http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
3 November 2011
A three-member SADC Troika team that is meant
to assist the inclusive
government with implementation of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) is to
be deployed to Zimbabwe in two weeks
time.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa on Thursday
that he
was assured by President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team that the
SADC
technical committee will be in the country before the end of
November.
Members of the team are to be seconded by their Heads of State
who sit on
the Troika, which is chaired by the South African President.
Other members
of the Troika are Zambia and Tanzania.
Mwonzora met the
facilitation team of Lindiwe Zulu and Charles Nqakula in
Harare on
Wednesday. He said they discussed the deployment of the team,
which Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai described to journalists in Harare on
Wednesday
as being ‘long overdue.’
At a summit in Livingstone back in March SADC
resolved to appoint a team
that would help speed up implementation of the
issues already agreed to by
the country’s political parties. This was after
the regional leaders
criticized the unity government for their slow progress
in implementing the
GPA.
SADC has since held summits in South Africa
and Angola, which simply
‘reaffirmed’ the resolutions that were made in
Livingstone with no movement
in sight on the deployment of the
team.
According to Mwonzora the team is supposed to provide regular
progress
reports on the implementation of the outstanding GPA issues and,
where
possible, take appropriate action.
‘We are praying that the
team will come as promised because we have seen in
the past that ZANU PF has
been resisting the appointment of these officials
to sit in JOMIC,’ Mwonzora
said.
ZANU PF has insisted that they will not accept the involvement of
Troika
representatives in Zimbabwe’s affairs. But Mwonzora said it is not up
to
them to decide, and no election in Zimbabwe will be deemed credible
without
monitoring by SADC authorities.
Asked about ZANU PF’s
statement that it has lost faith with the GPA forum of
negotiators and
wanted other platforms to deal with outstanding issues, the
MDC-T legislator
for Nyanga North told us he was not amused by that.
‘What do you expect
from a party that reneges on anything that it agrees on?
There are several
issues in the GPA that have been resolved but ZANU PF has
failed to
implement them. So who is being a stumbling block? They were told
by SADC to
stop violence, but violence has escalated in the past few months.
‘It is
disingenuous for ZANU PF to try and blame the MDC. We all know they
are not
comfortable with Zuma’s firmness and they want him and his team out.
That is
what they mean when they say they want the establishment of other
platforms
for negotiations,’ Mwonzora added.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Nkululeko Sibanda, Senior Writer
Friday, 04
November 2011 12:59
HARARE - South African President Jacob Zuma could
see himself burning more
of his energy than he budgeted for in trying to
douse flames in neighbouring
Zimbabwe’s political landscape, it has
emerged.
Zimbabwe is reportedly caught up in an election roadmap
conundrum that the
African National Congress (ANC) leader might find
difficult to solve.
South African sources said yesterday Zimbabwe’s three
political parties were
apparently refusing to give in to each other’s
demands on the roadmap,
prompting the Zuma’s facilitation to refer the
differences to their
president.
The team, headed by Zuma’s
international affairs advisor, Ambassador Lindiwe
Zulu, arrived in the
country on Tuesday and flew out of the country
yesterday
evening.
Issues said to have emerged from the meetings between Zuma’s
facilitation
team and representatives of the three parties include the
resurgence of
political violence in the country, reforms of the Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission (Zec), and the thorny issue of security sector
reforms.
The MDC formations, sources said, insisted there should be
reforms in Zec as
well as in the security sector.
However, the
sources said, Zanu PF representatives refused to give in,
saying these were
non-negotiable areas.
However, there appears to be no agreement on how
these would be addressed as
both Zanu PF and the two MDC formations appear
digging in on their positions
which existed prior to the Luanda, Angola Sadc
summit three months ago.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily News
yesterday before departure,
Zulu said they would refer the troublesome
issues back to Zuma for further
action.
“We were following up on the
implementation of the roadmap after the Angola
Sadc summit. Basically, we
wanted to check on the implementation of these
issues which also include the
roadmap towards free and fair elections.
