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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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
5 die on Zimbabwe's roads
daily
|
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. |
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gukurahundi Massacres: How it all began (Part
1)
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).
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.
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
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.”
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied