The ZIMBABWE Situation
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GPA teams meet over lack of implementation

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
18 November, 2011

Negotiators to Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement, who have been
deadlocked over contentious issues, met on Friday in Harare after a long
break, aiming to make some progress on the deal signed more than three years
ago by Zimbabwe’s political leaders.

A detailed report on the meeting’s outcome is to be presented to the
facilitation team representing the regionally appointed chief negotiator,
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa.

Zuma’s international relations advisor, Lindiwe Zulu, told SW Radio Africa
on Friday that her facilitation team is due back in Harare next week to iron
out the challenges the negotiators fail to resolve on Friday. As they have
made no progress for 3 years this may keep the facilitators busy. Zulu
confirmed that President Zuma will travel to Harare soon after that, but no
date has been set yet.

Deadlines for key reforms agreed to by the negotiators have not been met and
little progress has been made in resolving the outstanding issues. Media,
electoral and security sector reforms have emerged as the most contentious
issues.

Lindiwe Zulu would not be drawn to pointing fingers at the political party
that has presented the most obstacles. Asked if she agreed with the general
consensus that ZANU PF presents the most resistance to change, Zulu said:
“It’s not about resistance as such as we understand it, parties behave one
way or the other depending on their position.”

Zulu said some progress has been made in terms of security sector reforms,
but did not specify exactly what had been agreed. “It is a sensitive issue
for everybody given Zimbabwe’s historical background. But the fact that it
continues to be on the table shows that it has to be resolved,” Zulu said.

Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, representing the MDC-N, also said the
Friday meeting would scrutinize issues that were agreed to but had not been
implemented. According to the Daily News newspaper, she estimated that 90%
of the issues agreed to had not been implemented. The other 10% were still
to be negotiated.


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Senior MDC official murdered in Glen View

Friday, 18 November 2011

The MDC is saddened by the gruesome murder of Mr Albert Vhiriri, a senior member and founder of the MDC who died on Wednesday in Harare in a suspicious case of politically motivated violence. Mr Vhiriri, a pensioner, died on arrival at the Harare Central Hospital. He was discovered by neighbours late Wednesday afternoon in his room unconscious, naked and lying on the bloodied floor with serious injuries all over his body.

No arrests have been made so far.

The MDC notes with concern that Mr Vhiriri’s death comes barely a week after the three main political principals had met in Harare and denounced any form of violence. However, it is clear that some members in Zanu PF, especially the notorious gang Chipangano have not taken heed of this call and continue to unleash violence. The MDC is further concerned that the death of Mr Vhiriri comes at a time when Zanu PF chairperson Simon Khaya Moyo is busy encouraging his party supporters to be violent.

We urge the police to carry out thorough investigations into Vhiriri’s death and bring the culprits to book urgently. Since the formation of the MDC in 1999, Mr Vhiriri remained resolute in his fight for real change in Zimbabwe and will be sadly missed by all in the MDC.

The MDC extends is condolences to the Vhiriri family and relatives. His body will be ferried tonight to Vhiriri Village in Buhera, his rural home for burial tomorrow, Saturday.

The people’s struggle for real change: Let’s finish it!!!

--
MDC Information & Publicity Department


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Editor bemoans use of ‘criminal defamation’ to muzzle media

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
18 November 2011

The editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Standard newspaper, Nevanji Madanhire, has
deplored ‘powerful figures’ linked to ZANU PF for using defamation laws to
try and muzzle the media in Zimbabwe.

Madanhire and reporter Nqaba Matshazi spent a night in police cells this
week after they were picked up in Harare on Tuesday and charged with theft,
unlawful entry and criminal defamation.

The scribes were arrested over a story Matshazi wrote two weeks ago that
claimed a new health insurance firm, Green Card Medical Society owned by the
powerful Munyaradzi Kereke, was on the brink of collapse.

The duo was bailed on Wednesday but police visited the Standard newspaper
offices the next day, looking for two scribes, this time over a story
Matshazi wrote last month.
In that article, Matshazi alleged that Home Affairs co-Minister Kembo Mohadi
was muscling out resettled farmers in Beitbridge to create room for his son
and nephew.

The detectives who visited the Standard newsroom, said they wanted to record
statements from the two journalists about how they got documents used in
writing the article. The officers said the two should report to the Harare
Central Police Station’s Law and Order section on Friday.

Madanhire told SW Radio Africa on Friday that he will only present himself
to the police on Monday, as he was not physically or emotionally in a
position to give a statement now as he was sick.

‘I came out of police cells not feeling well on Wednesday, so I’m home
resting. Our legal representatives have notified the police of this
arrangement,’ said Madanhire, who has been arrested four times by the police
this year.

He continued: ‘What has been at the core of our problems is the willingness
by the police to readily act on political instructions to arrest journalists
on criminal defamation charges.’

‘This is a colonial legislation and unfortunately any powerful figures from
ZANU PF who think they have been wronged can now walk into a police station
and instruct them to act against journalists. This law infringes the freedom
of expression.”

Meanwhile ZANU PF militias, with the help of soldiers stationed at an army
garrison near Magunje centre, have been blocking the sale of independent
newspapers, the Daily News and Newsday. Reports on Friday said even Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s newsletter was prevented from being distributed
in the area. Social commentator Dr Maxwell Shumba told us the crackdown on
the media was a sign of an end game.

They are trying to hurt those that are bringing out the truth as much as
possible whilst they can still can. But they wont succeed,’ Shumba
said.Media watchdog MISA-Zimbabwe issued a statement saying they were
gravely concerned that the Criminal Law Act is increasingly being used as
the law of first resort to silence the media.

‘This media onslaught and continued harassment, if not persecution of
journalists working for the Standard weekly newspaper, brings urgency on the
need for comprehensive media reforms and the repealing of archaic and
undemocratic laws which impinge on media freedom and freedom of expression,’
MISA said on Friday.


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Minister Mohadi Targets Journalists

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare,November 18, 2011 -Detectives on Thursday summoned Nevanji Madanhire,
the editor of The Standard newspaper and reporter Nqaba Matshazi to assist
with investigations into a criminal defamation charge just two days after
they were arrested on a similar charge at the best of Reserve Bank advisor
Munyaradzi Kereke.