“In the roadmap there are some
grey areas.
“It was the expectation of the facilitator and the
facilitation team that
the negotiators would have by now taken the grey
areas to the principals so
that they can see how best these issues can be
attended to and that possibly
an agreement could be struck on those,” Zulu
said.
She revealed that given the stalemate that has been registered so
far, the
only available option was to have Zuma fully engage the three
principals on
the crisis areas.
Zuma recently pledged his full
commitment to intervening in the Zimbabwe
crisis.
“Now, with this
situation, we are now preparing for the meeting of the
facilitator (Zuma)
and the three principals in the Zimbabwean government to
discuss among other
things the very roadmap which has proved to have created
challenges and grey
areas in its implementation,” she said.
Zulu said the South Africans and
Sadc would not let go of their grip on
Zimbabwe as doing so would result in
a situation reminiscent of the 2008
political and economic
crisis.
“We believe we cannot let Zimbabwe struggle alone with its
problems. Our
main aim is to ensure that Zimbabwe holds peaceful elections
that would
eventually mean that Zimbabweans are able to choose their next
government in
a free and fair election which in the end will result in peace
and
tranquillity in the country."
“There are advantages that will be
derived from that peace and tranquillity
in Zimbabwe. As for South Africa,
we will not enjoy peace and prosperity
while we are fully aware that our
neighbours are having problems. That is
why we are so seized with this
Zimbabwe situation,” Zulu added.
Zulu outlined that Zuma preferred that
Sadc nursed the GPA as it was a
better tool for Zimbabwe to hold free and
fair elections in Zimbabwe.
“We are sure that the facilitator would
prefer to have this process to be
nursed than have a new process altogether
as there is a risk that a new
process might actually divert the real
attention to issues as well as track
of the achievements made so far,” Zulu
said.
A Sadc troika meeting is set to be held soon where Zuma is expected
to brief
the members of the Troika on the developments in
Zimbabwe.
After the Troika meeting, Sadc is expected to host a full
summit on Zimbabwe
where regional players are set to further examine
Zimbabwe’s situation based
on the facilitator’s report.
http://www.voanews.com
03 November
2011
ZANU-PF lead
negotiator Patrick Chinamasa told the Herald that his party 'no
longer (has)
energy, inclination or willingness to maintain the team of
negotiators as a
forum of resolving any disagreements'
Blessing Zulu and Ntungamili Nkomo
| Washington
Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, lead
negotiator for President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF in talks within the
troubled Harare unity government
has thrown the process into turmoil with a
declaration that his party has
lost faith in the negotiating forum moderated
by South African President
Jacob Zuma and his aides.
Negotiators for
ZANU-PF and the two formations of the Movement for
Democratic Change met
with Mr. Zuma’s facilitation team in Harare Wednesday.
Chinamasa later
told the ZANU-PF-leaning Herald newspaper that the forum has
failed because
the MDC wing of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has not
cooperated on
implementing positions negotiated and settled in the talks.
Chinamasa
told the Herald ZANU-PF “no longer (has) energy, inclination or
willingness
to maintain the team of negotiators as a forum of resolving any
disagreements.”
ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed the
substance of Chinamasa’s
remarks.
Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Douglas
Mwonzora accused ZANU-PF of attempting to
delay the reforms called for in
the Global Political Agreement.
Parliamentary Whip Edward Mkhosi of the
MDC formation led by Industry
Minister Welshman Ncube said ZANU-PF is the
party resisting GPA
implementation.
Political analyst dismissed
Chinamasa's comments as rhetoric, but former
student leader Blessing Vava
said ZANU-PF wants to drive the MDC into
quitting the
government.
Some observers believe ZANU-PF would like to press forward
with elections
and bypass the political, electoral, media and other reforms
spelled out in
the GPA, which is the basis of the national unity government
in place since
2009.
