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Breakaway Anglican bishop ordered to return seized church property

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
19 November 2012

The ex-communicated former Bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga, has lost
another round at the Supreme Court in Harare and has been ordered to
surrender properties that he seized illegally from the Church Province of
Central Africa (the main church).

Judge Yunus Omerjee at the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Kunonga has no
right to the church property because he voluntarily left the main Anglican
Church. The judge also ruled that Bishop Chad Gandiya is the legitimate
Anglican Bishop of Harare in the main church.

Known as Mugabe’s bishop, after professing his support for the ZANU PF
leader, Kunonga has used the police and thugs from ZANU PF to take over the
main Cathedral in Harare, orphanages, mission schools and clinics in other
provinces.

Precious Shumba, spokesperson for Bishop Gandiya, told SW Radio Africa that
as Anglicans they were “excited” and “very happy” with the judgement,
because it was well-articulated and settled disagreements on many issues.

“It clearly state that the departure of Nolbert Kunonga and his friends from
the Province of Central Africa was not collective but they acted as
individuals with a common purpose and have no right to claim ownership or
possession of properties and institutions in the Anglican church,” Shumba
explained.

Kunonga seized the properties following a judgement in the High Court last
year, which gave him temporary custodial rights over properties in Harare
only. Parishioners in other provinces were blocked from entering churches
and teachers and nurses were evicted from their mission schools and clinics.

Asked if they were concerned about Kunonga using his links with ZANU PF to
resist fulfilling the court judgement, Shumba said: “What we are concerned
about now is reviving the hopes of thousands of school children who had been
starved of food, whose funds were being looted daily and orphans who were
being deprived the right to access to medical drugs and other misdeeds.

Kunonga’s fortunes started changing recently. Just last month the Supreme
Court dismissed five appeals that had been lodged by his faction, as well as
two others launched by his Manicaland counterpart and supporter, Bishop
Elson Jakazi.

Although the new ruling has been welcomed by Anglicans worldwide, some
observers have expressed doubts that it will translate into peaceful
transitions on the ground.


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Tsvangirai warns against imposition of candidates

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
19 November 2012

In his effort to re-position the MDC ahead of the crucial elections next
year, party President Morgan Tsvangirai has urged people to abstain from the
culture of imposition of candidates, insisting that candidates must be
elected democratically.

The Prime Minister gave the warning at a rally in Buhera over the weekend,
saying the imposition of candidates is contrary to the wishes and
aspirations of people.

He said consensus among candidates was the best option that would pave the
way for an amicable resolution of problems and ensure the success of the
party.

The Prime Minister appealed to party loyalists to do everything possible to
put their house in order for the party’s total success, acknowledging that
he knew there were cases of divisions rocking the party.

The Premier also stressed the need for unity among party members for it to
emerge victorious in elections expected in 2013. Tsvangirai also threatened
to axe party officials implicated in vote-buying.

‘We don’t want those who buy votes. Let people choose who they want. If I
hear reports of vote-buying, I will suspend that person. Some youths are
behaving like ZANU PF youths and imposing candidates. Wherever you are
getting that, stop that nonsense,’ he said.

Morgan Komichi, the national deputy chairman of the party, reiterated that
the MDC-T does not impose candidates on its members, following concerns the
party was protecting its sitting MPs.

Aspiring candidates have complained that the system of confirmation ensures
that some undeserving MPs will get the party nomination simply because of
loyal party members in the structures, who will vote for them despite the
fact that they’ve doing nothing for the constituency.

Komichi, who is aspiring to contest the Sanyati constituency which is
currently held by ZANU PF, said the confirmation process for incumbent MPs
is like any other democratic process.

‘Party structures in the constituency where we have an MP will sit down as
an electoral college and vote by secret ballot to retain the MP or not. Any
MP who gets 51 percent of the vote will automatically represent the party.

‘Anyone who fails to get the required percentage will be given another
opportunity to fight for a place in the primary elections,’ Komichi said.

The party will hold its primary elections in constituencies that don’t have
MPs, in early December. After that they will have confirmation elections in
areas where the have sitting MPs.

The popular deputy chairman reassured party members that there will be no
imposition of any aspirant on the party. He said the resolution of the
leadership of the party was to ensure that credible and popular candidates
emerge as party candidates from the primaries.

‘The whole idea of subjecting ourselves to primaries and confirmations is to
ensure that the most popular candidates, capable of defeating ZANU PF
candidates, emerge from the process,’ he said.

US based political analyst Dr Maxwell Shumba said the imposition of
candidates usually results in the loss of crucial seats during an election.
In 2008, the MDC-T lost about 10 seats they could have easily won, after
allegations in Midlands South of the imposition of candidates.

Disgruntled members ended up contesting party nominees in the election,
splitting the votes and giving victory to ZANU PF candidates.

‘Imposition of candidates is the extreme opposite of democracy. It also
denies voters their constitutionally guaranteed right to elect candidates of
their choice, people who will represent them in parliament if they win the
elections,’ Shumba said.


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Court decision questioned in WikiLeaks case

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
19 November 2012

Questions are being asked over the decision by a Zimbabwe High Court to
award the head of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) a multi
million dollar lawsuit, over information released by the online
whistleblower WikiLeaks.

CIO Director, Retired Major-General Happyton Bonyongwe, won the US$10
million defamation suit against Africa Consolidated Resources boss Andrew
Cranswick, who was booted off his claim in the Chiadzwa diamond fields in
2008. Bonyongwe sued Cranswick last year over previously confidential
comments published in a WikiLeaks report, which linked Bonyongwe to diamond
looting.

The comments were contained in a diplomatic cable from the US Embassy,
created by the then Ambassador James McGee in November 2008. The cable
contained details of a meeting between Cranswick and the US embassy, with
Cranswick warning: “High-ranking Zimbabwean government officials and
well-connected elites are generating millions of dollars in personal income
by hiring teams of diggers to hand-extract diamonds from the Chiadzwa mine
in eastern Zimbabwe.”

Cranswick told the US Embassy that Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, Grace
Mugabe, Vice President Joice Mujuru, the then Mines and Mining Development
Minister Amos Midzi, General Constantine Chiwenga and wife Jocelyn, CIO
Director Bonyongwe, Manicaland Governor Chris Mushowe, and several white
Zimbabweans, including Ken Sharpe, Greg Scott, and Hendrik O,Neill, are all
involved in the Marange diamond trade.

Bonyongwe launched his lawsuit last year after trying to force Cranswick to
pay damages over the information in the WikiLeaks cables, insisting the
claims were false and a defamation of his character. This was held up in
court last week, with a judge ordering Cranswick to pay the US$10 million
damages suit. His lawyer has indicated he will challenge this at the Supreme
Court. Cranswick meanwhile no longer operates in Zimbabwe.

The debate over the merit of WikiLeaks has continued to simmer ever since
the group started releasing confidential material online several years ago.
Supporters have welcomed the revelations of the inner workings of
governments around the world, while critics have said the reports are
damaging because of their confidential nature.

The ZANU PF aligned media, like the state mouthpiece Herald newspaper and
ZBC broadcaster, have been quick to dismiss the WikiLeaks cables as a
deliberate attempt by the west to ‘destabilise’ Zimbabwe. The leaked cables
have shone a spotlight directly on ZANU PF, with revelations of infighting,
power grappling and claims about Robert Mugabe’s ill health, all making
international headlines.

Bonyongwe has not been the first ZANU PF individual to take his anger over
the WikiLeaks revelations further, by filing a lawsuit. His lawsuit was
filed at the time that Grace Mugabe filed her own US$15 million defamation
claim against The Standard newspaper, which also published news articles
about the WikiLeaks report. Gideon Gono has also filed a US$12.5 million
suit against the same newspaper over the report.

Former diplomat Clifford Mashiri told SW Radio Africa on Monday that the
court’s decision must be questioned, because, “it is an opinion held
worldwide that WikiLeaks information is not reliable and doesn’t stand up in
court.” He said the Zim court “appears to be caught up in a political
trial,” with ZANU PF trying to save face over the “embarrassing” WikiLeaks
information.

“ZANU PF has an axe to grind and they have used Cranswick as the sacrificial
lamb and test case, to show the world what they will do. So this is a
political trial not a normal law suit,” Mashiri said.


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Mujuru leads Mugabe succession race - Analysts

http://www.thezimbabwemail.net

Staff Reporter 11 hours 14 minutes ago

Below are assessments by political analysts on the likely successors to
President Robert Mugabe.