This time Home Affairs co-minister Kembo Mohadi is the complainant over a
story published by the paper in October alleging that the veteran politician
was trying to force out some war veterans off their
land to make way for his son and nephew.

He reported the case in Gwanda and there are fears the detectives will take
the journalists to the Matabeleland South capital, which is over 500
kilometers outside Harare.

The policemen who visited the Alpha Media Holdings offices led by a
Detective Inspector Mukwaira ordered the two to report at Harare Central
Police Station on Friday after they were told Madanhire was
off due to sickness.

On Wednesday, Madanhire and Matshazi were granted US$100 bail each and
ordered to surrender their passports by Harare magistrate after they were
charged with criminal defamation and theft of documents from
Kereke’s medical insurance company, Green Card.

The paper had reported that the society was facing imminent collapse because
its income far outweighed expenditure.

Kereke also launched a US$2 million civil suit against the newspaper owed by
Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), the publishers of the Zimbabwe Independent and
NewsDay.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) has severed links with
Kereke over his role in Madanhire and Matshazi’s arrest.

ZUJ said although Kereke was one of its major sponsors for this year’s
journalistic awards, it cannot continue associating with him after his
actions that threatened press freedom and the right by the media to
free expression.

“As ZUJ we subscribe totally to the higher values of a free media and we
will not hesitate to defend the media’s unfettered freedom to expose the
ills of society,” ZUJ said in a statement.

“We therefore declare that in future we will not deal with Dr Kereke in
programmes that seek to enhance journalistic standards because his actions
put him in direct confrontation with the cherished ideals of a free media.”


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Corruption Rampant in Zimbabwe; National Police Seen Worst - Survey

http://www.voanews.com/

17 November 2011

About 55 percent of those surveyed said corruption is on the increase,
noting that Zimbabweans are being forced to pay bribes to obtain services
that they should be receiving at little or no cost

Violet Gonda & Sandra Nyaira | Washington

The Zimbabwe branch of Transparency International said Thursday that a
recent survey found the Zimbabwe Republic Police is considered the most
corrupt public institution in the country followed by political parties,
civil servants, the legislature and the judiciary.

The Transparency International Zimbabwe global corruption barometer compiled
public opinion on corruption in Zimbabwe and how it affects the lives of
Zimbabweans.

The group surveyed just over a thousand people between April and May 2011 to
come up with a report representative of the population. About 55 percent of
those surveyed said corruption is on the increase, noting that Zimbabweans
are being forced to pay bribes to obtain services that they should be
receiving for free as citizens.

Transparency International Zimbabwe Program Officer Nyasha Frank Mpahlo said
that the survey findings show that the current national unity government has
not been effective in combating corruption during its 33 months in power.

No comment could immediately be obtained from the recently named
anti-corruption commission. But UK-based journalist Innocent Chofamba
Sithole said there’s not much the commission can accomplish if there is no
political will to tackle corruption.

Zimbabweans told Amnesty International that they are tired of being asked to
pay for services they should be receiving at no cost from government
departments like the Vehicle Inspection Department and the Office of the
Registrar General.

For perspective, VOA reporter Violet Gonda turned to former police assistant
commissioner Jonathan Chaora and Attorney Kucaca Phulu.

Chaora said it is hard for ordinary police officers to abstain from
corruption when top officials like Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri do
not uphold the law.


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Zanu-PF's militia feeds on extortion

http://mg.co.za

JASON MOYO HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Nov 18 2011 07:05

In decaying hostels in Mbare, Harare's poorest township, Zanu-PF has been
raising Chipangano, its feared urban militia.

In one of the crowded hostels there is a President Robert Mugabe campaign
poster above the entrance to a grim single room shared by three families -- 
separated by plastic sheeting and cardboard.

Outside, youths lean against a crumbling wall daubed with political graffiti
and pass around a joint. Inside the dark corridors children splash in a
stream of water from a burst pipe.

These residents had a chance of better housing -- the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation planned to build 80 new homes here, refurbish the hostels and
sink a borehole.

But, after Chipangano demanded "51%" of the new homes for its members and
the right to parcel out the rest as it wished, the project moved on to
another township, said Harare's mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda.

Chipangano, Shona for "the oath" or "the pact", is behind much of the
violence that has hit Harare ­townships in recent weeks. Using fear and
extortion Chipangano maintains Zanu-PF control of areas it has repeatedly
lost to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in elections. Among the
hundreds of youths who live here with no hope of landing a job, its promises
of power and money find an army of willing recruits.

After clashes in Harare between rival party youths, Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai last Friday jointly addressed a meeting of their parties to call
for an end to violence. But the deepening poverty in Harare's townships
makes it hard for youths to resist joining militia groups, who ply them with
money and alcohol.

At weekends, the youths are herded to meetings at the hostels, where they
are mobilised to take control of the local markets and sniff out the
opposition. The group has seized control of council operations in the
township -- even taking over a local council office -- and now determines
who gets to set up stalls at the markets, collecting fees from traders and
taxis.

At the Mupedzanhamo market, where hundreds of traders sell everything from
second-hand clothes to lucky charms, traders need a Zanu-PF membership card
and are forced to pay a "protection" fee and a monthly levy to Chipangano.

Fortune through extortion
Outside the market scores of young men line the perimeter wall with their
pushcarts, waiting to be hired by the traders to carry goods. They must pay
a fee or they are not allowed near the market.

Earlier this month violence erupted when Chipangano set up its own "taxi
rank" and ordered operators to pay a "toll fee". Police were overpowered and
an army unit had to be called in to restore calm, according to residents.

At Siya-So, a teeming market that sells car parts and other hardware, a
Chipangano offshoot calling itself the Zimbabwe Home Industries and
Marketers Association hands out stalls to workmen for a fee.

With thousands of traders making their living in the markets there is a
fortune to be made through extortion. The money is channelled to the top
politicians said to be in the background and shared among warlords to pay
off the militia, with a small portion going to the local council.

