9 percent
although most operators continue to be
constrained by unreliable power
supplies as well as unending liquidity
problems in the economy.
But
with industrial capacity utilisation plummeting 13 percent principally
due
to the lack of credit lines as well as competition from imports and
agricultural output hit by drought, Biti is now pinning his hopes on
mining.
He said: “We expect gold deliveries of at least 17 tonnes it’s a
good figure
in that it is going up, in 2009 it was a mere 5 tonnes but
Zimbabwe used to
produce 50 tonnes of gold so that is our target coal 2
million, Nickel 10
platinum 12 chrome 282 tonnes.
“The disappointing
thing as we keep on saying over the years is asbestos
where there is zero
production and l think it is imperative that we sort out
our challenges in
Zvishavane.”
World Bank chief economist Nadia Piffareti said the strong
performance in
the mining sector could be used to power recovery in
stagnating sectors of
the economy such as manufacturing.
“The mining
sector is the only sector capable of autonomous growth; what
that means is
that whatever you do, your model of development in the medium
term should
start there. You need to manage the mining sector properly,”
Piffaretti told
a recent meeting on the economy in Harare.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.net/
Staff Reporter 2012-11-16
17:35:00
MUTARE - Zanu-PF's senior Politburo members in
Manicaland have come out guns
blazing over the looting of the diamonds in
the region by outsiders while
locals struggle for survival.
Speaking in a
no-holds barred provincial co-ordination conference held at
Mutare Poly,
various speakers compalined of the looting of diamonds from
Marange and said
the so-called community shares trusts had the potential to
further divide
the people and instigate the locals to take matters into
their
hands.
Highly charged Zanu-PF national secretary for women's affairs, Oppah
Muchinguri, set the tone of the lively debate by saying it was not good for
people to be divided according to their districts.
'While, we welcome the
establishment of community shares trust, they should
not just benefit a few
individuals.
We have heard the Governor (Chris Mushohwe) saying all the
community shares
trusts for Manicaland's seven districts were launched by
President Mugabe
when he launched the Marange-Zimunya Community Shares Trust
in July, but we
have not heard anything of that sort for Mutasa District. We
only know of
the Marange-Zimunya
Community Shares Trust and nothing else.
This thing should be all-inclusive
for it to have the buy-in of everyone
because we don't want a situation
where we will go around saying it is the
governor and provincial chairman
(Mike Madiro)'s project since this was
launched from where they hail from.
"We have people in Chimanimani who are
set to benefit from the launch of the
Chisumbanje Community Shares Trust
following the establishment of an ethanol
plant there, but how will people
in Mutasa and Rusape benefit where the
sources of water which irrigate the
sugarcanes are based?
There is widespread looting of funds and lack of
transparency in the
management of the Marange-Zimunya Community
Share
Ownership Trust, according to The Zimbabwe Natural Resource Dialogue
Forum.
The trust was set up as part of the government’s nationwide project to
empower local communities. In an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean
last week, the Manicaland Coordinator of ZNRDF, Freeman Bosvo, expressed
serious concern over the initiative.
“It is nearly five months after
President Robert Mugabe handed the Trust a
$50 million cheque from the
mining companies. As ZNRDF we are concerned that
it is not clear whether the
money has been handed over to the Trust or not,”
he said.
Bosvo
complained there was no transparency in the selection of trustees.
“The
opaqueness and secrecy in which the Community Share Ownership Trust is
operating raises more fears of corruption and nepotism,” said Bosvo. “We
note the glaring exclusion of elected Members of Parliament, Councillors,
Community Organisations and Civil Society in playing an oversight
role.”
He said ZNRDF was also interested in hearing the position of those who
were
relocated to ARDA Transau and what they stand to benefit from the money
presented to the Trust.
The people upstream also contributed to the
establishment of the sugarcane
plantations because they managed to practice
good farming methods that did
not result in the siltation of rivers that
supply water to Osborne and
Rusape dams respectively. We need something that
will benefit the whole
province and not a few communities," she said amid
wild applauses from the
delegates.
Chipping in, former Zanu-PF Manicaland
provincial chairman, Basil Nyabadza,
said time had come for people to be
analytical on everything being proposed
and presented to them.
"Like what
Muchinguri said, we want community shares trusts that benefit
everyone
because failure to do so they (shares trusts) will further divide
people as
everyone will be out to protect his or her territory. Each
district is
interdependent on each other and benefits should be for
everyone.
"We
should take a leaf from Israel, which is surrounded by hostile nations,
but
it is a master of its own destiny.
As I speak, the Chisumbanje Ethanol
Project is on its knees, but as the
leadership of the province what have
done to push for its opening? We have
failed our people because of
politicking and not delivering, yet we are
saying community shares trusts
are the way to go. The problems besetting the
Chisumbanje project are a
result of our lukewarm approach to issues and this
has allowed a few
individuals to frustrate everything.
We should sit down and come up with a
resolution that will send a clear
message that the people of Manicaland want
to see the project back on track.
So many avenues have been tried without
success and it is only President
Mugabe who has a solution to the challenges
besetting the project. Why are
we taking our time to have President Mugabe
intervene?" said Nyabadza.
However, Mushohwe, said it was a Cabinet decision
that came up with policies
and guidelines in the formation of community
shares trusts and they were
just mere implementers. Zanu-PF national
secretary for administration,
Didymus Mutasa, said laws were enacted to be
amended and changed.
"The problem is that we usually agree on things during
meetings but fail to
implement them. Laws on community shares trusts are not
cast In stones, they
can be changed to suit the needs of the people. The
same Cabinet can still
change them if lobbying is done.
"I agree with
Muchinguri and Nyabadza because the community shares trusts
should involve
the entirety of Manicaland. This will help to unite us, than
to leave people
saying it is Governor Mushohwe's project," said Mutasa.
Political analyst
John Makumbe has said the community trust concept does not
guarantee the
empowerment of communities, adding that only a few individuals
would
corruptly benefit.
“The money is likely to be used and abused by the various
ministries
involved in development and the communities are unlikely to
benefit much
from this,” Makumbe said.
The Minister of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment
Savior Kasukuwere has said the trust
funds should be run by local boards
comprising chiefs, councilors, a lawyer
and an accountant, who is the
custodian of the scheme.
“The community
benefits through construction of infrastructure like roads,
clinics, schools
and water facilities,” he said.
But sources said pressure from fellow senior
Zanu-PF officials from the
province is mounting on Senior figure Zanu PF
politburo members, Minister of
State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa
to help them stop the looting
of the wealth, but Mutasa is also linked to
the plunder.
Mutasa and his Indigenisation counterpart Saviour Kasukuwere,
have been
linked to Israeli and Russian underworld gold and diamond dealers
who were
deported this year after a raid on their hideout.
The
incident helped to shed light on activities in the underworld of diamond
and
other precious mineral dealings, as well as the nexus between politics
and
dirty business.
For some time there have been reports that senior Zanu PF
officials,
including ministers and politburo members, are minting money in
criminal
underworld deals involving mainly diamonds and gold. The situation
deteriorated after the discovery of alluvial diamonds in
Chiadzwa.
Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s alleged links to the gangland dealers
were
discovered during a raid last month on a hideout located at Number 57
Follyjon Crescent by crack units drawn from the police, immigration, Central
Intelligence Organisation and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority
The swoop
on the house — believed to be owned by Thamer Al Shanfari, the
former
chairman of Cayman Islands- based mining company Oryx Natural
Resources
(ONR) — on early this year led to the arrest of a Russian
national,
Alexander Filegon alias Alexander Filatov, and an Israeli, Mike
Raslan, who
were said to be diamond and gold dealers.
Filegon and Raslan were later
deported.
It was during the raid at Number 57 Follyjon – a popular
rendezvous for
hardened dealers frequented by Zanu PF ministers and
politburo members –
that Mutasa and Kasukuwere’s names cropped
up.
Security agents who were part of the raid said Filegon and Raslan
were
unshaken by the raid despite the serious allegations levelled against
them,
boasting they were well-connected and nothing would happen to
them.