ELDRED MASUNUNGURE:
Joice Mujuru
She is by far the strongest candidate on several grounds. Chief among these
is that she is hierarchically number two in the party and has solid wartime
credentials in her own right and is, therefore, no one’s appendage.
She is also very social and has firm religious roots (the Salvation Army)
and this buttresses her message about peace, tolerance and motherhood.
In the presidium, it’s only Mugabe and her that are elected in national
elections; the other two are appointees, a very big handicap.
Anecdotal evidence also suggests she has a large popular base and following.
In fact, in MDC-T circles, the prayer is that she does not replace Mugabe as
the presidential candidate because she would give Morgan Tsvangirai a real
scare and a run for his money.
However, recent media reports suggest she is no longer in close books with
the securocratic elite who presumably find her as “too soft” and prefer a
“harder” (and male) candidate like Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In other words, her moderate profile which makes her popular with the masses
is also her Waterloo in respect of some of the security chiefs. Her other
weakness is that, though she is a Korekore, this ethnic group is widely
viewed as part of the larger Zezuru group and there is a strong sentiment
inside and outside Zanu PF that it’s now the turn of other ethnic groups to
“eat”.

Emmerson Mnangagwa
He is made of sterner stuff and is perennially portrayed as a “hardliner”
and popular with the generals. However, his popularity does not seem to
extend much beyond KGVI (army headquarters).
The 2000 and 2005 elections are very illustrative of this and he was forced
to migrate from Kwekwe for him to win in the 2000 parliamentary elections.
Mnangagwa’s popularity is also quite tenuous at grassroots levels in his
party, especially in the Gukurahundi belt of Matabeleland and Midlands where
he is regarded (rightly or wrongly) as the architect of that“moment of
madness”.
His strength is that he comes from the largest ethnic group in the country,
one that, like the Manyikas, feels that it’s now their turn to reside at
State House.

INNOCENT CHOFAMBA SITHOLE
Mujuru
Her liberation war credentials are impeccable, and being the widow of a
liberation icon in the late General Solomon Mujuru adds to her appeal among
those Zanu PF faithful for whom adherence to the signposts of the liberation
struggle is sacrosanct.
Mujuru is not an “ideas” person and it isn’t clear what vision of Zimbabwe
her presidency will seek to project. As such, she will need to supply this
deficiency by surrounding herself with a powerful technocratic team. Her
late husband’s business dealings were as vast as they were opaque and from
that perspective she has a challenge to prove that her presidency will be
one of transparency and complete probity.

Mnangagwa
His biggest asset is his determination to become president, and over the
years he has demonstrated the patience and steely endurance of a long
distance runner.
He’s also a shrewd tactician as illustrated by the two occasions he came
close to advancing his ambitions — the now infamous Tsholotsho Declaration
of 2005 and the more recent subsequently futile takeover of Zanu PF
structures through the election of his supporters into (now disbanded)
district co-ordinating committees (DCCs).
Mnangagwa’s stint as Speaker of Parliament showed that he has the capacity
to steer cross-party consensus, a skill which would come in handy in the
country’s new terrain of coalition politics should he emerge as president.
His sentiments on Britain-Zimbabwe relations expressed in an interview with
Britain’s Telegraph newspaper this year suggest that he’s ready to draw a
line under the longstanding dispute, cut deals and move Zimbabwe back on
full diplomatic terms with Western states.
Although he once described himself as being “as soft as wool”, Mnangagwa has
an abiding reputation as a feared, hard man.
And since the proposed human rights commission is not designed to probe
atrocities committed before the formation of the inclusive government, he
will struggle to clear his name from allegations that he was involved in the
Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980s as well as the gruesome abuses
perpetrated during the 2008 presidential election run-off.
Mnangagwa has low electoral appeal — he lost dismally in his own Kwekwe
backyard before beating an embarrassing retreat to a newly-formed rural
constituency in order to find his way back into Parliament as an elected MP.
In 1999, he also lost the Zanu PF chairmanship to John Nkomo, and the
prognosis is that he has no chance of winning a national contest against
Tsvangirai.

Sydney Sekeramayi
He is a famously quiet man who does not seem to offend or impress many in
equal measure. Sekeramayi has been touted as a potential successor since the
1990s, and largely as a compromise candidate.
One could describe him as Zanu PF’s own Kgalema Motlanthe. His main
challenge is to distinguish himself as a capable leader possessed with a
distinct vision for the future.

Simon Khaya Moyo
A suave diplomat and amiable person, Khaya Moyo is fourth in the Zanu PF
perking order, ahead of Mnangagwa. Khaya Moyo was personal assistant to the
late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo as Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s during the
liberation struggle.
However, Moyo has not exhibited a similar appetite for the top job as his
erstwhile opposite number has shown. He has managed fairly well as Zanu PF
chairman, but the idea of a former Zapu head of the post-Unity Accord Zanu
PF remains an untested — and highly unlikely — proposition.
Constantine Chiwenga
The military has demonstrated its appetite for direct political power and
Zanu PF politicians have done much to egg them on. Should this become a key
option for Zanu PF, then Chiwenga is the military’s man. There’s nothing to
be said of this candidate except to pray that the military scenario does not
come to pass.

PEDZISAI RUHANYA
Mujuru
Most significantly for Mujuru is the fact that her late husband despite
allegedly falling out of favour with Mugabe, Solomon Mujuru played a
critical role in Mugabe’s ascendancy to power when some of his guerilla
lieutenants attempted to revolt against Mugabe in the late 1970s in
Mozambique.
Mujuru stood by Mugabe and mobilised the fighters to lend him support.
She has for a long time been a faithful supporter of the president.
Her biggest weakness is the lack of a political consensus and base within
Zanu PF politics.
The issue of ethnicity could also be her downfall since the incumbent leader
comes from her region. There could be a national conspiracy in Zanu PF to
stop the Zezuru dominance of the party.
African politics is also very patriarchal and male chauvinistic. The gender
dimension could also work against her.

Mnangagwa
He is arguably one of Mugabe’s trusted party cadres dating back to the
liberation struggle.
Mnangagwa is credited with building the Central Intelligence Organisation
that is at the centre of Mugabe’s power retention schemes. He has critical
links that he can use for the presidential bid.
So far he has done that when he managed to convince six out of 10 Zanu PF
provinces to back his candidature in the 2005 fiasco which led to the firing
of six provincial chairpersons when Mugabe was convinced by Mnangagwa’s
enemies that, in fact, it was him who was under threat.
However, to show his faith in the man, Mugabe did not fire Mnangagwa and in
2008 he organised the security machinery to deliver a controversial victory
for Mugabe after he initially lost the presidency.
Only last year Zanu PF DCCs were dissolved after it was realised they were
under Mnangagwa’s control. His greatest advantage is the power to organise
across the party, his links within the security sector as Defence minister
and former intelligence supremo.
He also has huge resources to mobilise his campaigns. His greatest weakness
is the perceived belief that he is ruthless. This mobilises party
heavyweights against him.
Being Karanga, ethnic politics also works against him as the Zezurus gang up
to maintain party hegemony. Mugabe himself has proved to be the greatest
hindrance because he does not want to hand over power to anyone, hence his
decision to dissolve DCCs and the firing of provincial chairpersons that
supported Mnangagwa in 2005

Sekeremayi
He is a shrewd tactician, very loyal to Mugabe and controls the intelligence
services that he can use to his advantage to spy against his opponents.
He also comes from one of the Mashonaland provinces, the centre of power.
His weaknesses are plenty; he has no national appeal, is not very senior in
the party hierarchy and doesn’t seem to possess enough resources to mount a
sustained national campaign.
Being from the same geographical area with Mugabe, Zanu PF members from
other regions can conspire against him for the simple reason that they have
been ruled by one of his own tribesman for more than three decades.

Khaya Moyo
He is part of the Zanu PF presidium.
His disadvantage in the scheme of things is that he comes from a minority
group and the majority can connive against his ambitions. He is not very
close to the security establishment that is dominated by former Zanla
commanders. He also does not have enough resources to mount a serious
campaign against his opponents.

Chiwenga
Since Independence, the country’s military has played a ubiquitous role in
electoral and political affairs of the country on the side of Zanu PF.
They issue pre-emptive coups on the eve of every election saying
that they would not respect any victory other than that of Zanu PF.
Chiwenga has been part of the military leadership at the turn of the 21st
century that has actively campaigned for Zanu PF. His advantage is that he
controls the coercive apparatus of the State that he can use against his
opponents.
The army has been deployed in key State institutions on the economic,
electoral and political fronts. He can easily mobilise these forces for his
benefit.
The army under his leadership is also involved in mining diamonds, so he has
a war chest to run a political campaign.
However, the general is not in the official structures of the party as a
serving officer and there is no history in the party for such kind of
ambition. His ascendancy could be interpreted as a constitutional coup and,
therefore, unacceptable to Sadc, African Union and the rest of the
international community.

DUMISANI NYONGOLO NKOMO
Mujuru
She is acceptable to most moderates.

Mnangagwa
He has the support of the State intelligence and has a fairly strong
faction. His past Gukurahundi background could be a huge obstacle.