Chipangano has been useful to Zanu-PF. When the party holds a rally in
Harare the militia shuts down the markets and force-marches the traders to
swell the numbers in the crowd. "They make the rules. You complain, you're
victimised as an opposition activist," said Precious Shumba of the Harare
Residents' Trust community development group, which operates in the
township.

"The leaders make decisions about who gets what, where, when, why and how.
In their operations these complex lines are maintained and respected, just
like in a cult movement."

That nobody knows who leads Chipangano adds to the group's mystery. Police
appear powerless to stop it, while the Harare council has been overrun.

Chipangano emerged in 2001, a year after the MDC swept up urban seats in the
general election. It has been used as a weapon to cow the party's urban
support, while disrupting the party's council programmes.

Zanu-PF denies it has any control over the group. Spokesperson Rugare Gumbo
claims the party is as eager as anyone to find out who is behind the
movement.

Senior party officials in Mbare also publicly deny any involvement.


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Diamond rush hits Beitbridge

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

17/11/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

RUMOURS of the discovery of diamond deposits in a small village in
Beitbridge have triggered a wave of human traffic to the area.

The stampede began last month after a Harare man, named locally as Rasim
Kassim, was granted a prospector’s licence to explore for aquamarine – a
blue-green variety of the mineral beryl, from the same family as emeralds.

Word soon went round that Kassim was in fact trying to disguise a diamond
find, and since then fortune hunters have piled in to the Ponongoma area,
near Zezane Mission, to dig for gemstones.

Locals have put up barricades to block access to the area, while deploying a
night watchman to stop diggers who are arriving in the area on bicycles,
motorbikes and cars – in their number teachers, nurses, bus drivers,
goat-herders, schoolchildren and street kids.

A local community leader, Headman Mazibeli, said excavations by both Kassim
and the illegal diamond diggers had desecrated an old graveyard.
Tapson Mlaudzi, 83, has lived all his life in the area and says he has never
seen anything like it.

“Every night, when a member of the neighbourhood watch guarding the site has
gone home to sleep, people, including some villagers, go in and dig around,”
Mlaudzi said.

“There are usually a number of cars that come here every night. We know
there are diamonds here because no-one can go through the effort of digging
through all that rock for nothing.”

Malaji Mbedzi, 61, the leader of the local neighbourhood watch said: “It’s
out of control. I don’t know where these people who bring cars here at night
come from. The government should act on this urgently because I also need to
sleep.

“I don’t know of anyone who has found diamonds here. If there are any,
people from this poor area should be the first to benefit.”

David Alphonse Mpofu, the Provincial Administrator for Matabeleland South,
said officials would be visiting the area next week to assess the situation.

“Reports have been made to the police and the district administrator’s
office. It clearly needs attention and we will send teams there to try and
understand what’s going on,” he said by telephone from Gwanda.

Mbedzi said Kassim was last in the area on Monday this week after turning up
with “two white men” whom he introduced as American investors.

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He added: “He was angry when he found evidence that someone had tampered
with the mine. He said he had already bought machines and would soon be
setting up a proper mining venture.”

Officials say although Kassim’s licence is for aquamarine, he can convert
this to another mineral through a simple administrative procedure.


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Residents continue to suffer as load shedding persists

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Bulawayo residents have expressed dismay over the increase in the already
rampant load shedding by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).
Residents said that it is common knowledge that load shedding will not be
done away with anytime soon as the power utility, ZESA, has announced in the
public media that load shedding will not cease.
18.11.1102:54pm
by Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

The power utility officials have said that the collapse of some of the
electricity generating equipment at Hwange Power Station and the fact that
the Bulawayo Thermal Station is not operational mean that the electricity
available is not sufficient to sustain the nation. In response to this
residents have asserted that the power utility should not give excuses for
its failure to maintain equipment. Part of the responsibility of the
parastatal is to ensure smooth running of all its equipment and its failures
should not belabor the residents.
Commuters bemoan police corruption

Commuter operators plying Luveve road have said they are fed up with corrupt
police officers. Initially they had passed complaints about traffic police
that always find faults but require bribes from the commuter operators.
Currently the issue they have is with various departments of the police
force as they all require bribes from the commuter operators.

Some commuters witnessed riot police monitoring traffic along Luveve road
and soliciting for bribes from public transport operators. The first logical
thing that comes into one’s mind is that police have presented themselves
with the privilege of unnecessarily soliciting for bribes even where their
services are not relevant. Residents have said that by virtue of engaging in
such criminal activities the police force does not deserve respect but
instead security sector reform should be prioritized.
BPRA activities for the weekend (19 and 20 November 2011)

This weekend, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) will be
holding two training workshops which are penciled in for Ward 25 (Nketa) and
ward 18 (Magwegwe). The training in Nketa will be held on Sunday 20 November
2011 at the Early Childhood Pre-School while the one in Magwegwe will be
held on Saturday 19 November 2011 at Magwegwe pre-School.

The training workshops are part of the Residents Leadership Development
Programme under which residents’ leaders in all of Bulawayo’s 29 wards will
be trained in the Urban Council’s Act, the Environment Management Act,
Gender and Participatory Budgeting. The two trainings to be held over the
coming weekend will cover the Urban Council’s Act and the Environment
Management Act.


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Madzore bail ‘scuttled’ by State

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
18 November 2011

The MDC-T says the State has ‘scuttled’ attempts to have its Youth Assembly
Chairperson Solomon Madzore released on bail, after his application for
release was postponed for a third time this week.

Madzore is still being held at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, more than
a month since his arrest in connection with the death of a policeman in Glen
View in May. Madzore is one of 28 MDC-T members facing trumped-up murder
charges.

Madzore was arrested last month, and his original bail application was
rejected after numerous delays. His fresh application has now been postponed
three times this week alone.

Edmore Nyazamba, the State prosecutor, on Friday failed to appear at the
High Court for the bail application forcing High Court judge, Justice
Hlekani Mwayera to defer the matter to next Tuesday.

At the start of the fresh bail hearing on Wednesday Nyazamba appealed for
more time to present his submissions. After presenting his submissions on
Thursday, the matter was postponed to Friday.