“During the raid one of the major issues of interest was that
Raslan and
Filegon appeared unperturbed by the swoop by security units and
the
subsequent searches despite the seriousness of the allegations,” one of
the
security agents involved told the Zimbabwe Independent this
week.
“In fact, Raslan boasted that he is well-connected within the Zanu
PF top
hierarchy and alleged that he has been involved in a mining
joint-venture
with the first family in the DRC.
He proceeded to show his
political connections by summoning ministers
Didymus Mutasa and Saviour
Kasukuwere to witness the raid and the ministers
came.”
Wealthy
dealers in Zimbabwe of all shades often claim without producing
evidence
that they are working with or for the first family either to get
protection
or intimidate their business partners and clients. Their
allegations have
been denied.
Security agents conducting the searches said they ignored
the ministers as
they proceeded to ransack the premises but a furious Mutasa
sprung into
action by blocking the exit gate and delayed the team’s
departure after
conducting the raid.
Another security agent involved
in the raid said: “It was clear the
ministers and those dealers were working
in cahoots because Mutasa, visibly
angry, even blocked the exit gate and
delayed the security team’s exit from
the premises after the end of the
search,” the security agent said.
Although no diamonds or cash were
discovered at the premises, Filegon, who
was accused of violating
immigration laws and working in the country as a
“geological consultant” at
Benson mine in Mutoko on a tourist visa, and
Raslan were both arrested and
later deported.
Mutasa said allegations that he came to the house after being
called by
Raslan were “absolutely nonsense” adding, “I don’t do things like
that.”
Kasukuwere said he had gone to the house for a meeting with South
African
businessmen to explain the indigenisation policy and not to rescue
Raslan
and Filegon. He said he did not know the two but was there at the
invitation
of Shanfari, whom he said was a major investor in the
country.
“We were there for a separate meeting. We had a prior business
meeting. I
don’t interfere with the law. I don’t know the two you are
talking about. I
was there to see the owner of the house,” Kasukuwere
said.
“There were some South African businesspeople, who wanted to
understand the
business climate in the country and the issue of
indigenisation. Some are
interested in investing in Zimbabwe.”
“By
the time we got there, they were refusing to open the gate for officials
and
I told them to open it and cooperate.”
In 2008, Shanfari was put on the
United States government sanctions list
because of his links to President
Robert Mugabe and ONR, but he issued a
statement denying the links and said
he resigned from the company in 2002.
Shanfari was also mentioned in a
report produced by a panel of United
Nations experts titled the Illegal
Exploitation of Natural Resources and
other forms of wealth of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, dated October 8,
2002. The report alleged that
ONR represented covert Zimbabwean military
financial interests in
negotiations with state mining companies in the DRC.
The report also
alleged ONR and Shanfari were engaged in the illegal
trafficking of blood
diamonds from the DRC and were financing Zanu PF during
elections.
The raid at the house was led by a senior immigration
official, Evans
Siziba, after whistle blowers revealed the two were dealing
in diamonds and
had stashed about US$400 000 at the premises while trading
in illegal
diamonds and gold.
Zimbabwe's diamond sector has been
blemished by allegations of graft, and
labour and human rights violations
which occured when Harare deployed
security forces to drive away illegal
miners from the eastern Marange
diamond fields.
Global watchdog
Kimberley Process then suspended exports from there but
lifted the ban after
government said it had pulled the security forces out
of the
area.
Natural resource extraction watchdogs accuse President Robert
Mugabe's party
of funneling profits to senior military and political leaders
but on Monday
defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa denied the charges in an
interview with
the state-owned Herald daily. He dared those making the
accusations to
present the proof.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a
member of the anti-Mugabe Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party,
complained in July that of the $600 million
diamond revenue expected this
year, only $46 million had materialised.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Sandra
Nyaira
16.11.2012
WASHINGTON — With national elections expected next
year, President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu PF party and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC-T) formation are currently
grappling with primary
elections which have become a source of serious
intra-party conflict over
the past few years.
Primaries are supposed
to ensure that each party presents its strongest
candidate in the general
election and give the people a bigger voice in
choosing the
leadership.
But few party bosses want to be challenged, especially in
their own
constituencies.
The debate over primaries has surfaced in
the in Mr. Tsvangirai's party,
whose senior leaders recently contradicted
each other over these elections.
Party organizing secretary Nelson
Chamisa initially said every member
intending to represent the MDC in the
election would be forced to go through
primary polls, noting that "there
won’t be any sacred cows”.
But the prime minister's party on Thursday
said while they do plan to hold
primaries in December as sitting lawmakers
would have to be confirmed by
their constituents.
Spokesman Douglas
Mwonzora said the MDC's standing committee had agreed that
the MDC would
hold confirmation elections in which party structures will
vote to retain or
replace incumbent candidates.
Some aspiring politicians call this a
"sweetheart deal" meant to protect
incumbents from
challengers.
“First, we will hold primaries where we do not have Members
of Parliament.
We call these constituencies orphaned. After that we will
have a
confirmation election in areas where we have MPs. The aim is to weed
out
unpopular MPs,” Mwonzora said.
For its part, the Zanu PF old
guard afraid of losing constituencies to
challengers, is pushing the party
to consider new regulations to guide the
conduct of primary polls that may
block former Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo and businessman Phillip
Chiyangwa from contesting.
But Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo tells VOA
the regulations are still being
formulated.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
17/11/2012 00:00:00
by
Fungai Kwaramba I Daily News
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T party will hold primary elections
in December, but sitting MPs will
have to be confirmed by their
constituents.
Folllowing a meeting of
the party's standing committee this week, spokesman
Douglas Mwonzora said:
“We are preparing for primary elections and we are
going to confirm the
actual dates, but they will definitely be held in
December.
“First,
we will hold primaries where we don't have MPs. We call these
constituencies
orphaned. After that we will have a confirmation election in
areas where we
have MPs. The aim is to weed out unpopular MPs."
Mwonzora said in an
election confirmation, party structures will vote on
whether they need to
retain the incumbent candidates or not.
“A primary election includes one
or more people while in the confirmation
there is only one candidate where
people will decide whether they still want
that person.
"If sitting
MPs are not confirmed by their constituencies, then they are
given an
opportunity to fight for a place in the primary elections."
The
resolution is contrary to an earlier pledge by party organising
secretary,
Nelson Chamisa, who recently said every member would be forced to
go through
a primary election.
“There are no two dip-tanks in the party and there
won’t be sacred cows. We
will not entertain the Animal Farm kind of thing
where some animals are more
equal than others. In the party we are all
leaders and comrades,” Chamisa
was quoted as saying last month, three weeks
before Wednesday’s standing
committee meeting which confirmed the deal for
sitting MPs, many of them
accused of incompetence.
Zimbabwe is set to
hold elections early next year to end a coalition
government which has been
in power since 2009.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 November 2012
00:19
Takunda Maodza in BUHERA
MDC-T leader Mr Morgan
Tsvangirai has threatened another land revolution
unless Government
revises the current land tenure system that distributed
land from a few
white farmers to hundreds of thousands of black families.
In his remarks
during a tour of the drip irrigation system he installed at
his homestead in
Humanikwa Village in Buhera West yesterday, Mr Tsvangirai
said the
challenge in Zimbabwe was not about land shortage, but the tenure
system.
“We had the land reform. Some people were injured while others
were killed.
It was a violent programme. The concept (drip irrigation
system) here is
that we can use a very small piece of land and produce
enough to feed
ourselves and even for export.
“We have lots of land in
this country. We can even donate some of it to the
Mozambicans and
Zambians.
“The challenge is that we are using ancient methods of farming and
the
current land reform exercise will cause another land revolution unless
we
change the method of land tenure,” he said.
Mr Tsvangirai, whose
party is on record promising to return land to white
former farmers, did not
elaborate on what he meant by ‘‘another land
revolution’’.
The land
issue was also the basis of a protracted liberation war. The field
day at Mr
Tsvangirai’s homestead drew diplomats from the United States of
America,
Britain and other European countries. The Japanese Ambassador was
also
present.