Chiwenga
He is a dark horse who could seize power if the politicians are slow to act.
However, his bark appears to be worse than his bite as his military acumen
is questionable. He is known as Zim 2 and has unlimited ambition. He may not
enjoy the support of the lower echelons of the army and will enjoy little
support from people beyond Zanu PF. His control over the securocracy is his
biggest strength.

Mpofu
He will try and use the Ndebele card to lay claim to the presidency. He is
also one of the few Zanu PF senior stalwarts who have managed to win an
election at parliamentary level.
His vast wealth could open many political doors for him. He seems to have
countrywide support within Zanu PF as evidenced on his birthday
celebrations. Former Zapu stalwarts will oppose him strongly as they view
him as not being 100% former Zapu having defected in the early 1980s.

Khaya Moyo
He has an outside chance since he has seniority, ethnicity and age on his
side. He is, however, a poor political player and may lose out to Mpofu.
Kasukuwere
He is another dark horse who has age and aggression on his side.

BRIAN NGWENYA
Mujuru
No doubt her marriage to and support from the late Retired General Solomon
Mujuru, once regarded as a the only man in Zanu PF who was brave enough to
criticise Mugabe while reputed to have had popular support among the
military rank and file, will also play to her advantage.
While she may still run the succession race on her own, her husband’s death
may affect the same; secondly, the gender dynamics that influenced her rise
to the presidium in Zanu PF are no longer as big now as they were then.

Mnangagwa
He has impressive liberation credentials. He is a hardliner who speaks very
little, but renowned for being a cunning and savvy strategist.
He has important links in both the intelligence and military ranks as a
result of his current and previous ministerial roles.
Mnangagwa is believed to be the only man who measures nearer to Mugabe’s
rock-hard politics and a guarantor of Zanu PF’s continued legacy in the
post-Mugabe era.
His longstanding alleged reputation for ruthlessness and violent politics,
mostly a result of his role in the Gukurahundi atrocities, is a minus for
him.
As with his age, the hardline image does not win him the hearts of the
younger moderates and liberal elements in Zanu PF and outside. He is
generally feared by the majority of Zimbabweans and may not be a favourite
choice for many regional leaders.

Kasukuwere
He is a dyed-in-the-wool Mugabe loyalist, a zealous disciple of
“Mugabenomics” and politics. He has the advantage of age should Zanu PF
decide to introduce a Younger Turk.
He has connections with the rank and file in the intelligence. A beacon of
radicalism, he has enough supporters among the youths. His strengths may
ironically be his weaknesses. He will not gain ground should Zanu PF decide
to do things differently, ie, break with the Mugabe legacy.

Chiwenga
He is the army supremo with considerable support from within his ranks as
well as other security departments. He is largely credited for spearheading
Zanu PF’s comeback after the first round defeat during the 2008 elections
and the paragon of Zanu PF and the security sector intransigence during the
Government of National Unity.
His chances of succeeding Mugabe will only be spurred by chaotic scenarios
either between Zanu PF and the MDCs or within Zanu PF itself. It is also
dependent on support of the military top brass as well as the ordinary
soldier. Some within Zanu PF may also be against militarism.

Sekeramayi
He is a Mugabe loyalist and trusted by the man at the helm. His subtle, but
vital engagement in Zanu PF politics may be his trump card.
Untinctured by scandals and the obvious grandiose lifestyles of his
colleagues, his reserved approach to the succession battle may win him the
hearts of anti-factionalists, moderates and the cautionary elements who may
want to avoid the possibility of cataclysm or destructive power struggles in
the post-Mugabe era.
He may lose out to the leading secessionist protagonists, and his name may
not be as common to the grassroots members as those of the other two: Mujuru
and Mnangagwa. - NewsDay


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SA platinum mining companies eye Zimbabwe

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sapa | 19 November, 2012 10:14

Platinum mining companies are expected to ramp up operations in Zimbabwe
after production dropped to an 11-year low in South Africa, according to a
report.

Business Day newspaper reported on Monday that Anglo American Platinum
(Amplats) said it was planning a new mine in Zimbabwe, after it lost at
least 170 000 ounces of platinum during an eight-week strike.

Amplat's subsidiary Unki Mines' chief financial officer Colin Chibafa said
the new mine could double Zimbabwe's platinum output.

Impala Platinum (Implats) recorded a surge in first-quarter platinum
production from its Mimosa mine, which was a joint venture with Aquarius
Platinum.

The mine said on Friday that the mine had recorded an increase in both tons
milled and grade, resulting in an improvement in platinum production.

However, its Zimplats operation saw production fall by 11% because of a
scheduled smelter shutdown in August and September.

Zimbabwe and South Africa hold 75% of the world's platinum reserves.

Foreign investor sentiment in South Africa took a knock after the country's
mining industry was plagued by wildcat strikes.

On August 16, 34 striking workers at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana,
were shot dead during a confrontation with police.


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Zimbabwe may seize Tongaat farmland

http://www.moneyweb.co.za

19 November 2012 08:18

Cancel its operating license.

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe may seize land farmed by Tongaat Hulett Ltd.
and cancel its operating license under a law aimed at empowering black
Africans, the state-run Sunday Mail reported, citing a letter written by
indigenization minister Saviour Kasukuwere.

Kasukuwere’s letter to Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister said South
Africa-based Tongaat’s units in Zimbabwe are “playing with fire” and
“treading on dangerous ground,” the Harare- based newspaper said on its
website. Tongaat owns Zimbabwe- listed Hippo Valley Estates Ltd. and
Triangle Sugar, the Sunday Mail said. The two sugar-cane growers between
them are Zimbabwe’s biggest producers of the sweetener.

Telephone calls to Tongaat Hulett’s headquarters in South Africa weren’t
answered when Bloomberg News sought comment today. Calls to Hippo Valley
Estates in southeastern Zimbabwe also weren’t answered.


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Power cuts disrupt trial of MDC-T activists

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

THE trial of 26 MDC-T activists accused of murdering a police officer in
Glen View has been postponed to tomorrow because of power cuts that hit
Harare’s Central business district this morning.
19.11.12

by Edgar Gweshe

After hours of waiting for the trial to start, the defense counsel and the
state agreed to a postponement of the case to 20 November. High Court Judge,
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu was supposed to preside over the case.

“We have agreed with the state that the case be postponed to tomorrow
because of the power cuts. It was an agreement that we reached together with
the state,” said defense lawyer, Gift Mtisi.

The activists face charges of murdering police Inspector, PetrosMutedza in
May last year after he had gone to Glen View to investigate an illegal
meeting the MDC-T members were holding.

The MDC-T activists have been languishing in remand prison since late last
year.

Three of them have been released on bail. Of the three, Cynthia Manjoro was
the first to be released after the defense counsel led by Beatrice Mtetwa
managed to convince the court that she was not near the scene on the day
Inspector Mutedza was murdered.

MDC-T Youth Assembly President, Solomon Madzore and another activist,
Lovemore Taruvinga were released on 13 November after being granted bail.

The MDC-T has maintained that charges against the activists are “trumped up”.


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MDC expels two lawmakers over Tsvangirai links

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

19/11/2012 00:00:00
by Paradzai Brian Paradza

THE MDC has expelled one of its MPs and a Senator for violating the party’s
constitution by showing allegiance to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T party.

The Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma has been served with a notice by the
Welshman Ncube-led party withdrawing the whip from Tsholotsho South MP
Maxwell Dube and Lupane Senator Dalumuzi Khumalo.

MDC secretary general Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga wrote to the two
lawmakers on November 12, stating: “After the party’s national congress in
January 2011, you have refused to work for the party and in fact rejected
the authority of the party’s national leadership and the National Council
and generally disassociated yourself from the party.

“This conduct is the sort of conduct anticipated by the said article 4(10)
(a) of the MDC Constitution, in that your conduct not only repudiated your
membership of the MDC but amounted to open and brazen support for another
political party.

“By your conduct, you automatically expelled yourself from the party with
effect from March 2011 when you refused to accept authority.”

The two will be barred from parliament when the Clerk acknowledges the MDC’s
notice.
MDC spokesman said although the party was aware of the lawmakers' activities
since 2009, the party was forced to move to pre-empt purpoted defections.

"All those who were supporting other parties or using our party as a
temporary shade while hiding their intentions will be dealt with. We cannot
allow people to claim to be defecting continuously when they ceased to be
members a long time ago,” said Dube.

He said the legislators and other members who had defected had contributed
nothing to the party and their expulsion would not affect preparations for
elections early next year.

The MDC has been embroiled in an intense battle with its legislators in the
Matabeleland region and the latest suspensions by the party bring to five
the number of legislators suspended by the party, which garnered 10
parliamentary seats and six senate seats in the March 2008 elections.