Madzore’s lawyer, Gift Mtisi, has raised concerns over the continued
postponement of the bail application as it is seriously affecting his
client. The MDC-T Youth Assembly Secretary General meanwhile has accused the
State of “deliberately frustrating” the legal process, to keep Madzore
behind bars.


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Chaos, as Air-Zim bosses are detained by angry workers

http://www.zimeye.org/

By A Correspondent

Published: November 18, 2011

(Harare)There was confusion yesterday as national airline Air Zimbabwe
bosses were last night detained by workers who spent the night at work
demanding payment of their outstanding salaries.

The workers who number up to 700 and constitute a large portion of Air Zim’s
entire workforce virtually held the bosses hostage refusing to allow the
leave until they were paid.

The airline’s acting group chief executive officer Mr Moses Mapanda and an
official from the fina-nce department, Mr Nicholas Mujeri, detained by the
workers.

The airline currently owes workers US$5,6 million in outstanding salaries.
A workers’ representative, who declined to be named, said they had not been
paid for over five months and had no money for transport, food and rent.

Those who refused to go home yesterday include technical and non-technical
staff.

“We are going to sleep here. Our colleagues have gone home claiming they are
sick, while others said they wanted to take care of their young children.

“We have no money and we are not going anywhere,” he said.
The workers said management promised to give them US$200 as part payment of
the outstanding salaries, but ran out of money during the day.

Some of the 409 workers, who were retrenched recently, were part of the
workers that held the overnight vigil.

However, Mr Mapanda said the workers were not on a full-scale strike.
He, however, confirmed that they had problems in paying workers’ salaries on
time.

“We are in the meantime doing some interim payments and we do not have money
to pay them all. We pay as we make the money and we are targeting to pay
them all in two weeks.

“We started paying them US$200 since Friday last week from the sales that we
are making and we have covered over 50 percent of them,” said Mr Mapanda.

There are 700 workers who are yet to be paid varying amounts in outstanding
sala-ries.

Recently, Airzim planes were grounded as pilots went on strike demanding to
be paid outstanding salaries.

The state-owned airline’s problems have built up over the last decade owing
to mismanagement, ageing planes and delays in changing the airline’s
ticketing policy from the worthless Zimbabwe dollar to the multi-currency
system now in use since 2009. The Zimbabwe government’s failure to acquire
new planes, say airline bosses, has given the advantage to its competitors.
The airline, said to be making a US$3 million loss every month, was brought
to its knees in September last year after pilots went on a two-week strike.
A second walkout in March this year lasted a month. A senior manager at the
airline said earlier this year: “The strike last September was catastrophic
for the already struggling company. We have been playing catch-up since, and
the second strike this year made that job doubly difficult.”


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Court postpones Mutambara, Ncube fight ‘indefinitely’

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
18 November 2011

The High Court has indefinitely postponed the legal challenge over the
leadership of the smaller MDC faction, which has pitted deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara against Industries Minister Welshman Ncube.

The two are fighting over who legally is entitled to the leadership position
of the breakaway faction, after a fallout in the party saw Ncube take over
from Mutambara earlier this year.

Mutambara made way for Ncube as the new MDC President in January, where a
party congress voted overwhelmingly in Ncube’s favour as the new MDC-N
leader. Ncube’s MDC then held a National Council meeting in February, where
they expelled Mutambara from the party, accusing him of ignoring a directive
to step down as the country’s deputy Premier.

Mutambara then challenged the legality of the congress vote, and insisted
that he remained the party leader. Ncube’s MDC then took the matter to the
Bulawayo High Court and in March Judge Nicholas Ndou ruled that Mutambara
could not ‘purport’ to be president of the party and was “interdicted from
exercising any function vested in the president of the MDC and/or principal
in the inclusive government.”

Ncube’s MDC then filed an application for confirmation of this provisional
order, to effectively bar Mutambara from acting as MDC leader. But on
Wednesday Justice Lawrence Kamocha on Wednesday indefinitely reserved his
ruling.

The court’s decision is set to have a major impact on the make-up of the
unity government, with Mutambara still holding the position of Deputy
Premier. The position was bestowed upon him through the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) as the then leader of the smaller MDC.

Political analyst John Makumbe said the court’s decision could drag on for
months, depending on who it rules in favour of. If it rules in Ncube’s
favour, it will be up to Robert Mugabe to swear him into the Deputy Prime
Minister position, which Mugabe might not agree to.

Makumbe meanwhile said the ongoing bickering between the MDC leadership
“makes it difficult to see how the parties will ever come together.” In
recent weeks, Ncube has been on the offensive against Morgan Tsvangirai and
has previously described him as a “ceremonial Prime Minister” who has
“betrayed” Zimbabweans.

But Makumbe said this animosity is not being felt lower down the party
structures. Makumbe is the MDC-T technical advisor in the interparty team
heading the constitutional reform process, COPAC.

“I have seen the representatives from the two MDCs working closely together
against ZANU PF and the slurs coming from the top leadership are not being
paid much attention to at lower levels,” Makumbe said.

He added: “I am hoping that this would hold and result in future
possibilities of negotiating to work together to oust Robert Mugabe and ZANU
PF from office.”


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‘Zimbabwe has no capacity to pay Zambia debt’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Business Writer
Friday, 18 November 2011 14:02

HARARE - The Zimbabwean government has finally agreed to clear its long-
outstanding debt of about $260 million owed to Zambia for the shared Kariba
Dam infrastructure the country inherited at independence.

However, energy minister Elton Mangoma says the country currently has no
capacity to settle the 30-year-old debt.

“We discussed and agreed that the interest would no longer be paid but only
$70,8 million plus the initial evaluation of $70,8 million,” he said.

“It was agreed interest should be written off but the capital amount should
be paid within 3 years, but Zimbabwe does not have the capacity to pay,”
Mangoma said.

The Zambian energy minister, Chris Yaluma was quoted in the Zambian media
confirming that a commitment had been made by the Zimbabwe energy minister
to settle the long overdue debt.

“When the assets were sold, the component of the money due to Zambia was not
given. There has been some interest accrued and the Zimbabwean government is
trying to look for a fair solution where the Zambian government drops off
the interest and they simply pay the principle or consider paying the
accrued interest,” the Zambian minister said.