Mr Tsvangirai condemned Government’s farm input support scheme
saying it
was high time communal farmers sourced their own seed and
fertiliser.
He said previous efforts by Government to assist farmers had
not
translated into bumper harvests.
“We gave you inputs before and
nothing came out of it. Until when should
Government continue spoon feeding
you?
“We must give you fishing rods, not fish. The challenge we have is not
about
land ownership but productivity,” Mr Tsvangirai said.
Ironically,
a few minutes later, Mr Tsvangirai donated 10kg seed maize and
25kg of
fertiliser packs per household to villagers who attended the event.
His
remarks contradicted those of his deputy agriculture Minister Seiso Moyo
who
blamed the poor harvest the nation experienced on the effects of climate
change.
Addressing the same gathering, Deputy Minister Moyo said: “Over
the years
Government has committed more resources to agriculture but it has
not been
matched by increasing yields.
“We are not seeing increased
harvests because of climate change which is
affecting harvest leading to
food insecurity in most households throughout
the country.”
He said the
Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation
Development was
putting in place measures designed to ensure food security
and these
included consideration for drip irrigation.
“Our greatest challenge therefore
Mr Prime Minister as a Government is how
we can promote this system (drip
irrigation) to cover the whole country.
This technology can transform the
agriculture sector in Zimbabwe,” deputy
minister Moyo said.
Meanwhile
some women in Buhera are up in arms with Mr Tsvangirai whom they
accused of
abusing his powers to exploit defenceless females.
The elderly women in
Buhera have voiced their dismay over Mr Tsvangirai’s
bed hopping attitude
which has seen him fighting court battles with many
women whom he dumped
after either impregnating them or making false
promises.
According to ZTV
news the Buhera women say women from across the country
should join hands
and disown Mr Tsvangirai for his misdeeds.
“Is that democracy when a woman’s
dignity is destroyed by Tsvangirai? We are
tired of the Prime Minister’s
antics of humiliating women,” said one
elderly woman in Humanikwa Village
where Tsvangirai hails from.
“How can we say we have a Prime Minister when
all he does is sleep with any
woman he can lay his hands on? Women should
unite against this male
chauvinist,” said another villager in the
area.
The sentiments by the Buhera women follow Mr Tsvangirai’s sex escapades
which have seen him dating, impregnating and divorcing several women since
the death of his wife Susan in a car accident in 2009.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Richard Chidza, Staff Writer
Saturday, 17 November 2012
14:37
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe’s $20 million agricultural inputs
scheme —
a project widely seen as a vote-buying gimmick— is turning out to
be his
biggest setback in the drive to lure new voters.
The
programme, launched at the Zanu PF headquarters early this month, roared
into life last week in most provinces where it has been hijacked by party
office bearers and marauding bands of youths.
In the process the rank
and file of the party have been sidelined.
A groundswell of discontent is
building among ordinary villagers and farmers
who feel alienated after top
Zanu PF officials who have hijacked the
distribution snubbed
them.
Chaos and politicisation has hit the $20 million project, whose
handling by
Zanu PF leaders on the grassroots level has left potential
voters angry
dealing a blow to the 88-year-old’s bid to retain existing
voters and win
new supporters.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said
the scheme was for Zanu PF cadres
only, confirming the disgruntlement among
impoverished villagers who had
hoped the Mugabe scheme could pull them out
of their situation.
“The presidential inputs scheme is a Zanu PF
programme that is meant to
benefit members of the party,” said
Gumbo.
“It is not a government programme and I do not see why anybody who
is not a
member of the party should feel aggrieved,” Gumbo told the Daily
News
yesterday.
In areas such as Manicaland’s Mutare North
constituency, villagers say the
abuse linked to Mugabe’s input scheme has
put them off, adding the project
has done little to win their
hearts.
In villages and resettlement areas such as Mukuni South,
Nyamajura and Dora,
villagers were seething with anger after only a handful
of Zanu PF office
bearers received between 10 to 15kg of maize seed last
week.
“The President will get votes from those few people receiving the seed
since
the rest of us are being snubbed,” said a traditional leader who
refused to
be named.
He said he travelled to Zumbare Growth Point on
Thursday where the inputs
were being distributed only to be told
off.
“Only a few people in Zanu PF’s books were given the seed. Others
were told
to wait for another consignment. The scheme has deepened
resentment for Zanu
PF. People are wondering why Zanu PF leaders are
creating this hostility if
they want Mugabe to win. Pamwe ndiro bhora
musango racho (Maybe it is a way
of undermining Mugabe’s
popularity),”
Phillip Jasintu, the MDC deputy youth chairperson for
Mutare North
constituency, said even resettled farmers known for their
allegiance to Zanu
PF failed to benefit when seed was distributed at
Nyamajura Community Hall
on Thursday.
“It was only for the Zanu PF at
heart. No one else was considered. In fact
some farmers were being chided
for demanding the seed when they have not
been attending party meetings,” he
said.
Gorden Kanetsa of Chikuni Village said many villagers were put off
after
being snubbed from the project last year.
“We did not bother to
pursue it because last year during the distribution
held at Dora Secondary
School, we were told it was for Zanu PF people only.
We will meet at the
ballot,” said Kanetsa.
Mugabe is still reeling following a devastating
2008 first round defeat to
veteran trade unionist and now Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
A subsequent bloody run-off election in which hundreds
lost their lives was
condemned at home and abroad with Mugabe’s erstwhile
comrades in the region
ditching the veteran Zimbabwean
strongman.
Mugabe, at the helm of the country since independence from
Britain 32 years
ago, sheepishly agreed to form a coalition government with
his arch foe,
that is expected to pave way for an uncontested election
expected next year.
MDC Mashonaland West chairperson Japhet Karemba told
the Daily News that
non-Zanu PF members and the elderly were being turned
away.
“They should not lie to Zimbabweans that it is for every citizen.
It is a
Zanu PF vote buying project because Zanu PF chairpersons are
in-charge of
the distribution and our people are being turned away. Those
that are not
active members of Zanu PF are being turned away or they do not
even know
about the programme at all,” Karemba said.
Reports from
Manicaland and Mashonaland Central where Mugabe personally
launched the
scheme, indicated that most of the committees set up to manage
the
distribution of the inputs are members of Zanu PF amid accusations of
corruption and nepotism.
Interestingly Zanu PF this week deployed
politburo members to drum up
support and activate its election machinery
ahead of a party conference to
be held in Gweru next month.
Zanu PF’s
political life hinges on winning the next elections with
commentators saying
a loss would signal the demise of the once mighty
political institution as
happened to United National Independence Party in
Zambia and Kamuzu Banda’s
Malawi Congress Party.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Saturday, 17
November 2012 00:19
Herald Reporter
Civil servants yesterday said
they still demand salaries that are in line
with the poverty datum line
despite the five percent inflation-linked
salary increase announced by
Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Presenting the 2013 National Budget on
Thursday, Minister Biti said civil
servants would receive an
inflation-linked salary increase next year.
Their representatives said
indexing salaries to inflation would result in
civil servants getting an
insignificant increment.
Minister Biti said he would adjust the civil
servants’ salaries by 5,5
percent in line with the anticipated inflation
level of five percent.
He said the Government would continue to improve the
welfare of civil
servants through “scaling up the provision of
non-monetary incentives”.
In an interview yesterday, Zimta chief executive
Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said the
announcement by Minister Biti would not improve
the salaries and working
conditions of the restive workers.
“The criteria
he used of taking inflation into account means nothing for
the worker
because what is needed is a salary that tallies with the poverty
datum
line,” he said.
He said the inflation-aligned salary increment would result
in workers
getting increments of less than US$20.
“We are still to get a
real salary increment that we have been advocating
for throughout the year
and we still demand that to be addressed,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said Minister
Biti should also ensure that the education sector
gets real funding and not
“nominal” figures.
“The budget has only confirmed the legacy of Zimbabwe
prioritising
education but the problem is we wait for that money to be
channelled
towards the education sector,” he said.
“He has allocated
about US$1 billion which is 27 percent of the total
budget to education but
at the end of the day it’s not about figures but
real funding being given to
the sector.”
Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr Manuel Nyawo said
there was
nothing to celebrate about the US$1 000 tax free bonus
threshold.
“The money comes once per year and why should we celebrate that?
By the time
we reach January, we will be broke and that doesn’t change our
situation,”
he said.
“The PDL is above US$600 but the minister is coming
up with a five percent
increment and what does that mean to someone earning
US$296?”
College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe president Mr David
Dzatsunga said
they would continue demanding salaries that would transform
the lives of
their members.
“This is the problem that arises when someone
does not consult the parties
involved in the salary increments,” he
said.
He said the civil servants would continue pressing their demand for a
‘decent’ salary increment.
“This means our war with him will never end
until we get a decent salary
increment. It is ridiculous for someone who
spent the whole of 2012
without a salary increment to get five percent in
a country where prices
are adjusted regularly,” he said.
Minister Biti
said with the 5,5 percent adjustment the civil service wage
bill would
reach US$2,645 billion, which is about 68 percent of his total
budget.
The total budget is US$3, 8 billion.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Gibbs
Dube
16.11.2012
Education Minister David Coltart says his ministry has
sourced $9 million
from international donors for the writing of minority
language textbooks for
schools as the nation inches closer towards
introducing various languages
from Grade One to Grade 7.
In a
Facebook message, Coltart said the money will be administered under the
Education Transition Fund, launched soon after the inception of the unity
government in 2009 to revive the education sector.
He said
indications are that there are few readers or texbooks written in
minority
languages for use in primary schools.
According to Coltart, there are
also few texbooks even in languages like
shona and sindebele, a situation
not conducive for Curriculum Development in
Zimbabwe.
He said writers
should contact his ministry in finding ways of accessing
these
funds.
Difa Dube of the Kalanga Language Development Committee said this
move is a
step in the right direction.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe
Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) is yet to
assign dates for marking
Grade 7 exams as the early December results
deadline fast
approaches.
Teachers expected to mark exams taken at the end of October
say they haven’t
been called by ZIMSEC officials to start the marking
period.
Grade 7 results are expected to be made public between the first
and second
weeks of December to allow parents and students time to seek
schools for
Form One placement.
ZIMSEC faced criticism following a
number of problems ranging from disputes
between the teachers, parents and
pupils.
The exam body hasn’t indicated a reason for current the
delay.
Secretary general Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers
Union of
Zimbabwe confirmed the reports to Studio 7 saying teachers in his
organization are in the dark about the way forward.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Saturday, 17 November 2012
00:22
Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
CENTRAL
Intelligence Organisation director-general Retired Major-General
Happyton
Bonyongwe yesterday won a US$10 million defamation suit against
Africa
Consolidated Resources boss Andrew Cranswick. Rtd Maj-Gen Bonyongwe
sued Mr
Cranswick over a WikiLeaks report that linked him to diamond
looting in
Chiadzwa.
High Court judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo granted a default
judgment against
Mr Cranswick and ordered him to pay costs of the
suit.
“The application for rescission of judgment is hereby dismissed with
costs.
The application for default judgment be and is hereby
granted.
“The defendant (Mr Cranswick) shall pay to the plaintiff the sum of
US$10
million as damages for defamation together with interest thereon at
the
prescribed rate calculated with effect from the date of judgment to
the
date of full payment both dates inclusive.
“The defendant shall pay
costs of suit,” ruled Justice Hlatshwayo.
Acting on behalf of Mr Cranswick,
Harare lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange said
he would contest the outcome at the
Supreme Court.
“Naturally, we have to appeal against such an order. We are
going to file a
Supreme Court challenge soon. We are waiting for the record
and when it is
ready, we will draft the appeal papers,” he said.
Before
the court proceedings were instituted, Rtd Maj-Gen Bonyogwe’s lawyer
Mr
Joseph Mafusire of Scanlen and Holderness law firm wrote to Mr Cranswick
demanding the money.
The parties failed to agree, resulting in the filing
of the lawsuit last
year.
The report the CIO boss complained about was
headlined: “Regime elites
looting deadly diamond field” and it was
dispatched on December 8, 2009.
According to Rtd Maj-Gen Bonyongwe’s
lawyers, the report indicated that
“certain high-ranking Zimbabwean
Government officials and well-connected
elite were generating millions of
dollars in personal income by engaging in
illicit trade in diamonds from
Chiadzwa mine in eastern Zimbabwe.”
Rtd Maj-Gen Bonyongwe was mentioned
among other officials or personnel or
officers in the Zimbabwean
Government.
Mr Mafusire, in the above-mentioned letter, quoted a portion of
the
WikiLeaks report that reads: “Cranswick said that RBZ Governor Gideon
Gono,
Grace Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, Vice President Joice
Mujuru,
(the then) Mines and Mining Development Minister Amos Midzi, General
Constantine Chiwenga and wife Jocelyn, CIO director Happyton Bonyongwe,
Manicaland Governor Chris Mushohwe and several white Zimbabweans including
Ken Sharpe, Greg Scott and Hendrick O’Neill, are involved in the Marange
diamond trade.”
It was Rtd Maj-Gen Bonyongwe’s contention that the report
was false and he
was never involved in any illegal trade of diamonds from
Chiadzwa.
He felt the report that reached millions worldwide seriously
defamed him
and that he should be paid damages.
“Our client was never
involved in any trade in diamonds from Chiadzwa or
anywhere else. He has not
been involved in any mineral of whatever kind in
Zimbabwe or elsewhere,” Mr
Mafusire said.
Mr Cranswick’s conduct, Mr Mafusire argued, severely damaged
Rtd Maj-Gen
Bonyongwe’s fame and reputation.
It has impugned his dignity
and character, he said.
“As a result of your conduct, our client has
suffered damages. He intends to
clear his name. That is done by claiming
damages for defamation. In the
premises, we are instructed to demand, as we
hereby do, payment of the sum
of US$10 million as damages for defamation,”
said Mr Mafusire.
The lawsuit was filed at the time the First Lady Amai Grace
Mugabe filed a
US$15 million defamation claim against The Standard Newspaper
that published
stories based on the same WikiLeaks report.
Dr Gono also
filed a US$12,5 million suit against the same newspaper over
the report.
http://nehandaradio.com
on November 16, 2012 at 11:19
pm
It is a long road from Jambezi Village in the dry district of
Hwange, in
Matabeleland, to the opulence and influence that currently
surrounds Obert
Mpofu. Growing up in rural Jambezi, Mpofu came from a family
of limited
means.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu (centre) is a man of
significant means
During the long guerilla war against the racist regime of
Ian Smith, Mpofu’s
family—like the majority of people in
Matabeleland—supported the Zimbabwe
African People’s Union (ZAPU), a rival
liberation group to President Robert
Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National
Union (ZANU).
The extent of Mpofu’s direct involvement in the war as a
young teenager was
limited to being an occasional messenger between ZAPU
comrades in
then-Rhodesia and neighbouring Zambia. In his late teens he was
accepted for
training under legendary ZIPRA commander, Nikita Mangena;
however, Mpofu was
dismissed shortly afterwards for being “untrainable and
divisive within the
camp”, according to a high level ZIPRA
source.
Mpofu’s lack of military training is supported by a former
colleague who
noted that while Mpofu claims to have attained the “guerilla
rank equivalent
of Major…he seemed clearly awkward with firearms” and needed
a crash course
in how to operate and use a pistol when presented with
one.
Mpofu the Journalist
Mpofu subsequently left Zimbabwe to
study journalism at the University of
New Delhi. While his career as a
journalist would be short-lived—brief
stints as a reporter in Zambia, and
years later as a manager at Zimbabwe
Newspapers—his time in India would pay
dividends three decades later in
securing a market for Marange’s tainted
diamonds.
From Mpofu’s return from India it was clear he had ambitions
for himself. In
the early days of an independent Zimbabwe Mpofu made a
career decision some
still consider opportunistic: he renounced his family’s
political roots and
joined ZANU. The reason was less political than a matter
of survival.
At the time Mpofu was working as a manager with Customs and
Excise in
Harare, where he was remembered for engaging in conduct unbecoming
of a
civil servant, including accepting a junket to Bulgaria from the Balkan
Airlines representative at Harare International Airport.