Abdenico Bhebhe (Nkayi South), Njabuliso Mguni (Bulilima East) and Norman
Mpofu (Lupane East) were expelled in 2009 for openly working with the MDC-T,
from which the MDC split in 2005.

No by-elections have been held to date in those constituencies, which the
government blames on a financial squeeze.


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Chaos at Masvingo Mugabe endorsement meeting

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

AT least 10 Zanu (PF) supporters were injured on Saturday as chaos marred
the party’s inter-district conference at which President Robert Mugabe was
controversially endorsed as the presidential candidate in next year's
watershed elections.
19.11.12

by Regerai Tututuku

Police in riot gear was called in after chaos reigned supreme at the
meeting. In an effort to restore order police unleashed dogs on dozens of
Zanu (PF) supporters who wanted to gain entry into the venue of the meeting.

At least 10 people were injured after they were bitten by police dogs as the
law enforcement agents struggled to disperse the angry party supporters.

The chaos happened in full view of the party's national spokesman, Rugare
Gumbo, who had been dispatched to Masvingo to preside over the meeting.

Tempers flared at the venue of the meeting when about 100 uninvited party
members were denied entry into the meeting.

However the angry supporters tried to force their way into the meeting
singing songs and chanting slogans denigrating former United People's Party
president, Daniel Shumba, who was readmitted into Zanu (PF) and is eying the
Masvingo urban parliamentary seat.

Shumba was expelled from Zanu (PF) several years ago after participating at
an unsanctioned meeting in Tsholotsho which some viewed as an attempt at a
palace coup to remove Mugabe from the party’s top.

Members who were turned away argued that those who attended were not
legitimate members and should therefore not have been involved in the
endorsement of Mugabe.

They claimed that those who were in the meeting were former UPP supporters
who had nothing to do with Zanu (PF).

"President Mugabe cannot be endorsed by the wrong people", said an angry
party supporter who refused to be named.

"UPP supporters cannot choose a leader for us hence if the President is
endorsed by these people then it means maybe he (Mugabe) has defected to
UPP. We are the only people who should decide Zanu (PF)'s destiny and its
leadership and not people from other political parties".

Some of the angry supporters were briefly arrested and later released.
Rugare Gumbo had to apologise over the incident.

"We are very sorry for the disturbances that have happened but we urge our
supporters to be disciplined", said Gumbo. "We are sorry to those who have
been injured", added Gumbo.

Zanu (PF) Masvingo Provincial Chairman, Lovemore Matuke, confirmed the
incident but refused to give details.

"There were misunderstandings over the delegates but we managed to solve the
problem," said Matuke. Police in Masvingo refused to comment on the
incident.


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5 die on Zimbabwe's roads daily

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

19/11/2012 00:00:00
by Rebecca Moyo
AN AVERAGE five people die on Zimbabwe’s roads daily, shock statistics released on Sunday reveal.

The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), commemorating the Traffic Victims World Remembrance Day, unveiled a programme to reduce road traffic accidents by 50 percent over the next eight years.

“This figure is achievable if all drivers observe road rules and are more cautious and responsible," said TSCZ managing director Obio Chinyere on the 2020 target.

In 2010, the government launched a policy document called ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’ with a pledge to save five million lives by implementing road safety strategies and tough enforcement of road regulations.

But in 2011, Zimbabwe saw its bloodiest year on the roads since records began in 2006 with reported traffic accidents peaking at a high of 34,000. Some 17,000 people were injured in the accidents with nearly 2,000 losing their lives.

Government efforts to improve safety are being hampered by police corruption, poor road infrastructure and road unworthy vehicles.

Chinyere said nearly 85 percent of all accidents were caused by human error – usually speeding or drunk drivers who escape police action either through corruption or lack of resources.

He added: “With the daily increase in the number of vehicles on our roads and the presence of multiple users such as cyclists, pedestrians and donkey drawn carts, this menace [road accidents] needs urgent attention. The effects on victims of accidents are cross-cutting.”

Most deaths occur during major holidays like Easter, Christmas and New Year's Day.

In a speech to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s said this year, the world’s roads have claimed some 1,2 million lives.

Added to the fatalities are the more than 50 million people injured each year many of them now condemned to enduring physical disabilities and psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.

"Around 90 percent of road traffic deaths and injuries occur in low and middle-income countries. The World Health Organisation warns that, without urgent action, road traffic injuries will become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030," he said.


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Kasukuwere and Biti clash, again

http://www.thezimbabwemail.net

Staff Reporter 5 hours 9 minutes ago

HARARE - Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere says all foreign companies should comply with the Indigenisation
and Economic Empowerment Act as the law will not be amended.
Minister Kasukuwere’s sentiments follow suggestions by Finance Minister
Tendai Biti during his presentation of the 2013 Budget statement that the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Act needs to be amended to encourage more
investors.
Kasukuwere urged foreign companies to comply saying the law will operate in
its state as policy inconsistencies will affect the smooth implementation of
the legislation.
“Let me put the record straight the indigenisation law will not be amended,"
he said.
Minister Biti said this will be done to attract foreign direct investment
but we are saying sanctions must go so that we have investment in Zimbabwe.
"There are other companies that have complied and it will be unfair to start
introducing new rules now,” said Kasukuwere.
The Indigenisation and Empowerment Law was enacted in 2008.
Under the law, some foreign mining companies have ceded shareholding to
local people.
The two young cabinet Ministers, Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Saviour
Kasukuwere have always shown sharp differences on localisation of
foreign-owned financial institutions.

Minister Biti with the backing of Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono has
always said there was no need to indigenise the banking sector as local
banks already dominated the sector.

But Minister Kasukuwere has retorted: "(Minister) Biti has no business
talking about indigenisation of banks. At the appropriate time, we shall
advise on the steps we are taking to indigenise the sector.

"Otherwise, we do not expect him to make any policy pronouncements on
indigenisation. That's not his domain."

Foreign-owned firms operating in Zimbabwe are required in terms of the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act to sell at least 51 percent
stake to locals.

Minister Kasukuwere has in the past said when the mining sector had been
fully indigenised, the focus would immediately shift to the financial
sector.

But Minister Biti said since only four out of 26 banks were foreign-owned,
there was no need to localise them and that locals interested in
establishing banks could approach the relevant authorities for a banking
licence.

Minister Biti said if a certain bank was valued at US$60 million and US$30
million would be required to buy a controlling shareholding and that means
anyone with such an amount of money could start their own bank.

"If you have US$30 million you can start a bank, why go into Mr Brown's
bank? Out of 26 only four are foreign. It's an indigenised sector. If you
meet capital requirements we can give you a licence tomorrow," he said.

He said banks had worked hard to rebuild their eroded capital base from a
mere US$300 million at the beginning of 2009 to over US$4 billion now.

"Banks play an intermediary role and they are as good as their deposits.
They are not at the centre of production, so you cannot apply the same
position with Zimplats. If it is not broken do not fix it," said Minister
Biti.

There is fear in some quarters that indigenising foreign-owned banks could
affect stability of the sector and warp the confidence that is returning
from the crises caused by almost a decade of economic instability.

Foreign-owned banks operating in Zimbabwe include Standard Chartered Bank,
Stanbic Bank, MBCA Bank and Barclays Bank.

But there has generally been concern over the reluctance of foreign-owned
banks to extend lines of credit to productive sectors of the economy.
Foreign-owned banks have remained extra cautious over the calibre of clients
they lend to, mostly blue-chip firms and high net worth individuals.
Government has viewed this as sabotaging a fragile economic recovery process
considering that mostly firms from Western countries that unilaterally
imposed economic sanctions on Zimbabwe control most of these banks.

While the foreign-owned banks were viewed as reluctant to support productive
sectors of the economy and sitting on millions of deposits, local firms and
other entrepreneurs were groaning from the spike of high interest rates.


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Delays and deadlocks denying democracy to Zimbabweans

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
19 November 2012

The people of Zimbabwe are being short-changed by the political parties in
the government of national unity (GNU), whose bickering over procedure has
caused numerous delays and deadlocks that are blocking the road to a
referendum and elections.

There are also fears that Robert Mugabe could use his executive powers to
dismiss parliament and unilaterally call for elections, using the old
Lancaster House Constitution.

A review of what has happened since the 2nd All Stakeholder Conference on
the constitution clearly shows how the new charter has been passed back and
forth between different committees that fail to find common ground.

Just weeks after that conference in Harare, a new deadlock over procedure
has halted progress. Once again demands by ZANU PF over who should have the
final say are blocking the path towards a referendum, where people will
decide on the new constitution.

The Select Committee of COPAC met on 5th and 6th November to finalise their
report on the conference. They announced to the press on November 7th that
the report had been completed and by the next day it was in the hands of the
Management Committee, who are also the GPA negotiators.

The Management Committee decided to return the report to the Select
Committee for changes, which included the inclusion of speeches made at the
conference’s opening ceremony. This was done by the Select Committee, which
then returned the revised report back to the Management Committee.