The dispute between Zambia and Zimbabwe revolved around an unpaid debt for
infrastructure that Zimbabwe inherited at independence from the Central
African Power Corporation during the federation era.

Failure by Zimbabwe to settle its neighbour’s debt had been identified among
some of the reasons that have stalled the construction of the 1 600 megawatt
Batoka hydro-power station.

The power project situated 50 kilometres downstream of Victoria Falls, first
mooted in 1993, was meant to be a joint venture between Zimbabwe and Zambia
but lack of funding and reluctance by the Zambian government to start the
project delayed its implementation.

The Zimbabwe government has already submitted the ambitious project among 20
others to the China Export and Import Bank (Eximbank) for funding.

The country has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sino Hydro
of China for the expansion of the Kariba South Bank through funding from
Chinese financial institutions.

Sino Hydro has submitted the requisite proposals for the expansion including
conceptual design, construction and methodology for the multi-billion dollar
project.

The planned expansion is meant to have capacity to produce between 250 - 360
megawatts.

Sino Hydro corporation is currently expanding North Bank Power Station in
Zambia, with funds from the Eximbank which the civil works are expected to
be completed by October this year.

The development regarding the Kariba expansion come after the signing of a
MoU by Zesa Holdings with South Africa’s Hatch Africa Energy for consultancy
services for the expansion of the Kariba and Hwange power plants.

Under the plan unveiled in August last year, Zesa had invited interested
major power consumers to take up three of its small thermal power stations
in Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare for own consumption and disposal of surplus
generation to its national grid at agreed tariffs. Zesa recently announced
that it was losing about $642 million per year due to a poor billing system.

The power utility was losing almost $500 million because of load-shedding
and at least $100 million owing to its billing system.

The country has a total installed capacity of 1 680 megawatts, with 750 MW
from Kariba South, 780 MW from Hwange Power Station and 150 MW from small
thermals — but only 940 MW of this is currently available against a peak
demand of 1 950 MW.

The utility company owes regional suppliers over $100 million for
electricity imports.


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Tsvangirai placed on unprecedented high level surveillance – Reports

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

Staff Reporter 7 hours 38 minutes ago

HARARE – The increasingly paranoid Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe has
put Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangira on unprecedented high level State
security surveillance amid reports of pandemonium and panic over his bid to
put Zimbabwe on the United Nations radar, local media reported on Friday.

Rocked by events in the North Africa Robert Mugabe has appealed to China
and Russia to protect him from attacks by the United States and Europe amid
reports that he is increasingly agitated that he and the Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad are now high value targets of the West after the ouster and
eventual street mob assassination of Libyan dictator Colonel Mammaur
Gaddafi.

Leaked information to the newspaper says official sources said Tsvangirai
has come under high level close state watch over his political activities
and maneuvers ahead of elections next year or in 2013 amid fears by
President Mugabe and his security operators that he was lobbying to put
Zimbabwe on the United Nations Security Council agenda if poll results are
disputed again.

Tsvangirai is being closely monitored all over the place by state security
agencies as they try to detect and decipher his political moves, mainly
after elections, in the wake of events in countries like Ivory Coast and
Libya.

This morning a senior source in the intelligence said the issue of
electronic surveillance and eavesdropping were discussed with the Chinese
intelligence officers and during the President’s visit to China which
included Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Director-General Happyton
Bonyongwe.

The source said a Chinese high level security delegation will arrive in the
country next week to assist in setting up detailed electronic and Satelite
surveilance on the Prime Minister.

The source said China’s Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan in Beijing who is
also the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission has tasked Liang
Guanglie, chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
(PLA) to raise the level of military cooperation between the two countries
and sources said he will soon be meeting members of Zimbabwe’s notoroius
powerful body, the Joint Operations Command (JOC) to find common ground on
countering possible threats like the ones experienced in the Arab Spring.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's trip to Morocco has touched a nerve with
George Charamba, spokesman for Robert Mugabe, who says the prime minister
traveled to Rabat as part of a diplomatic effort to engineer a Libyan-style
scenario of Western intervention for regime change in Harare.

A recent column in the state-controlled Herald newspaper signed by Nathaniel
Manheru - long considered a pen name for Charamba - accused Mr. Tsvangirai
of using the media to project an image of violence and chaos in Zimbabwe.

Morocco is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,
and Mr. Tsvangirai has recently visited other African Security Council
members such as Gabon, South Africa and Nigeria, and met with United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He is scheduled to visit Washington later
this year, adding to Zanu-PF anxieties.

But sources in Mr. Tsvangirai's power-sharing Movement for Democratic Change
say the prime minister went to Morocco to address the prestigious Amadeus
Institute, a think tank, with the likes of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila
Odinga and Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdurraheem El-Keib.

On Wednesday, Mugabe met acting Chinese President Xi Jinping where he called
on Russia and China to provide a buffer against the “Anglo-Saxon alliance’s
expansionist agenda given what Nato did in Libya and threats posed to Syria
and Iran,” his spokesman told state owned Herald newspaper yesterday.

“Countries like China and Russia must provide both leadership and
protection,” President Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba quoted him as
telling the Chinese leader.

Mr Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain in 1980, said
Western countries were after his country’s mineral wealth.

“Nature has disbursed its resources in its own ways to different countries
with some countries richly endowed while some are not. Even us who do not
have oil feel no less menaced as these rapacious countries are looking for
other resources,” Mr Mugabe said.

At the height of Zimbabwe’s political problems, Russia and China repeatedly
blocked EU and US attempts to have the United Nations Security Council
impose sanctions on the southern African country.

“All this (Zimbabwe’s wealth) is envied and we need protection,” President
Mugabe reportedly said. “We rely on good friends like you to protect us and
you have done that in the past. We do not lose confidence in you and please
do not lose confidence in us.”




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Mudede Battles To Overturn High Court Ruling

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, November 18, 2011- Defiant Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede has
petitioned the Supreme Court seeking an order to overturn a ruling by High
Court Judge Justice Susan Mavangira ordering him to renew the passport of a
Canadian-based Zimbabwean, Sebastian Piroro.