He was later
investigated for allegedly smuggling some televisions into
Zimbabwe. Several
sources have confirmed that faced with the possibility of
criminal charges,
Mpofu sought out the advice of Enos Nkala, a ZANU
patriarch, who recommend
that joining the party would result in a favourable
outcome.
Mpofu
did and he was never charged with any infraction. The political
conversion
was no small matter considering the growing repression of ZAPU
supporters
and leaders by President Mugabe and his party.
The persecution culminated
in the infamous Gukurahundi massacres, in which
the North Korean-trained
Fifth Brigade executed an estimated 20,000 people
in Matabeleland. The
pogroms achieved their purpose: in 1987 ZAPU leaders
capitulated and merged
with ZANU, effectively marginalizing any political
competition to
Mugabe.
Mpofu’s political conversion
For Mpofu, his political
conversion opened up doors, launching his career as
a ZANU politician, first
at the provincial level and finally at the national
level where he quickly
rose through the ranks. In 2000, the President
appointed him Governor of
Matabeleland, and five years later, Minister of
Industry and International
Trade—an appointment best remembered for his
failed attempt to fix commodity
prices during hyperinflation, resulting in
empty shops.
As he rose
through the ZANU ranks, Mpofu began dabbling in the private
sector. Other
than his flagship companies— Trebo and Khays, Maminza
Transport, Khanando
Safari and Tours, and the recently acquired ZABG bank,
which are registered
companies— little is known of Mpofu’s business empire.
The Zimbabwean
media has often referred to Mpofu going on a real estate
“buying spree”,
primarily in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, since the Marange
diamond rush but
have provided little corroborating evidence.
The most detailed, yet
unconfirmed report, listed cash-purchases of a
supermarket in Victoria
Falls’ Chinotimba high density suburb, three houses
in a medium-density
area, two cruise boats on the Zambezi, five houses in
Mkhosana high-density
suburb, three houses in Chinotimba, two industrial
stands, one large stand
in Chisuma, one big industrial stand next to
Chinotimba stadium, four
industrial stands on the Airport road, and four
medium-density
plots.
Proving ownership of many of these properties, particularly in
high-density
areas, is difficult due to non-existent, or out of date,
municipal records.
Mpofu’s habit of not registering his smaller companies
further hampers
efforts to get a full picture of his business
holdings.
Obert Mpofu’s 60th Birthday Bash
In December 2011,
however, Mpofu’s vanity got the better of him and he
unwittingly gave
Zimbabweans a window into his empire. He did it in the most
public forum
possible—a 16 page advertorial in The Chronicle, a pro-ZANU
daily in
Bulawayo.
The advertorial was ostensibly published and funded by Mpofu to
mark his
60th birthday and his doctorate in “Policy Studies” from the
Zimbabwean Open
University, a distance based institution. Among the words of
encouragement
from family members and articles extolling Mpofu as the
“minister with [a]
diamond touch”, a “leader of quality and stead” and a
“true people’s
servant” were advertisements linked to Mpofu’s main
businesses.
Among the listed companies with established links to Mpofu
were Trebo and
Khays, Maminza Properties, Maminza Transport, Khanondo Safari
and Tours,
Khanondo Car Hire, Horseshow Estate, KoMpofu La Sports Bar, Luna
Rainbow
Tours, Guest Paradise Lodge, Good Memories Lodge, Mswelangubo Farm,
New
Miners Restaurant (Hwange), Accut and Crews Village, Moya Security and
Matetsi Meat Butchery.
PAC could not definitively link Mpofu to
several other businesses that took
out adverts, including, Zainali Holdings,
Clarendon Court P/L, Moban
Investments, and Steelfab Engineering (a division
of Engzib Investments).
Ryan’s Brick Work was also listed—a company known to
have installed tens of
thousands of dollars of brick paving at his Umguza
residence ahead of his
60th birthday party.
Like many of his ZANU
brethren, Mpofu built much of his wealth through
“vulture capitalism”—a
money for nothing appropriation of profitable
businesses and/or assets that
are later “legitimized” through normal
business activity.
The land
seizures of the 2000’s are one expression of this phenomenon,
whereby top
ZANU apparatchiks acquired commercial farms and took over the
business
affairs of the former white owners. Without exerting any sweat
equity or
risking any financial obligation with a bank a few of these
individuals
turned themselves into successful farmers overnight.
Many others,
including Mbada CEO Robert Mhlanga and the late General Solomon
Mujuru, made
fortunes exploiting high value minerals—particularly
gold—during Zimbabwe’s
intervention in the war in the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
Although
a wealthy man before his appointment as Minister of Mines in 2009,
Mpofu’s
assets and spending habits have grown exponentially since he granted
the
first diamond mining licence to Mhlanga and David Kassell, a South
African
scrap metal dealer, neither of whom had any prior mining experience.
With
the media attention mostly focused on his real estate holdings in
Bulawayo
and Victoria Falls, less attention has been given to his
landholdings which
PAC has determined likely place him in the top five
landowners in the
country. In Matabeleland his holdings come second only to
the 135,000ha
owned by the Oppenheimer family in Shangani, 200 kilometers
northeast of
Bulawayo.
Among Mpofu’s land holdings are:
• 10,006ha, North Part,
Umguza Block. This is property formerly owned by
Cold Storage Commission
(CSC) and is known specifically as Blocks 39, 40 and
41.
• 1027ha,
Auchenburg Farm, Nyamandlovu.
• Green Haven farm. Located close to the
Umguza River just outside Bulawayo
on the Victoria Falls road, this is a
farm Mpofu has reportedly owned for
some time and where he keeps most of his
herd.
• 3,700ha, Umguza CSC Block.
• 2,300ha, Young Farm,
Nyamandlovu.
• 8000ha, Horseshoe Ranch, Matetsi. It is believed Mpofu
bought this
property from Bill Bedford in 2008 for an undisclosed sum. At
the time of
publication, hunting and safari operations were run by Shaun
Kearney, a
South African.
• 100ha, in Epping Forest B section, a part
of Accut and Crew, a formerly
white owned farm bought for resettlement in
1996. Now referred to as
Mswelangubo farm it serves as Mpofu’s main
residence. The property has
undergone extensive upgrades recently including
approximately $150,000 on
fencing and paving ahead of the lavish December
2011 party, the cost of
which is estimated at another $250,000.
In
March 2012 a 10-kilometre stretch of road to this house was being
resurfaced
by a brand new Caterpillar excavator—something that the Umguza
Rural Council
would not have the money to do. The property also houses
several commercial
ventures, including a horticulture business, an abattoir
and a chicken
factory.
The Auchenburg and Young farms and Umguza Block are named as
such in the
2005 list of sanctioned farms and businesses managed by the US
Treasury
Department’s Office for Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).
With
the exception of Horseshoe Ranch, Mpofu acquired the rights to control
most
of this land for free. At this juncture an important distinction needs
to be
made: the absence of any record of payment or land titles point to
Mpofu
controlling, but not owning, many of these properties, particularly
those
that were once State-owned.
In addition to the above listings of
approximately 25,000ha:
PAC has learned that Mpofu also controls Winter
Block, a 40,000ha section of
land next to Umguza Block. A source with an
intimate knowledge of the Cold
Storage Commission land holdings confirms
that this is an entirely separate
parcel of land. Following the land
invasions of 2000, Winter Block was
largely divided between former
Vice-President Joseph Msika and High Court
Judge Maphios Cheda.
Msika
died in 2009 and Cheda has maintained only a minimal interest in the
area
after being awarded another farm in 2008. Since then Mpofu has
primarily
used Winter Block to graze his cattle, which he has boasted is the
biggest
herd in Zimbabwe. With total farm holdings of at least 65,000ha,
this would
also place Mpofu amongst the country’s biggest landowners.