So what happens next?

Innocent Gonese, the parliamentary chief whip, admitted that sending the
report back and forth has created a ridiculous cycle that is repetitive and
should not continue.

“The GPA negotiators are also members of the Management Committee, and they
had access to the principals when they signed the current COPAC draft. So if
there is disagreement, the status quo remains and we go with the draft they
all signed,” Gonese told SW Radio Africa.

Gonese also dismissed any suggestion that Mugabe would call elections
unilaterally, using his executive powers. He said that the 19th Amendment to
the current constitution, the GPA, clearly says Mugabe would need to consult
the Prime Minister and get agreement before calling elections. “This was
clearly defined on purpose,” Gonese said.

Madock Chivasa from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) blamed the
lack of progress on the roadmap that defined the process as a parliamentary
undertaking and not a people-driven process.

At the last meeting of the Management Committee on Monday November12th, they
agreed to include contributions from the conference on which delegates had
reached agreement. But they failed to reach any agreement on the areas where
delegates disagreed.

The areas of disagreement are due to the changes that ZANU PF has said it
wants.

ZANU PF is currently insisting the report be sent to the principals to make
the final decisions, with the MDC formations saying that parliament should
now take over.


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Antwerp Offers To Trade Zimbabwe Diamonds

http://www.israelidiamond.co.il

19.11.12, 11:34

Belgian diamond dealers have offered to provide a trading environment in
which Zimbabwe could potentially receive higher prices for its rough
diamonds, Rough and Polished reports. Antwerp World Diamond Center president
Stephane Fischler told attendees of the Zimbabwe diamond conference in
Victoria Falls that if diamonds from the Marange region were sold in
Antwerp, they would be trade at market prices, and not 25% lower than market
prices, as they are now.
Although diamonds harvested in Zimbabwe's Marange region received Kimberley
Process approval in 2011, the United States and Europe still apply sanctions
to them. Human rights groups have accused Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and
the country's military of siphoning cash from the Marange diamond trade and
using the funds to bankroll the election campaign of the former, though
other diamond industry leaders dismiss these accusations.
Fischler said that the AWDC is respected all over the world for conforming
to the ethical standards expected of diamond industry players, according to
Rough and Polished.


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Robert Mugabe bid to end Marange sanctions boosted

http://www.thezimbabwemail.net/

Ray Ndlovu 11 hours 32 minutes ago

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma’s special envoy to the Great Lakes and former
ambassador to the US, Welile Nhlapho, has been elected to become the 2013
chairperson of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) to mark the
organisation’s 10th anniversary.
Nhlapho is set to take over from Gillian Milovanovic of the US whose term of
office comes to an end next month.
Political analyst and International Crisis Group representative, Trevor
Maisiri, indicated that South Africa’s assumption of the KPCS chair was of
strategic importance to Zimbabwe which launched a concerted push at the
inaugural diamond conference held in Victoria Falls this week to have
sanctions imposed by the US on its Marange gems lifted.
He said: “It is hoped that South Africa’s new role will bolster a regional
campaign to end the embargo.”
Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo both roundly condemned the
US-imposed sanctions at the conference.
Launched in 2003 under former South African president Thabo Mbeki’s tenure,
the KPCS aims to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream
rough diamond market and ensure that diamond purchases are not financing
armed conflict by rebel movements.
The perceived domination by South Africa of the Kimberley Process appears
not to have bothered delegates at the conference, as they led an anti-US
sanctions campaign.
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, the current the Kimberley Process
deputy chair, set the tone of South Africa’s stance by slamming the
US-imposed sanctions in her address to the conference. She said sanctions
did not affect Zimbabwe alone, but the whole of Africa.
“The presence of SA at this conference is testament that we are opposed to
the sanctions. They affect the whole continent and we have come out to speak
against this,” Shabangu said.
The mining of Marange diamonds has come under the spotlight for alleged
human rights violations from international watchdogs – Human Rights Watch
and Partnership Africa Canada.
The latter claimed in its latest report, released this week, that the scale
of plunder that had taken place in Marange was the biggest since Cecil John
Rhodes’s colonisation of the nation in 1890.
Pressured by delegates to rally behind the Kimberley Process condemnation of
the sanctions, Milovanovic admitted that her term of office had fell short
of meeting the member states’ demands and said she had only laid preparatory
work for SA.
“One year is not nearly enough time to achieve what we seek to achieve, and
we anticipate that our SA colleagues will continue initiatives that carry
the Kimberley Process further in the coming decades and sustain its
relevance,” she said.
However, South Africa’s Abbey Chikane, the inaugural chairperson of the
Kimberley Process, described Milovanovic as an ineffective chair, who took
her cues from the US rather than the collective stance of the diamond body.
“The danger of having a chairmanship that is ineffective in facilitating the
consensual agreement adopted by the group is that the KPCS is likely to be
fragmented,” said Chikane.
In an interview with City Press this week, Goodwill Masimirembwa, the
Zimbabwe Mining Development Company chairperson, was upbeat over the tough
tone against Milovanovic.
He said: “As SA takes over the chair of the KP next year, we are certain
that she will remain our all-weather friend . . .” - City Press


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Mozambique war fears shakes Zimbabwe politicians

http://www.theafricareport.com

Posted on Monday, 19 November 2012 15:34

By Janet Shoko

Political parties in Zimbabwe have expressed concern that threats by former
Mozambique rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama to wage war in his country will
spark fresh instability in the region.
′′Twenty years after the end of Mozambique's civil war, hundreds of former
guerrillas from Renamo led by Dhlakama (59) have set up camp in the bush
reportedly preparing for a war against President Armando Guebuza's
government.
′′It is not known how many of the estimated 800 men who heeded Dhlakama's
call have weapons.
′′But when Dhlakama signed a peace deal in 1992, Renamo held back a small
reserve of armed men and maintained at least two military bases, including
the one at Gorongosa.′′
Dhlakama, who is camped at his former military base in Gorongosa, is
demanding a share of that country's wealth, according to reports emanating
from Mozambique.
′′A spokesperson for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party,
Rugare Gumbo told the privately owned Newsday that war threats by the group
were worrisome.
′′"We are very worried about possible instability in the region if war
breaks out in Mozambique. Our position as a party is very clear" Gumbo said.
′′"We support national unity in Mozambique. We work with Frelimo as one of
the liberation movements and we obviously will not entertain any rebellion
in Mozambique."
′′Zimbabwe once deployed soldiers to Mozambique to assist that governments'
forces fight Dhlakama's Renamo.
′′Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party issued a statement urging the
African Union and SADC to intervene urgently.
′′"The MDC is extremely worried about the political and security
developments in Mozambique especially the possibility of another civil war
in that country," MDC said.′′
"The war in Mozambique will bring untold suffering for the people of
Mozambique and beyond.
"Further, it will reverse all the economic, social and political gains that
have been made so far.
′′"We urge the international community especially SADC and the African Union
to deal with the disturbing developments in Mozambique as a matter of
urgency."
′′However, presenting his credentials to Mugabe last week, Mozambique's new
ambassador Pedro Jao Azvedo Davane said the situation in his country was
calm saying "People are going through their daily normal life."
Reports say the Renamo leader's physical withdrawal began when he shifted
his headquarters from Maputo to the northern city of Nampula in 2009.′′
In that same year, Dhlakama lost spectacularly, winning just 16 percent of
the vote against Guebuza's 75 percent in presidential polls.′′
Over the past year, the Renamo leader has seldom been seen in public until
he emerged, earlier this month, promising to shake up the political
establishment once again.


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Concern rises over safety of immigrant workers in SA

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
19 November 2012

A refugee rights group in South Africa has raised concern about the safety
of thousands of immigrant workers in that country, including many Zimbabwean
nationals in the Western Cape.

The group, PASSOP, has warned that a number of foreigners in the De Doorns
town could face potential deportation in the wake of ‘inflammatory’ comments
by politicians in the province. De Doorns recently became the hub of violent
farm worker strikes that spread to at least 16 small towns in the Western
Cape, with workers demanding better wages and working conditions.

A strike in De Doorns in October saw 35 Sotho nationals arrested, allegedly
for lack of documentation. They are now being held at the notorious
Pollsmoor Prison ahead of potential deportation. PASSOP said the arrests are
linked to claims made by politicians that tensions in De Doorns were the
results of friction between Sotho and Zimbabwean nationals looking for
seasonal work.

3,000 Zimbabweans were displaced in De Doorns three years ago as a result of
an outbreak of xenophobic violence, which saw locals vent their anger over
the lack of work in the area. The situation has remained tense ever since
and PASSOP said the situation is not helped by “reckless comments” by
politicians.

“We strongly reject claims that the strikes were started because of tensions
between Sothos and Zimbabweans,” said PASSOP’s Langton Miriyoga.