In a sign that Mudede is determined to deny Piroro a new travel document,
the Registrar-General recently approached the Supreme Court asking to be
allowed to oppose Justice Mavangira’s judgment arguing that his lawyers did
not get the judgment on time hence the failure to meet the deadline for
filing an appeal.

“I have not willfully delayed in filing the Notice of Opposition. My
erstwhile legal practitioner who was seized with this matter could not
deal with it timeously as he was in ill health and furthermore he only
managed to obtain the reasons of judgment on the 7th September 2011,” wrote
Mudede in an affidavit accompanying his application for condonation.

Already, Mudede is facing contempt of court charges for failing to adhere to
Justice Mavangira’s ruling in March declaring his refusal to renew Piroro’s
passport as unlawful. Mudede did not oppose the judgment within the set
time.

In his Supreme Court application Mudede argues that his failure to renew
Piroro’s passport was because the matter was of “national
importance.”

“This matter is very complex and it requires the Full Bench of the
Constitutional Court to deal with it,” says Mudede.

Bryant Elliot of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), who is
representing Piroro dismissed Mudede’s application as a “nullity”.

The High Court in March gave Mudede a two week ultimatum to renew Piroro’s
passport in March. Mudede has been refusing to renew Piroro’s passport
arguing that the accounting strategist for a Canadian financial institution
was a Mozambican national.

But Justice Mavangira in the ruling being ignored by Mudede said Piroro was
a citizen of Zimbabwe by birth in terms of Section 5 of the Constitution.

Justice Mavangira declared that “the provisions of Section 9 (7) of the
Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 4:01) in so far as it relates to
citizenship by birth were ultra vires the powers vested in the Parliament of
Zimbabwe in terms of Section 9 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and are in
consequence of no force or effect.”

Mudede is now represented by Mudenda Attorneys after being ditched, first by
lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office and then by
Mushonga, Mutsvairo and Associates.

Piroro was born and educated in Zimbabwe and had sought to renew his
passport at the Zimbabwean embassy in Ottawa.

The travelling document was issued in 2000 and wanted the passport renewed
after it expired last year. But in response Mudede refused, alleging that
Piroro was a dual citizen on account of his father
having been born in Mozambique.

Mudede said Piroro should first renounce his purported Mozambican
citizenship-which he does not hold-before he could obtain a new
Zimbabwe passport.

In his argument, which was thrown out by the High Court Judge, Mudede argued
that Piroro should have renounced his purported citizenship between 6 July
2001 and 6 January 2002 under the provisions of section 9 (7) of the
Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act.

Mudede argued that although Piroro was born in Zimbabwe and spent most of
his life in the country, he had lost his Zimbabwean citizenship and was now
regarded as an “alien”.

Piroro’s father, Saidon, was born in Mozambique. He migrated to Zimbabwe
around 1955 and never returned to Mozambique. He became a citizen of
Zimbabwe by registration and had a Zimbabwean identity number. Piroro’s
mother, born in Marondera, was a citizen of Zimbabwe by birth.


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Reforms face further delays

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Tobias Manyuchi     Friday 18 November 2011

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s constitutional reforms could face further delays after a
multi-party committee leading the drafting of the new governance charter
said it was facing difficulties securing funds for a key conference to
discuss the reforms.

Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) joint-chairman
Douglass Mwonzora said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was
unwilling to fund the conference to discuss the draft constitution before it
is submitted to Zimbabweans in a referendum.

The UNDP that in 2009 funded the first constitutional conference that was
marred by violent clashes between delegates fears the second conference
scheduled for January and expected to cost US$2 million could also
degenerate into violence, said Mwonzora.

“UNDP expressed some reservations that they could not fund a process, which
was likely to be marred by violence like what happened at the first all
stakeholders conference. They argued that they could not sink over US$2
million into violence,” said Mwonzora.

Mwonzora, representing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the three-member
committee that chairs the COPAC, said violent clashes between supporters of
the three ruling parties that have disrupted public hearings on some key
Bills before Parliament could have also convinced the UNDP that the
constitutional conference could go the same way.

Mwonzora said the constitutional committee was looking for alternative ways
to raise cash for the conference that he said was required by law to be held
before the draft constitution is put before the nation.

The constitution-making process is already running behind schedule by
several months due to a host of problems including bickering between Mugabe’s
ZANU PF party and the MDC over how to interpret public submissions on the
new charter.

The proposed new constitution is part of reforms agreed by Zimbabwe’s
coalition partners that are meant to democratise the country’s politics.

The government is expected to call fresh elections once a new constitution
is in place although there is no legal requirement for it to do so.

Zimbabweans hope a new constitution will guarantee human rights, strengthen
the role of Parliament and curtail the president's powers, as well as
guaranteeing civil, political and media freedoms. -- ZimOnline


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‘Copac never discussed gay rights’

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Friday, 18 November 2011 13:50

HARARE - Constitution Select Committee (Copac) has rebuffed reports by state
media that the MDC party tried to “smuggle” the contentious gay rights
subject into the constitution.

The allegations were splashed in various state-run newspapers.

The reports alleged the MDC had tried to Nicodemously sneak in the gay
rights subject into the constitution.

Party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has come under severe attack and criticism
from the state media over his remarks concerning alleged gay rights’
inclusion in the new constitution.

The MDC, however, has set the record straight, claiming the party leader was
not specifically referring to gay rights only but to what the party calls
“minority rights.”

Speaking at a press conference in Harare yesterday, MDC Copac co-chairperson
Douglas Mwonzora said the reports were false and outrageous and intended to
push certain propaganda.

“At no time were gay rights discussed in the select committee. It was not
debated in the select committee and it was not anyone’s intention to debate
those rights.

“We find the article most unfortunate. We are writing a constitution. We are
at a very delicate stage of the constitution making process. It is not time
for propaganda. It is not time to politically malign some of the actors
within Copac,” Mwonzora said.

Zanu PF’s Paul Mangwana, who is one of the three Copac co-chairpersons,
backed Mwonzora saying he was the one who had brought up the possible
inclusion of minority rights.