Mpofu’s
possession of land belonging to the Cold Storage Commission is
likely in
contravention with Zimbabwean law. The terms of the Land
Acquisition Act—the
legislation responsible for the dispossession of most
white-owned
land—explicitly limits expropriations to private and
commercially held
farmland, not state assets. His exclusive use of the land
raises several
questions, including how Mpofu obtained this government land,
and what, if
any, rent State coffers receive for its use.
Mpofu and his
cattle
Cattle hold a special place in the social status of African men.
They are
another form of currency and symbol of a person’s success and
influence. In
Mpofu’s case his herd is clearly a big source of personal
pride and
legitimate revenue. He has said that he has a herd of about 3,000
breeding
cattle, and uses a feedlot in Umguza to fatten another herd of
“about a
1,000 at a time.” Mpofu’s farm manager, Dumisani Moyo, claims that
they
“sell about 50 cattle every week…and the profits are good.”
If
those numbers are correct, Mpofu would gross as much as $50,000 a week
from
this business during culling season, although some observers think his
output is closer to half that. Several sources confirm that the Minister is
a regular attendee to auctions held by CC Sales in Bulawayo and
Harare.
However, witnesses and agents alike both say they have never seen
Mpofu
actually purchase any cattle himself. Most suspect it is done through
proxies, including Dumisani Moyo. If Mpofu’s herd is as big as he says it
is—approximately 4,000 cattle—he will have spent some serious money to build
and maintain it to that size.
Mixed pedigree cattle sell at auction
for a minimum of $600 a head,
conservatively valuing Mpofu’s cattle
purchases at over $2 million. Mpofu’s
ranching operations are run by
Innocent Ncube, who is widely respected for
his farming acumen. In the last
year he has also invested heavily in new
infrastructure, including a 330
metre-long shed (at a cost of $100,000)
beside the railway line that runs
through Umguza.
Cattle are not Mpofu’s only passion. His acquisition of
marque properties in
Bulawayo and Victoria Falls would make Mpofu the envy
of any Monopoly
player. However, unlike his cattle business that actually
generates income,
Mpofu’s real estate dealings appear to be a chronic cash
drain on the
Minister. It is estimated that since mid-2009, Mpofu has
acquired urban
property in Matabeleland worth at least $5
million.
During the same time frame it is estimated he has invested at
least $2.5
million in renovations to properties in Bulawayo, Victoria Falls,
Umguza and
Nyamandlovu. His best known, and most prized, fixed assets
include:
• Anchor House, Bulawayo. This five-storey building at the
corner of Fort
Street and 12th Avenue is Mpofu’s most recent known
acquisition. In mid-2012
it was undergoing renovations, including a full
paint job. The purchase
price is unknown but similar buildings currently
sell between $1-$2 million
in Bulawayo’s depressed real estate
market.
• A property commonly known as the Centrust Building, Bulawayo.
Bought for
$750,000 in 2011, it is one of Mpofu’s single biggest cash
purchase. The
building, located at 47 Fort St, housed several businesses
including a
travel agency of the same name. The purchase included
subdivision A of Stand
9.The property was bought from the Khaley family in a
deal reportedly
facilitated by Bulawayo businessman Hitish Patel. All
tenants vacated the
building when Mpofu hiked the rent. In March 2012 the
building was empty.
• A dilapidated two-storey office block on the edge
of Bulawayo’s central
business district, at the corner of Fife and First
Avenue. It has been under
construction for more than two years.
•
York House, Bulawayo. At seven stories, this is one of Bulawayo’s tallest
buildings and is said to be Mpofu’s pride and joy. Purchased for a song by
Mpofu’s company Trebo and Khays in 2007 during the height of hyperinflation,
it was partially rented by AgriBank until 2011. It is has sat empty for
almost two years as it undergoes extensive renovations, including a full
interior gutting and the installation of new elevators.
Contractors
familiar with the project estimate the renovations at least
$1.5million.
With the long-term absence of rental income, Mpofu is
undoubtedly drawing on
other sources to pay for the renovations.
• 46 Magpie Road, Bulawayo.
This ostentatious two-storey property is located
on a two-hectare plot in
the tony suburb of Burnside. Mpofu acquired it more
than 20 years ago but it
has quadrupled in size after undergoing recent
renovations estimated at
$150,000. Mpofu’s Hummer has been seen at this
address, as have police and
private security guards.
• 10 Livingstone Road, Suburbs, Bulawayo.
Several sources confirmed they
have met Mpofu at this suburban property,
which sometimes acts as his office
in Bulawayo. It has extensive security,
including expensive surrounding
walls, gates and guard house. It is also
where Three Waters Investments, a
diamond trading company, is known to
conduct business. Since becoming
Minister of Mines, Mpofu has also made some
other interesting purchases—both
for himself and some of his
companies.
After Trebo and Khays, his best known business is Khanondo
Safari and Tours
in Victoria Falls. According to company brochures and its
website, Khanondo
offers a range of activities including boat cruises on the
Zambezi River,
game drives, tours as far afield as Namibia, helicopter
flights, white water
rafting adventures and “VIP transfers”. All the assets
required to offer
tourists these services, other than the helicopter, are
“owned” by Khanondo.
Khanondo also offers accommodation to suit different
budgets, ranging from
Guest Paradise Lodge ($120 a night) to the five star
Victoria Falls Deluxe
Suites ($330 for bed and breakfast). Khanondo also
recently completed
construction on the High Mount Lodge, described by a
company official as
“[topping] the accommodation rankings of Bulawayo due to
its beauty and
exclusivity.”
Victoria Falls is the jewel among
Zimbabwe’s disintegrating tourist
attractions.
But since 2000 when
land seizures, hyperinflation and political violence
took hold, tourists
have largely abandoned Zimbabwe in favour of
neighbouring countries. Despite
the economic setbacks suffered by many tour
operators, Khanondo has made
several investments others cannot afford.
In 2011, for example, Khanondo
took receipt of a brand new 80-seat boat
worth $250,000. It also took
possession of the best dock on the Zambezi
River and bought a smaller boat,
for more intimate breakfast and sunset
cruises. Khanondo’s car rental
business also boasts the town’s only luxury
fleet of cars, including
Mercedes sedans, high-end SUVs, safari jeeps and
vans.
The value of
the cars pictured on Khanondo’s website would conservatively be
in excess of
half a million dollars. These are not Mpofu’s only luxury
vehicles. He
personally owns several cars but his two favourites are a new
Range Rover
Sport (base price: $80,000) and a black Hummer ($60,000). The
former is
regularly seen at his Burnside residence. Largely because of its
gas
guzzling thirst the Hummer is a rarity in Zimbabwe, even among other
elites,
where the price of petrol is high and shortages are frequent.
Mpofu in
Transport
Since becoming Minister, another Mpofu company, Maminza
Transport, has also
come into possession of several Volvo heavy haulage
trucks and some drilling
equipment. The FH 12 model trucks, believed to be
as many as eight, are kept
at the former Clan Transport depot on the
Plumtree Road in Bulawayo. Both
trucks and drilling equipment have been seen
in Hwange, where coal is mined,
raising the possibility that Mpofu is
diversifying into another resource
under his ministerial control.
In
August 2011 Mpofu controversially appointed Farai Mutamangira, a friend
and
lawyer who he has hired to represent Zimbabwe over its KP compliance
issues,
to be CEO of the Hwange Colliery, a state-owned coal company. The
trucks,
which retail at over $100,000 a piece, are decaled with “Maminza
Transport”
signs on the doors and “OMM”—Obert Moses Mpofu—and a sequential
number
stenciled above windscreen.
The origin of the trucks is a
mystery.
There is only one Volvo dealer in Southern Africa—Babcock Africa
Services in
Johannesburg. Because Mpofu is listed on EU and US sanctions
over concerns
of his involvement in either corrupt or violent activity, it
is illegal for
an international company like Volvo, through Babcock, to sell
these trucks
directly to Mpofu.
One explanation could be that Mpofu
purchased them through a proxy company
completely unassociated with his
name—a loophole famously exploited by other
named individuals like Billy
Rautenbach. Another answer may lie in the
November 2010 collapse of Core
Mining, the South African diamond company
that joint ventured with the ZMDC
to form Canadile.