He told SW Radio Africa that such comments “could result in more violence
and displacements like we saw three years ago.” He said the strike season in
South Africa must not be “manipulated” by politicians, who are overlooking
the key issues of working conditions and low wages.

PASSOP has remained active on the ground in De Doorns and said on Monday
that frustrations there “were at an all time high.”

“We have seen many farm owners, labour brokers and politicians trying to
blame NGOs, political parties, unions, tensions between locals and
immigrants, problems with documentation and even the media for strikes in
the farming sector, but we think that these are all attempts to talk about
issues other than the real issue of wages and working conditions,” PASSOP
said.


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American’s foreign policy on Myanmar: An ideal benchmark for Zimbabwe

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

By visiting Myanmar (Burma) amid severe criticism from the American far
right, President Obama has stayed true to his promise that United States
will extend a hand to those [dictators] who are willing to unclench their
fist. With every indication that Burma is beginning the process of
unclenching its fist by instituting democratic reforms, this provides an
additional tool in the SWOT analysis of the Zimbabwean democratic project.
19.11.12

by ZimRights

Launching a landmark visit to long shunned Myanmar and becoming the first
U.S. leader to visit the Asian nation, President Barack Obama stated "Today,
I have come to keep my promise, and extend the hand of friendship. The
flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished”. During his
brief stop Monday in Myanmar, Obama met with opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and President Thein Sein and delivered an address in which he called for
continued political reforms in a country that had been internationally
shunned for decades.

America’s responsive foreign policy towards Burma bears some resemblance
with its foreign policy towards Zimbabwe. For example, the new US Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, in his recent press statement stated that ‘American policy
towards Zimbabwe is not static and will respond positively to Zimbabwe’s
progress on the roadmap to constitutional reform and elections’

Zimbabwe has a lot to learn from Burma’s fledgling steps which has sent a
powerful signal that people are rejecting the notion that an authoritarian
model is the key to development. This is a notion that the Zimbabwean
authorities are currently holding dear to, especially as seen through the
draconian indigenisation policies which are nothing but a plot to enrich a
few.

Specifically Zimbabwe could learn from the Obama’s historic speech at the
University of Yangon particularly by:

• Respecting people’s right to assemble and lifting the veil on media
freedom by passing both the Public Order and Media bills pending before
parliament.

• By addressing the culture of fear that has led people either to be mute
about their political views or at the very least exercise mendacity. As
Obama said, ‘Fear is not the natural state of civilised men. It is the force
that stands between people and their dreams. There must be freedom of fear
and fighting fear is the key to economic development’. Zimbabwe could do
this through a repeal of the so called ‘insult laws’ meant to protect the
office of the president but which have been disproportionately applied.

• Creating a strong and diverse society out of the acknowledgement that
diversity is strength and not a weakness by guaranteeing the right to
citizenship to those who are legitimately entitled to it.

• Stopping all forms of violence and incitement of violence against those
who oppose or who are perceived to be opposed to the President’s political
party-ZANU PF.

• Acknowledging that the most important office in a democracy is the
office of the citizen and not politician. Zimbabwe should demonstrate this
by creating a conducive environment for a free, fair and credible election.
The process of empowering citizens in keeping with the principles of
participatory democracy should extend beyond the ballot hence the need to
support development of democratic institutions right now and beyond the
elections.

Despite the flickering hope in Zimbabwe, huge challenges still remain. Civil
society has acknowledged and welcomed the recent reforms to the electoral
process in the Electoral Amendment Act which includes addressing the role of
the Zimbabwe Election Commission in compiling the voter’s roll, the
introduction of a polling station based voter’s roll and tthe removal of
police from inside the polling station amongst a number of other reforms.
However, a number of gaps are identified as glaring, including the need to
harmonise laws so that areas of conflict and contradiction within the laws
can be rectified and the independence of the Observers Accreditation
Committee, need for a credible Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Secretariat and
the demilitarisation of the electoral processes (ZESN, 2012).

The government of Zimbabwe must be urged to respect the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) and the pro-actively involve SADC and the AU in the
implementation of the GPA. This will enable the country to be able to hold a
free, fair and credible election where there is a peaceful transfer of state
power in accordance with the SADC Guidelines on Democratic elections and
other international standards to which Zimbabwe is party (Crisis Coalition,
2012).

With further geo-political changes such as the recent legitimisation of Hugo
Chávez who recently won an election as president for a fourth time on 7
October 2012 and the Chinese communist party leadership renewal, Zimbabwe is
likely to find itself increasingly isolated in the future, with a government
that condemns its people to a life of squalor and oppression.


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Through the Wire: Things to fix before election

http://nehandaradio.com/

on November 19, 2012 at 12:18 am
271 237 5 1

By Lance Guma

Everyone is diving into the electoral swimming pool without checking to see
if there is any political water. This is particularly true of the political
parties that want to unseat Robert Mugabe and bring to an end his 32 years
of uninterrupted rule.

This week Through the Wire shines the spotlight on the fundamentals that
need to be in place for Zimbabwe to have free, fair and credible elections.
A lot of lip service is taking place with no practical implementation of any
sort.

1. Voter’s Roll

To call our voters roll a ‘shambles’ would be an understatement. There are
42,000 people over the age of 100 and this is an ‘impossible’ number. Some
appear to be 120 years old, in a country with a life expectancy of 43.

Nearly a third of registered voters are dead and experts say there are 2.6
million too many names on the voters roll. This phantom vote is more than
enough to settle the outcome of any election in favour of Zanu PF and
Mugabe.

Solution: The voters roll needs to be overhauled and produced in electronic
form, rather than the paper version.

2. Zimbabwe Election Commission

Just like we said last week, members of the tainted Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) and former senior soldiers who work for the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) have to be removed from its secretariat.

While many people naively celebrated the appointment of a new electoral
commission, its influence is restricted to setting up policy. The
secretariat is still packed with people loyal to Mugabe and they effectively
run the elections.

Key functions have all been shared by former CIO’s and soldiers like Utoile
Silaigwana (Operations) and Notayi Mutemasango (Administration and Finance)
and Chief Elections Officer Lovemore Chipunza Sekeramayi.

Solution: While the parties are happy with the commission, a new ‘balanced’
secretariat needs to be appointed before the elections.

3. Terror Machinery

The problem with March 2008 is that it taught Zanu PF that without violence
they will lose elections. Equally the problem with June 2008 is that it also
taught Zanu PF that brutal force including murder will keep them in power.

Already there are reports of how the terror machinery is being deployed
countrywide. Soldiers, CIO’s, War Vets and other Zanu PF militants are
already firing warning shots by committing sporadic abuses to test the
waters.

In 2008 Mugabe made it clear blood and terror will be the price for his
exit. That election also showed him you can still lose, hammer the
opposition and kill hundreds of innocent people and still be able to ‘share’
power with the winner.

Solution: The much talked about security sector reforms are important. The
police, army and CIO need to be led by people who respect the constitution
and not commit abuses on behalf of political parties or individuals.

4. Media Reforms

For 32 years Zanu PF had and still have an unfair advantage in terms of
their absolute control of the state media. They have an iron grip on both
television and radio broadcasting including the two proxy radio stations
recently licenced.

That anyone can seriously claim the licencing of StarFM owned by Zimpapers
(owners of the Herald etc) and ZiFM owned by the Zanu PF treasurer for
Manicaland Supa Mandiwanzira, constitutes media reforms is a joke.

The MDC-T and Morgan Tsvangirai were still able to beat Zanu PF and Robert
Mugabe in the March 2008 harmonised elections but that owed more to the
intellect of the Zimbabwean people who saw through the incessant propaganda.

Solution: Zimbabwe needs genuine media reforms were legitimate media people
can set up radio and television projects without political interference.

The above four issues are a very good starting block towards free, fair and
credible elections. Other key elements can also be found in the SADC
guidelines for conducting democratic elections, which Zimbabwe signed up to.

Full participation of the citizens in the political process

Freedom of association

Political tolerance

Regular intervals for elections

Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media

Equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for

Independence of the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions

Voter education

Acceptance and respect of the election results by political parties

Challenge of the election results as provided for in the law of the land

Let’s not find out when we land in the electoral swimming pool that there is
no political water and we have smashed our heads in the concrete, again.


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Gukurahundi Massacres: How it all began (Part 1)

http://nehandaradio.com

When Robert Mugabe assumed office as the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980, he was faced with the task of uniting a country which had been subjected to 90 years of increasingly repressive, racist rule.

The key men behind the Gukurahundi Massacres: Robert Mugabe (President), Emmerson Mnangagwa (then State Security Minister) and Perrence Shiri (then commander of the 5th Brigade).

The key men behind the Gukurahundi Massacres: Robert Mugabe (President), Emmerson Mnangagwa (then State Security Minister) and Perrence Shiri (then commander of the 5th Brigade).