He said: “To put the record straight, I am the one who said if he had a
general provision of protection of minority rights without defining what
minority is, we will find, in the process, there will be those who want to
push for gay rights. Gays are a minority so they would want to seek for
protection under the law.

“I must put the record straight that he (Mwonzora) did not mention anything
about gay rights,” Mangwana said.

However, debate flared up during the press conference on how minority groups
should be included in the constitution with Mwonzora saying minority groups
should be given specific protection while Mangwana debated that the
constitution should just try and protect rights of the individual without
specification.

Copac said the final extraction of issues to be included in the constitution
will be completed today.

In its statement, Copac said: “The technical committee made up of
constitutional experts is working on the final extraction of the finalissues
to be included in the constitution.

This process is expected to be completed tomorrow.

“Once the constitutional issues have been agreed, the process of actual
drafting will commence,” the committee said.

After the drafting, about $4,2 million will be needed for the second all
stakeholder meeting which is not yet available to the committee.


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MDC Real Change Peace Rally moves to Chibuku Stadium on Sunday

Friday, 18 November 2011

President Tsvangirai will on Sunday address thousands of MDC supporters at Chibuku Stadium, Chitungwiza at the MDC Real Change Peace Rally. The Sunday rally had to be cancelled two weeks ago after Zanu PF thugs were bussed into Chitungwiza Town by their senior party officials and disrupted the event. Scores of MDC members were injured but no Zanu PF youths have been arrested although some of them have been identified.

The rally comes a week after the three main political parties’ senior leaders held meeting in Harare and decisively denounced any form of violence in the country and expressed abhorrence to it.

During last week’s meeting President Tsvangirai said political contestation should not breed enmity and all people must be alive to the fact that they are political opponents and not enemies. “We are political protagonists and not foes,” he said then.

President Tsvangirai who will be accompanied by the MDC national leaders will talk on the state and health of the party and the operations of the inclusive government in his capacity as the Prime Minister. He will also touch on the issue of the Constitution-making process, the referendum; the next watershed elections and introduce to the people the party’s new leadership that was elected into office at the party’s 3rd National Congress held in Bulawayo in May.

Several well attended MDC rallies have been held in other provinces such as Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands North and South, Masvingo, Manicaland, Mashonaland West and East and Matebeleland North.

The people’s struggle for real change: Let’s finish it!!!

--
MDC Information & Publicity Department


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'Maintain tenets of good governance democracy'

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Staff Writer
Friday, 18 November 2011 13:28

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has lashed out at some African
leaders for abandoning tenets of good governance and democracy which they
preach to their people during liberation wars.

Speaking in Morocco on Wednesday, Tsvangirai said most African leaders have
abandoned the cause of the independence struggle and were now behaving like
the colonisers they had fought.

“While we have raised our own sovereign flags after independence, the new
leadership in Africa betrayed the continent’s collective struggle and
inherited the same traits and culture of impunity, corruption, repression,
mis-governance and personal aggrandisement like those of the colonial
masters,” said Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai, who joined politics in the late 1990s from the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions (ZCTU), said the fight for a democratic Africa should mark
an end to current repression of blacks by their fellow black counterparts.

“We have had to wage a new struggle for democracy against the former
nationalists who have perfected the same repression that so many sons and
daughters of this continent fought against for almost a century,” he said.

“There is renewed hope following the new government of South Sudan. There is
some modicum of stability and a sense of back-to-serious-business in the
Ivory Coast and a post-conflict Libya is now settling down after several
months of internal conflict and 42 years of one-man rule,” Tsvangirai said.

He added: “So I am positive about this continent and its prospect for
democracy. I have often said that Africa is the opportunity continent
because of its vast resources and its hospitable and hard-working people,”
said Tsvangirai.

On the home front, Tsvangirai said the Sadc-brokered coalition government
should be supported to ensure that the will of the people prevails through
the holding of a free and fair election.

This, he said, can only be achieved through the full implementation of the
Global Political Agreement (GPA) which came about due to Sadc’s insistence
and persistence.

“I urge you all to support Sadc and the regional efforts in stabilising the
situation in Zimbabwe so that the people in our country are allowed to
choose their own government without violence and intimidation,” said the
premier.

“I call upon every one of you to stand by us in this delicate moment. You
should all be aware that we must all become global citizens ready to defend
peace and democracy everywhere. The struggle in Zimbabwe is an
extra-ordinary struggle by ordinary people keen to create a new culture and
a new country with new values,” said Tsvangirai.


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Was Julius Malema in ZANU-PF’s Pocket?

http://blogs.cfr.org/

Posted on Friday, November 18, 2011

by John Campbell

In the aftermath of Julius Malema’s suspension from the African National
Congress, there is press speculation that his allegedly close ties with
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF played a role in turning the
party’s leadership against him. Specifically, there are press whispers that
ZANU-PF was funding Malema to undermine President Jacob Zuma’s mediation
efforts in Zimbabwe, which included the ultimate goal of toppling him.

Many South Africans, not just in the business community or among whites, see
parallels between Malema’s calls for the nationalization of the mines and
seizure of white-owned land and Mugabe’s policies in Zimbabwe. Like Mugabe,
Malema does not hesitate to play the race card. And, again like Mugabe,
Malema is the voice of the poor and marginalized. So, it’s no suprise that
there are whispers that he was funded by Mugabe’s ZANU-PF. Many South
Africans thought Malema funded his flash lifestyle through access to
government contracts, but Zimbabwean payoffs may have also helped.

In Zimbabwe, commentary on Malema’s departure has been divided. Some
associated with ZANU-PF are critical of the ANC, while those close to the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) tend to praise the ANC,
especially for the transparency of the process by which Malema was
disciplined.

I have seen insufficient evidence to be convinced that Malema was indeed on
Mugabe’s payroll. But, it is not improbable. A ZANU-PF connection might also
account for the suprising unity within the ANC, at least thus far, in
support of Malema’s suspension, but that remains speculation.
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Why Zimbabwe should abolish criminal defamation law

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 18/11/11

The order by Zimbabwean Police to Nevanji Madanhire, the Editor of The
Standard newspaper and reporter Nqaba Matshazi to report at Harare Central
on Friday over an alleged criminal defamation charge just two days after
they were arrested and bailed on a similar charge is deplorable.