In February 2012 Babcock won a liquidation order
against Core Mining in
South African court for unpaid debts of $1.4 million,
including for similar
Volvo trucks. Since Canadile’s implosion the company
has reverted to being a
wholly owned entity of the government. Operating as
Marange Resources the
company is wholly owned by the ZMDC, a State agency
under Mpofu’s
ministerial control.
As Marange Resources has retained
most of Core’s assets there is very little
prospect of Babcock being able to
collect on its judgment. This raises two
possible scenarios that Mpofu
should clarify as soon as possible: did he
acquire these trucks at great
personal expense and in breach of Western
economic measures or he is in
possession of former Core Mining property that
legally belongs to
Babcock?
Mpofu buys a bank
Of all Obert Mpofu’s acquisitions, none
of them raised so much public
interest as his May 2012 purchase of the
asset-less Zimbabwe Allied Banking
Group. ZABG has a storied history.
Created by Reserve Bank Governor Gideon
Gono during hyper-inflationary
times, it was always viewed with suspicion by
the banking sector which
perceived it as a vehicle through which ZANU
insiders carried out currency
manipulations—a fact highlighted by the bank’s
decline following the
dollarization of the economy in 2009.
What Mpofu paid for the worthless
bank is unknown. One media report claimed
he spent $22.5 million, while
another put the figure at $27.8 million, after
accounting for ZABG debts of
$15.3 million. What is certain is Mpofu,
through his company Trebo and
Khays, invested at least $12.5 million—the
minimum capitalization required
by banking laws to operate.
Gideon Gono has also confirmed that Mpofu is
the “99.9% shareholder” of
ZABG, although he has two years within which to
“regularize the ownership
structure” so no one shareholder can own more than
25 percent. Why would
Mpofu want to refloat a bankrupt bank? What benefit
could it serve him? Some
speculate that the reason is simply about ego.
“Once you have a farm and a
safari lodge, why not a bank?” one banker told
PAC.
Others see it as a chance to capture the banking business of ZANU
supporters
in Matabeleland and increase his political prestige. Others, a
way to
dispense patronage and nepotism. All are valid, especially after he
announced his intentions to move the bank from Harare to
Bulawayo.
Less charitable banking sources point out similar banks, in the
hands of
other people, have been used for another purpose: laundering
illicit revenue
streams. How the laundering is done can take several forms,
including
extending bogus loans which go into default, or paying employees,
often
family members, at rates higher than industry standards.
Having
only taken control of ZABG in August 2012, there is no evidence Mpofu
has
engaged in any money laundering; rather his prime motivation has a
diamond
connection that has been overlooked by almost everyone. In March
2012,
cabinet took a decision to compel all mining companies to bank their
money
with local financial institutions following revelations that mining
companies—including ones operating in Marange—were stashing billions of
dollars in foreign accounts.
The decision has merit—capital flight is
bad for any economy—but Mpofu’s
ownership of the bank opens the door to
possible charges of conflict of
interest once mining companies, which are
dependent on his ministerial
approval for their projects, start shopping for
a local bank. Do they take
their business to ZABG, for example, in the hopes
it will guarantee a
favourable decision?
ZABG is not the only
business through which Mpofu has used his ministerial
position to benefit
from diamonds.
Mpofu also has a close relationship to Three Waters
Investment, a diamond
trading company based out of one of his Bulawayo
properties, 10 Livingstone
Road. Operations are aided by Nyasha Mpofu, a
trained diamond sorter,who has
a reputation for dealing only in top quality
gem diamonds.
She is also known to personally arrange for diamond
shipments to
Johannesburg. PAC could not confirm claims that she is a
relative of the
minister. Sources say the company is not part of the
emerging cutting and
polishing industry—against which Mpofu was forced to
act in 2011 following
concerns companies were illegally trading
diamonds.
The perception—real or perceived—that a relative of the
Minister is
obtaining a pecuniary benefit from an industry over which he has
fiduciary
responsibility is troubling. It raises multiple conflicts of
interest for
the Minister. Prime among them: What role did he personally
play in
procuring diamonds for Three Waters Investment or facilitating their
export?
What is not in doubt is how diamonds have helped to boost Mpofu’s
political
influence and aspirations within ZANU structures. He is now
clearly
considered the ZANU patron in Matabeleland, to which his political
lessers
pay homage and seek protection. He routinely dispenses philanthropy
and
personal patronage on a scale unmatched anywhere else in
Zimbabwe.
In February 2012, for example, he provided a generator to
Chinotimba Clinic
in Victoria Falls. A few months later, in June, he and his
wife are reported
to have distributed ten tonnes of grain to 600 families in
the district of
Ntabazinduna. One media report pegged the value of the
donation at $180,000.
The next month he visited another village in
Matabeleland with gifts of
grain, heifers for the chiefs, and a promise to
build a chief’s hall.
He is often referred to as being a patron of the
financially beleaguered
Highlanders Football Club and the Umguza Sinjalo
Message Choir. His election
as ZANU’s only representative in Matabeleland in
the 2008 elections has
often been attributed to his personal attention to
his constituents needs,
including the payment of school fees for primary
going children.
Diamonds have also allowed Mpofu to flex his muscles
within ZANU circles.
While any presidential ambitions are firmly in
check—as a minority Ndebele
the chances of winning the confidence of his
Shona countrymen are nil—he has
made no secret of his intentions to seek one
of two ZANU vice-presidencies,
upon the resignation of incumbent, John
Nkomo, who is cancer-stricken.
Mpofu’s aspirations, however, face one
small obstacle: one of the
vice-presidencies is reserved for someone who was
a ZAPU member at the time
of the 1987 ZANUZAPU power sharing agreement.
Mpofu jumped ship in 1982,
therefore making him ineligible, at least in
theory. This rule, however, is
not set in stone. Mpofu has deftly played on
his Marange connections to
cultivate key former ZIPRA members who could play
decisive roles advancing
his political ambitions.
This is
particularly the case with Tshinga Dube, the CEO of Marange
Resources,
former CEO of ZDI and a member of ZANU’s politburo, the party’s
supreme
decision-making body. Mpofu’s deference to the military chiefs who
control
and exploit Marange’s riches—especially those aligned to Defence
Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the heir apparent when President Mugabe
dies—also bode
well for his efforts to consolidate his place within the ZANU
hierarchy.
Mpofu’s recent financial windfall and political prestige
is a fundamental
matter of public interest. Any time a senior politician in
any country is
allowed to amass an unexplained fortune, as Mpofu has done,
questions must
be asked not only about how that came to be, but why no steps
have been
taken to investigate possible financial wrongdoing or usurping of
the public
good.
Mpofu’s wealth is symbolic of the larger
mismanagement of Zimbabwe’s natural
resources. Certainly, he has become very
rich since becoming the Minister of
Mines, making him a figurehead for the
illegality occurring in Marange, but
this story is about more than Obert
Mpofu alone. Ultimately it is about the
greed and corruption that lies at
the heart of ZANU as a political
institution.
ZANU’s vulture
capitalism has never been a one-man operation. From asset
stripping of state
enterprises to farm seizures to currency manipulations
during
hyper-inflation to Marange, their track record shows that ZANU hunts
and
feasts as a pack. Their strength lies in their unity, not their
individual
parts. They are deeply distrustful of each other, leading those
involved in
any illegal venture to share the profits, rather than allow one
individual
to amass wealth on the collective’s behalf, or expense.
Like a gang, they
achieve conformity within the group by ensuring that
everyone is implicated
in the illegality. Those that have gotten too greedy,
or sought to exit the
game, have paid a hard price. They have been publicly
ridiculed, politically
ostracized, forced into exile, and often stripped of
their wealth with the
same speed with which they amassed it.
Those who know Mpofu say he is not
capable of single-handedly masterminding
events in Marange, but he is smart
enough to know how to help those that do.
That he has survived this long,
shows he has enough sense to know that his
continued beneficiation is linked
to placating the needs of a small and
tight group of political and military
elites who have been in charge of
Marange since the very
beginning.
Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to continue to trade diamonds in
this fashion.