There had also been over a decade of escalating military activity, which had served not only to accelerate the process of liberating the majority, but also to create some divisions within it.

In addition, the new Zimbabwe had a powerful and hostile neighbour, South Africa. It was obvious that integrating a community that had serious divisions within itself would be no easy task.

Mugabe himself had long been an assassination target, and attempts on his life continued. He escaped an attempt on his life near Masvingo during the election campaign. He and others narrowly escaped a “Rhodesian” assassination attempt planned to coincide with Independence Day in 1980.

In December 1981 South African agents attempted to kill him by blowing up the new ZANU-PF headquarters, and in July 1982 there was yet another abortive attempt on his life, involving exZIPRA combatants, when shots were fired at his residence in Harare.

In addition, there were sporadic outbreaks of violence emanating from the guerrilla assembly points (APs) countrywide. Such outbreaks began before Independence and continued throughout the early 1980s.

This violence was committed by both ZANLA and ZIPRA ex-combatants, sometimes against civilians and quite often against each other: the causes of this were complex.

The net result of the unstable situation was that by early 1982, Zimbabwe had serious security problems in various parts of the country, particularly in the western half. Bands of “dissidents” were killing civilians and destroying property.

The Government responded with a massive security clampdown on Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands. What is apparent in retrospect and will be shown in this report is that there were two overlapping “conflicts” going on in Matabeleland. The first conflict was between the dissidents and Government defence units, which included 4 Brigade, 6 Brigade, the Paratroopers, the CIO and the Police Support Unit.

The second conflict involved Government agencies and all those who were thought to support ZAPU. This was carried out mainly against unarmed civilians in those rural areas which traditionally supported ZAPU; it was also at times carried out against ZAPU supporters in urban areas.

The Government agencies which were engaged in this second conflict were primarily 5 Brigade, the CIO, PISI and the ZANU-PF Youth Brigades, as shown in this report. These units committed many human rights violations, which compounded the plight of civilians who were once more caught in the middle of a problem not of their own making.

The Government’s attitude was that the two conflicts were one and the same, and that to support ZAPU was the same as to support dissidents. Rural civilians, the ZAPU leadership and the dissidents themselves all denied and continue to deny this allegation.

Whatever the ultimate truth on that issue, it is indisputable that thousands of unarmed civilians died, were beaten, or suffered loss of property during the 1980s, some at the hands of dissidents and most as a result of the actions of Government agencies.

Taken from a report on the 1980’s disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands. Compiled by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, March 1997.


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Constitution Watch of 17th November 2012 [Stakeholders Conference ]

CONSTITUTION WATCH

[17th November 2012]

Second All Stakeholders Conference

The Second All Stakeholders Conference

The Second All Stakeholders’ Conference went ahead as planned on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd October. On the whole the Conference went smoothly and the many predictions of chaos and violence, based on what occurred at the First All Stakeholders Conference, were not fulfilled. This was largely attributable to a drastic reduction in numbers allowed to attend, better organised accreditation of delegates and observers, and good security arrangements.

Opening of the Conference

The ceremonial opening of the Conference was on the morning of Monday 22nd October. After a late start, there were speeches from Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Matinenga, COPAC co-chairs Mangwana and Mwonzora, Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara, Prime Minister Tsvangirai before President Mugabe officially opened the Conference. As well as the delegates, there were observers and invited guests from government and from embassies.

The Prime Minister said the party principals had all agreed that the constitution-making process is being done in accordance with Article 6 of the GPA, “which makes it clear that this is a Parliament-driven process in which the Principals and the Executive must play a minimum part. We have no intention whatsoever, at least on my part, to tamper or meddle with the people's views.”

The COPAC co-chairs gave an overview of the constitution-making process and the methodology to be followed by the Conference in examining the draft constitution [see next section]. They emphasised that the COPAC draft was the focus of the discussions. The ZANU-PF re-draft, incorporating the many changes to the COPAC draft called for by the ZANU-PF Politburo, was not one of the Conference documents. ZANU-PF delegates were free to advocate the changes ZANU-PF wanted when commenting and making recommendations on the COPAC draft.

The President: in his speech opening the Conference expressed differing views from the previous speakers and said the work of the Conference was to align the COPAC draft with the National Statistical Report. He also made it clear he thought it should be the GPA principals who should sort out any differences over constitutional content that might remain after the Conference.

After the opening proceedings, which took all morning, the delegates were divided into eighteen breakaway groups, each group to consider one of the eighteen chapters of the COPAC draft. The groups started their meetings on Monday afternoon.

The 18 Group Meetings

In typical COPAC fashion, each group had three co-chairs – one Parliamentarian from each of the three GPA political parties. The groups were made up of delegates consisting of members of the three political parties and representatives of civil society. Accredited observers were able to attend any group meeting.

Initially, despite the COPAC co-chairs briefing at the opening plenary, there was confusion in some meetings about how to proceed, with delegates wanting groups to make detailed textual comparisons of their allotted chapters against the National Statistical Report. [This was probably sparked by what the President had said earlier about the purpose of the Conference.] But groups eventually settled down to going through their allotted chapters in a more orderly fashion, with delegates commenting on provisions in each clause, one by one.

As was expected with representation from different parties, delegates in each group were divided, with some supporting what the COPAC draft said and others supporting what the ZANU-PF amended draft said, although it was not an official conference document. Most of the latter quoted the National Statistical Report to support their views. It was unfortunate that there were very few copies of this report made available at the Conference. Time in some groups was wasted by opposing arguments on whether the National Statistical Report on its own was a reflection of “what the people said” or whether other more qualitative opinions should be given weight [which is what the COPAC draft did].

Audio and video recordings were made of each group meeting, and rapporteurs noted the delegates’ comments on each provision for purposes of the group’s report to the plenary.

Report Back to Plenary

Initially, the target was for the groups to complete work in one and a half hours and report back on Monday afternoon, but that, unsurprisingly, proved unachievable. Some groups completed their work late Monday evening and others had to adjourn and resume early on Tuesday morning before reporting back to the plenary meeting on Tuesday morning. The report backs were given by one of each group’s co-chairs and were of necessity brief, with no additional comments or questions from either the members of that particular group or from other delegates in the plenary.

What was reported from each chapter was:

· Which provisions in the COPAC draft were acceptable to all delegates

· New input – suggestions for new additions or deletions to the COPAC draft which were simply recorded but with no indication whether or not consensus was reached on them

· Strongly divergent opinions which were expressed on provisions of the COPAC draft [usually as against the ZANU-PF draft] and no agreement was reached on them in the group.

The Conference ended at lunchtime.

Conference Shortcomings

Although on the whole the Conference went off fairly smoothly and at least there was no repetition of the disruption that marred proceedings at the First All Stakeholders Conference in 2009 and delegates were mostly able to express their views, there were shortcomings:

Last-minute arrangements Late announcements of COPAC decisions on the Conference timing and venue, and unavailability until the last minute of the COPAC draft, left little time for preparation of serious non-party-directed input at the Conference.

Problems with allocation of civil society delegates There was an only partly-resolved wrangle between COPAC and civil society organisations represented by NANGO and Crisis in Zimbabwe over political party interference in the allocation of delegates places for the organisations. COPAC wanted the umbrella organisations NANGO and Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition to give them lists of potential delegates from which the political parties would make their selection. Those civil society delegates applying through NANGO/Crisis were outraged at being politically “paddocked” and asserted that they were independent. Although an accommodation of sorts was reached when COPAC agreed to allow them to select their own 200 civil society delegates on top of the civil society delegates the political parties had selected, this was still not entirely satisfactory, and NANGO and Crisis remained discontented with the manner in which the matter had been handled. There was still the problem that some organisations ended up with too few delegates to cover satisfactorily all their areas of interest when the plenary Conference broke up into separate groups to discuss individual chapters of the COPAC draft.

Civil society input Although they had little time to prepare and there was uncertainty over their delegates, civil society had a last minute pre-Conference Indaba convened by NANGO and Crisis on 18th and 19th October. Despite the problems, civil society delegates attending the Conference managed to make their comments and recommendations on the COPAC draft, and these were captured as part of the Conference proceedings. The weight, if any, to be given to those views – indeed, to any views expressed by delegates to the Conference – is another matter entirely and can only be determined when the final draft appears.

Shortage of official Conference documents While all delegates and observers were provided with a printed copy of the COPAC draft constitution on accreditation, copies of the other promised Conference documents – the National Statistical Report and the collection of documents that made up the instructions to the lead drafters – were not freely available.

Instructions to breakaway groups not clear enough The initial muddle in some group meetings over how to proceed with their task indicated methodology for conducting the meetings had not been clearly enough conveyed to all delegates.