Zimbabwe is witnessing a new phase in the abuse of defamation laws to settle
political scores against the independent media and to silence coverage of
corruption cases ahead of elections in 2012 or whenever they will be held.

According to ARTICLE 19 which campaigns for freedom of expression and
information worldwide, criminal defamation laws are especially problematic
from the point of view of free expression.

These laws can lead to the imposition of harsh sanctions, such as a prison
sentence, suspension of the right to practise journalism or a hefty fine.
For instance on 16 June 2000, three Standard journalists were convicted on
charges of criminal defamation and fined Z$18,000 (US$473.68) a lot of money
those days.

In April 2001, former Daily News editor Geoffrey Nyarota and two of his
reporters, Nyaira and Zava, were charged with criminal defamation.

Even if these laws applied with moderation, criminal defamation laws still
cast a long shadow: the possibility of being arrested by the police, held in
detention and subjected to a criminal trial is stressful for a journalist
when deciding to expose, for instance a case of high-level corruption.

Research conducted by ARTICLE 19 on the statutes on defamation and insult in
SADC countries revealed that the use of these laws has increased in some
countries over the recent years – “especially in countries facing political
crisis or civil conflict” like Zimbabwe.

From the assessment of some of the laws and practice governing defamation
and insult in all SADC countries, ARTICLE 19 noted with concern that the
provisions under which journalists are often charged were in violation of
fundamental rights recognised by international standards on freedom of
expression.

In its view, the imposition of custodial penalties for defamation, and the
special protection afforded to senior public officials against defamation or
insult, are unnecessary and prevent debate on matters of public interest.

“These laws should be repealed to allow free flow of information and ideas
in SADC,” ARTICLE 19 said in its research report.

Similarly, international bodies such as the United Nations and the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have recognised
the threat posed by criminal defamation laws and have recommended that they
should be abolished.

As if Zimbabwe did not have enough oppressive laws, the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and Public Order and
Security Act 2002 (POSA) the latter of which imposes editorial control on
the media were enacted.

Described by MISA as the leading weapon of the government and Zanu-pf in
their ongoing campaign to stifle independent media reporting in Zimbabwe,
AIPPA was crafted by the then information minister Jonathan Moyo.

It is therefore critical that civil society bodies in Zimbabwe vigorously
campaign for the abolition of Zimbabwe’s criminal defamation laws like POSA,
AIPPA and others, if they treasure freedom of expression, of course with
responsibility.

Car stickers inscribed: “Repeal POSA and AIPPA Now” should clearly send a
message home.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com


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The Chinese are ready to step in and help their ,Old Friend' steal yet another victory

http://www.cathybuckle.com

November 18, 2011, 1:14 pm

It was no surprise to hear the Chinese Vice President lauding Robert Mugabe
as “a famed leader of the national liberation movement in Africa and an old
friend whom the Chinese people know well.” That was followed by the
announcement that China is to invest in Zimbabwe’s mining industry and wants
to extend its farming interests in the country. Western countries may have
turned their backs on the Mugabe regime but China has jumped into the vacuum
and is ready to invest in Zimbabwe. Will these Chinese investment projects
mean more jobs for African people? Past experience suggests not. Curiously,
Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation Act does not apply to Chinese citizens, though it
is hard to see how they fit the definition of ‘indigenous’ as “any person
who prior to 1980 was disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the grounds
of race”

China has a population estimated at 1.3 billion, 20% of the world’s
population. Zimbabwe has chosen to accept Chinese investment, knowing that
China generally remains silent about human rights and is unlikely to
criticise Zanu PF’s record in human rights. And that suits Zanu PF very
well; just this week Zimbabwe received 20.000 AK 47s from China. With such a
massive population to feed and clothe it is understandable that business
interests dominate Chinese foreign policy. And now, Zimbabwean industries
are about to receive yet another battering from cheap goods ‘Made in China.’

Tendai Biti was due to present his 2012 budget this week but that was
postponed because Mugabe was out of the country so we are yet to hear a
detailed account of how the Zimbabwean economy is prospering – or not.
Apparently all government business comes to a halt during Mugabe’s absences
which have been, for whatever reason, rather frequent this year.

Meanwhile the CFU reports that the country is less prepared than it has ever
been for the new farming season. The strongly worded report warns that the
country is faced with real hunger if the farming sector continues to be
unproductive. The ‘new farmers’ may have increased in number but, without
seed or fertiliser, they are unlikely to be productive. With record high
temperatures and widespread water shortages, the danger of diseases such as
cholera and typhoid is never far away. The absence of clean water and
washing facilities for people in urban areas already living in unhygienic
and overcrowded conditions means that without stringent precautions it is
surely only a matter of time before there is a full scale epidemic. The
combination of hunger and disease is a fatal mix.

Zanu PF have decided that their gathering in December is definitely a
conference and not a congress. In this way, discussion of the leadership
issue has been avoided. Rumours have been circulating that Zanu PF party
members are uniting to get rid of Robert Mugabe. I find those rumours hard
to believe; it would be a very brave man –or woman – who came out in the
open to challenge Mugabe. It is much more likely that we will hear the usual
songs of praise for the Dear Leader though it will be instructive to see how
the Wiki-leakers are dealt with at the conference. The ‘leakers’ have been
promised a ‘roasting’- whatever that means! What is very clear as the Army
Chief of Staff and the Zanu PF Chairman Minister Khaya Moyo made plain this
week is that anyone attempting to remove Zanu PF from power will be
violently dealt with, though Zanu PF is against violence the Chairman
emphasised. That threat was certainly intended for the MDC but any action
against Mugabe himself whether from inside or outside Zanu PF would
presumably provoke the same violent reaction.

As we head towards the year’s end, it seems that very little has changed in
Zimbabwe. The GNU has clearly failed to bring about a peaceful
transformation: Zanu PF remains as intolerant and intransigent as ever and
the MDC continues to bear the brunt of violent attacks. While there is still
no agreement about the date of the next election, no doubt the Chinese are
ready to step in and help their ‘Old Friend’ steal yet another victory.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

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