Those who naively or willfully look the other way to
Zimbabwe’s
mismanagement of its diamond deposits—as the Kimberley Process
has done—will
only undermine consumer confidence in the diamond sector.
Industry members,
particularly those in South Africa, Dubai and India, who
in any way
associate themselves with the companies operating in
Zimbabwe—whether deemed
KP compliant or not—should be under no illusion as
to the criminal elements
they are dealing with. They are not helping the
economic recovery of an
impoverished country.
In fact, they are doing
the opposite—they are enabling corruption and those
who have led political
repression and violence in Zimbabwe. Improvements
will only come if there is
a unified response, beginning with industry
members, but supported by
national governments, that demands better of
Zimbabwe. The next section
offers suggestions on possible ways to support
such efforts.
Dear Family and Friends,
Almost two
months ago Bulawayo made international news when city
authorities asked
residents to engage in synchronized toilet flushing
at 7.30 pm every third
day. Jokes came from all directions but as most
of us have endured years of
water shortages in towns all over the
country, there wasn’t much to laugh
about. Precious water stored in
buckets, plugs left in, toilets not flushed
and ‘splash’ baths
with a few jugs of water are all very familiar so we sent
sympathetic
messages to our friends in Bulawayo. Things came to a head
after
repeated meetings with council officials yielded nothing. Over
800
WOZA members sent delegations to local council officers to
complain
about prolonged water cuts but still they were fobbed off and so
they
embarked on three days of protests.
On the 12th of November
seventy nine WOZA members and two babies were
arrested and taken to Bulawayo
Central police station for staging a
peaceful protest at the City Council
Tower block. Later that day they
were released. The next day WOZA tried to
protest again. At midday as
protesters arrived at the government complex in
Bulawayo, riot police
arrived and arrested eleven WOZA members, taking them
across the road
and putting them under guard in the Drill Hall. Police then
went to
another central intersection where protesters were gathering
and
according to the WOZA press statement the ‘police officers
disembarked
to beat members who were marching towards the complex.’
Another eleven people
were arrested and WOZA said police shouted
obscenities at the women and
called them prostitutes. One police
officer who said he didn’t care if the
protesters knew his name,
told the women: 'this country was liberated by
blood and only those
who spilt blood can be the ones to talk.' This second
group of eleven
protesters were taken to Bulawayo Central police station but
as they
were disembarking the Chief Inspector arrived and told the riot
police
to take the women back to where they’d come from. That
didn’t
happen, instead the women were driven out of town and dumped at
a
cemetery on the Victoria Falls road.
On the third day WOZA tried
again. This time 150 of their members
managed to get to the steps of the
Mayor’s office at City Hall.
There they were met, not by the Mayor but by
senior police officers
who blocked their progress and the WOZA protesters had
to disperse.
The Mayor did not emerge to talk to people he was elected to
serve.
Nothing further was heard about the policeman who publicly said
that
only people who had spilt blood had a right to talk.
Some of the
demands made by WOZA were for an end to water cuts that
last longer than 24
hours; for the provision of water purifying
tablets and for an increase of
the amount of water people are allowed
to draw from bowsers. At present
people queuing at council bowsers are
only allowed 40 litres of water a day
and WOZA said for an average
family of five people, this is simply not
enough. Can you imagine five
people coping on just 40 litres of water a day –
drinking, cooking,
bathing, toilets, washing. It works out at eight litres
per person and
add a baby to the equation or someone who is sick or
incontinent and
life becomes an utter nightmare.
Meanwhile, at the
same time as this was going on and further down the
same road where women had
been dumped at a cemetery by police, the
who’s who of Zimbabwe’s diamond
industry were meeting in Victoria
Falls. The Zimbabwe Diamond Conference was
being hosted by the
government to ‘shed light’ on diamond mining in the
country. For
three days there was much pomp and ceremony: speeches, TV
cameras,
bottled water on the tables but more questions than answers about
just
exactly where all our diamond money is going. Mines Minister,
Obert
Mpofu complained to delegates about the diamond watchdog
groups:
“How then are you expected to be transparent when there are
hyenas
chasing you?” he said. “They want to know what car you drive,
which
house you are living in and what plane you are flying.”
The Minister’s
gripes are a world away from the grinding struggle
of ordinary mums in the
heat and dust as they try to keep their
families clean and healthy with only
eight litres of water per person
per day. Diamonds, houses, cars and
aeroplanes on one hand and eight
litres of clean water on the other; there’s
something desperately
wrong with Zimbabwe’s priorities. Until next time,
thanks for
reading, love cathy 17th November 2012. Copyright � Cathy
Buckle.
www.cathybuckle.com
http://indepthafrica.com/
Posted On : November 17th, 2012
A
letter from the diaspora
By Pauline Henson
The Zimbabwe Diamond
Conference which began on Monday was sponsored by the
Zim government and
opened by Robert Mugabe. The intention of the Conference
said Mugabe was to
“shed light” on the diamond industry and particularly on
the question of
where all the diamond revenue is going.
President Robert Mugabe of
Zimbabwe addresses 67th UN General Assembly
Diamonds will fund a power grab
by Mugabe
It is not going to the treasury said the Minister of Finance a
couple of
weeks ago, so if the money is not going to the treasury, where is
it going?
Gold came into the story too with Mugabe’s move to decriminalise
gold
panning. The fact is that whether it’s gold or diamonds, the question
always
comes down to: Where’s the money going?
Money and politics,
the two go together and particularly in Zimbabwe. It is
Mugabe’s insistence
on elections in March that has fuelled all this talk
about diamond wealth.
The fear has been voiced that diamonds will fund a
power grab by Robert
Mugabe and his army generals but it was the report by
the highly respected
Partnership Africa Canada on Monday that really caught
everyone’s
attention.
The Report spoke of “the biggest plunder of diamonds since
Cecil Rhodes”
adding that $2 billion was a conservative estimate of the loss
to the
Zimbabwean state. “Marange’s potential has been over-shadowed by
violence,
smuggling, corruption and most of all by lost
opportunity.
The scale of illegality is mind blowing” the PAC Report
commented. And how
did Obert Mpofu, himself a man of considerable,
unexplained wealth, respond?
After some rather rambling remarks about hyenas
and transparency, he said it
was all the fault of
sanctions.
The ‘usual suspect’, ie. the west, has stopped
Zimbabwe getting good prices
he alleged. A more likely explanation is that
Zimbabwe is so broke that she
will accept any price however low for her
diamonds.
The guest speaker at the Victoria Falls Conference was Thabo
Mbeki, a known
Zanu PF supporter and he joined in the chorus of anti-west
vitriol. It is
always a popular line and the African delegates turned their
wrath on the
American chair of the Kimberley Process and demanded her
resignation.
As always in Zimbabwe, determining the truth of all these
claims and counter
claims is not easy but if it’s evidence you’re looking
for, the news that
Zimbabwe has already embarked on a project to build a new
capital city
certainly suggests that the regime is not short of cash – from
somewhere.
A new conference hall for Zanu PF is another project that is
being funded –
from somewhere.
Meantime, the present capital is
enduring a water crisis so awful that it is
alleged Harare residents are
actually drinking re-cycled waste, while the
regime has already started work
on a new capital, ‘Zvimba City’ in Mugabe’s
home province is part of
Mugabe’s ‘legacy’ no doubt.
Poor residents of Harare suburbs Rugare and
Kambazuma are actually having
their property confiscated for non-payment of
rates. Wherever the diamond
wealth is going, it is certainly not going to
enrich the quality of ordinary
people’s lives.
Country-wide violence
against the MDC continues and the police are still not
taking action against
known offenders. The arsonists in Mutoko who burned
down an MDC supporter’s
home have not been arrested and the police have told
the victims that it is
up to them to bring the suspects to the police
station!
Maybe the
diamond money would not solve all these problems but it would
surely make
peoples’ lives more bearable? The Kimberley Process has decreed
that
Zimbabwe’s diamonds do not qualify as ‘blood diamonds’ but they may
well be
the cause of bloodshed in the future as the various interested
parties fight
for the wealth the diamonds generate.
Yours in the
(continuing) struggle Pauline Henson