Variable quality of chairing Some meetings were well-chaired and orderly. For example, the proceedings in the group discussing the chapter on Devolution were dignified and well-mannered despite differing views being put forward by delegates. Other meetings were rowdy and ill-disciplined, with chairs having difficulty maintaining control.

Physical conditions for breakaway groups The meeting places were not uniformly ideal. Some meetings took place in the air-conditioned comfort of the Conference Centre’s permanent committee rooms, but most were relegated to temporary partitioned-off spaces that were neither big enough to accommodate delegates in comfort nor provided with air-conditioning in the sweltering October heat.

Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara’s participation in the opening ceremony resulted in Professor Ncube and his MDC party boycotting the occasion. But thanks to intervention by the SADC facilitation team, this did not develop into a boycott of the whole Conference, and MDC delegates took part in the remainder of the proceedings. This issue should have been sorted out before the Conference.

COPAC camera seized An untoward incident occurred on day 2, when a ZANU-PF delegate grabbed and disappeared with a video camera, objecting to being filmed by a COPAC cameraman. A COPAC spokesperson reacted promptly with a statement that the camera’s official record of the proceedings in the group concerned had already been safely secured. MDC-T representatives expressed concern that police officers present during the incident had not intervened to protect COPAC property and personnel.

Assessments of the Conference

Assessments of the Conference have ranged from “very successful” [from COPAC] to “farce” [because it was a costly talkshop that resolved none of the points that were in dispute before the Conference] to “charade” [a continuing contest between the parties in government instead of a process of objective analysis of the draft] to “national tragedy of epic proportions” [the National Constitutional Assembly, which has already committed itself to campaign for a NO vote at the Referendum] .

Given that COPAC had described the Conference’s terms of reference as being for delegates to freely air their views on the COPAC draft and have their comments and recommendations heard and recorded, the Conference largely achieved its purpose. But it was largely a continuation of pre-existing interparty disagreements over content, with “coached” delegates putting forwarded prepared party viewpoints and it is doubtful if new inputs will be considered.

In their preliminary observations on the Conference, ZZZICOMP [Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Independent Constitution Monitoring Project] observed that coaching of party delegates by all three political parties in a bid to safeguard their political party aspirations” had been “rampant”, and said it necessary to issue a reminder that “the Constitution is not written merely for the generation that exists at the time of its being authored but for unlimited and perpetual posterity”.

The critical question, to which the answer is not yet apparent, is whether any Conference input will result in the emergence of a better draft to be put before the Referendum.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied


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Constitution Watch of 19th November [Deadlock Post Stakeholders Conference]

CONSTITUTION WATCH

[19th November 2012]

Deadlock Post Second All Stakeholders Conference

COPAC Select Committee Report on the Conference

After preparatory work by rapporteurs and COPAC staff and the co-chairs and a preliminary meeting, the Select Committee met on 5th and 6th November to finalise its report on the Conference. Completion of the report was announced at a press briefing on the morning of 7th November. The report has not been released, but it was described in the press release signed by the three COPAC co-chairs as a document in four sections, as follows:

· an analysis of the Conference, covering the composition of delegates and the terms of reference they were given, and an outline of the Conference proceedings

· the areas where delegates did not recommend changes to the COPAC draft

· the areas where group reports record changes that were recommended by a delegate but do not indicate whether the group agreed or disagreed on the recommendations

· a list of the areas where group reports record changes that were recommended by delegates but indicate that the recommendations were not agreed to by the group – this section highlights the different recommendations made and cites the arguments put forward for and against them.

The co-chairs said the report would be submitted to the Management Committee, whose input to “the process so far has been invaluable”.

COPAC Report Submitted to Management Committee

The Management Committee – the GPA negotiators, the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and the COPAC co-chairs – received the Select Committee’s report at a meeting on 8th November. The upshot was a decision to return the report to the Select Committee for supplementing, retuning and refining, to include the speeches made at the Conference opening ceremony, the narrative report given to the Conference by the co-chairs and explanatory notes on the meaning of certain figures. The revised report was sent back to the Management Committee.

Management Committee Deadlock

The Management Committee met to discuss the revised report on Monday 12th November. It agreed that inputs from the Conference on which there was reported agreement should be “factored in” to the COPAC draft, but did not reach any agreement on the areas of disagreement [basically those raised by the ZANU-PF amended draft after the COPAC draft had been agreed and signed by all the party negotiators [virtually the Management Committee].

Neither could the Management Committee agree on the way forward. Consistent with President Mugabe’s remarks at the Conference and when opening Parliament, and a subsequent Politburo decision last week [see below]; the ZANU-PF members wanted the report sent to the party principals to negotiate the suggested recommendations and amendments which had not been not agreed to by the Conference or the Management Committee. These are essentially ZANU-PF demands for significant changes to the COPAC draft.

Both MDCs said no to sending the draft to the principals for the final say, maintaining that the next step in what is a Parliamentary process must be for the Select Committee to present the COPAC draft with agreed changes to Parliament, without intervention from the principals.

Comment: It has never been clear however from the GPA whether the Parliamentary stage in the constitution-making process allows for Parliament to change the draft. If it is debated and changes are proposed, then the argument between the COPAC draft and what ZANU-PF want amended will just be passed up the line to Parliament as a whole instead of to the principals [see quote from GPA below]

Will the Constitution be finalised by Parliament or the Principals?

Pro Parliament

MDC-T At the opening ceremony of the Stakeholders Conference Prime Minister Tsvangirai took care to say that the constitution-making process is a Parliament-driven process in which the Principals and the Executive must play a minimum part.”

MDC negotiator and Management Committee member Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has said the MDC position was that the principals had no role in the constitution-making process because they were already represented by the Management Committee. “COPAC has produced a draft and it should be taken to Parliament together with the report of the conference.”

Pro the Principals

The President At the Conference opening ceremony President Mugabe made it clear he believed the principals were responsible for the GPA and therefore the principals should settle the final draft to be placed before voters in the Referendum. He confirmed this just over a week later when opening the Parliamentary session and exhorting COPAC to –

work frantically to produce a Report of the Conference summarising the views expressed by the Stakeholders, in particular the divergent views, and submit the Report to the Principals in Government who will take the necessary steps to set up an appropriate mechanism to build the required consensus on the way forward, mindful always that our major objective remains the holding of the next Harmonised Elections in March 2013 under a new Constitution ... There is now the need for Government to assume the management of the process leading to the holding of the Referendum.”

ZANU-PF Politburo On 7th November the ZANU-PF Politburo was briefed on developments by ZANU-PF COPAC co-chair Mangwana. The Politburo reiterated the ZANU-PF position that it was now for the principals to negotiate the points on which there was still disagreement – largely the changes to the COPAC draft that ZANU-PF has been pushing for since the draft emerged from COPAC in July.

Proposal to Refer the Matter to SADC

There have been previous suggestions from both MDCs that the deadlock over whether the COPAC draft goes forward should be referred to SADC.

Note: The MDCs position at the Management Committee maintaining that the next step must be for the Select Committee to present the COPAC draft with agreed changes to Parliament, without intervention from the principals, cannot be a final solution. If ZANU-PF do not get their required amendments they may just take their fight to Parliament or to the country at the Referendum [they have through their spokesman Rugare Gumbo threatened a NO vote at the Referendum if they do not get their new requirements inserted].

Professor Ncube, President of the MDC, reiterated this call recently and called on both SADC and the AU to “break the logjam in the constitution making process”. He also described the changes ZANU-PF wanted as “their Party manifesto”, not a national constitution, and the many delays as a ZANU-PF ploy to buy time and stage elections without reforms. SADC as the guarantors of the Election Roadmap, which includes finalisation of the constitution and pre election reforms, should now resolve the crisis.

Reminder

What the GPA Says About the Constitution-Making Process

Article 6 of the GPA shows the three GPA parties went to great lengths to make the constitution-making process a responsibility of Parliament as opposed to the Executive-dominated process that is normally followed to produce a new law. The article assigns no role to the party principals. [Note: the GPA is an agreement between political parties, represented by their party leaders – not an agreement between three individuals.]

In Article 6 the three parties agree:

“(a) that they shall set up a Select Committee of Parliament composed of representatives of the Parties whose terms of reference shall be as follows:

(i) to set up such subcommittees chaired by a member of Parliament and composed of members of Parliament and representatives of Civil Society as may be necessary to assist the Select Committee in performing its mandate herein;

(ii) to hold such public hearings and such consultations as it may deem necessary in the process of public consultation over the making of a new constitution for Zimbabwe;

(iii) to convene an All Stakeholders Conference to consult stakeholders on their representation in the sub-committees referred to above and such related matters as may assist the committee in its work;

(iv) to table its draft Constitution to a 2nd All Stakeholders Conference; and

(v) to report to Parliament on its recommendations over the content of a New Constitution for Zimbabwe

(b) that the draft Constitution recommended by the Select Committee shall be submitted to a referendum.”

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