But others now speculate that ZANU-PF may be
reluctant to go to elections
given the health issues reportedly facing
President Robert Mugabe, the
party's candidate. He is believed to be under
care for prostate cancer that
has spread to other organs.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
04
November 2011
The President of Zimbabwe’s Commercial Farmers Union (CFU)
on Friday warned
that the country was heading for ‘disaster’, with farm
invasions
intensifying across the country.
CFU head Charles Taffs
told SW Radio Africa that the situation is extremely
serious, describing a
“definite spike in invasions with orders coming from
high up in the
government.”
Currently, a South African national who leases a Belgian
owned tobacco farm
near Mazowe, is fighting to get the Zim government to
intervene, after he
was evicted by land invaders this week. The farm,
Taveydale, is one of the
biggest tobacco producers left in the country. The
South African farmer is
also meant to be protected under a bilateral
investment agreement between
Zimbabwe and his country.
Taffs also
explained how a couple in Mashonaland West were forced to flee
their
farmhouse after a group of about 40 land invaders broke into the
property on
Thursday.
“Things are really intensifying and there is no effort to
intervene. I have
spoken to the MDC side of government, but there has been
response,” Taffs
said.
He added: “We seem to be a lost sector, and
all the concern and focus is on
mining. But the thing is, primary
agriculture has to be restored, because
without agriculture, Zimbabwe has no
chance. And we are heading for a
disaster if this carries
on.”
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Independent is reporting this week that a
ZANU PF
official from the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(JOMIC) was
behind the invasion of a German owned farm recently. The farm,
owned by the
Von Pezold family, has faced repeated threat of seizure despite
an
investment protection agreement (BIPPA) between Germany and
Zimbabwe.
According to the Zim Independent, ZANU PF’s JOMIC
representative Kizito
Kuchekwa is behind the most recent invasion of the Von
Pezold’s tobacco
farm.
The CFU’s Taffs said that the situation has
returned to normal, saying
“Germany is very strong on their BIPPAs being
enforced, so I am sure they
got involved.”
The Von Pezold family last
year took the Zimbabwe government to an
international court over the
repeated invasions on their properties across
the country. That matter is
still pending before the International Centre
for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
4
November 2011
The continuing battle within ZANU PF over who leaked the
party’s preliminary
draft constitution to the MDC has widened cracks in the
imploding former
ruling party.
Edward Chindori-Chininga, the ZANU PF
MP for Guruve South, was expelled by
his party from COPAC following
allegations that he had leaked the document
to the two co-chairpersons from
the MDC-T and MDC-N, Douglas Mwonzora and
Edward Mkhosi.
The
legislator, who was dismissed three weeks ago, has vigorously protested
his
innocence, accusing Paul Mangwana, co-chairman representing ZANU PF, of
orchestrating the dismissal through false representation.
After the
dismissal ZANU PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa said
Chindori-Chininga’s case should serve as a lesson to all party members that
indiscipline will not be tolerated in the party.
The case however
took a new twist on Friday when the weekly Zimbabwe
Independent reported
that Mwonzora and Mkhosi told the paper the ZANU PF
party document was
leaked to them by Mangwana. The three co-chairpersons
could not be reached
for comment on Friday as they were attending a
pre-budget seminar in
Victoria Falls.
The revelation elicited a strong response from
Chindori-Chininga’s
colleagues in Mashonaland Central province, who have
demanded an apology
from Mutasa and his immediate reinstatement to
COPAC.
United States based political analyst, Dr Maxwell Zeb Shumba, told
SW Radio
Africa on Friday the way Chindori-Chininga was dismissed is an
indicator
that things are unravelling in ZANU PF.
‘The party is
breaking apart, and as such people become suspicious of one
another. These
are undercurrents of animosities that have lingered for long
in ZANU PF and
now they’re erupting into the open,’ Dr Shumba said.
A fierce power struggle
is rocking ZANU PF ahead of their party conference
set for Bulawayo next
month. Opposing factions are jostling to control the
party, fearing the
continuous leadership of Robert Mugabe is taking the
party down.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Nompumelelo Moyo, November 04,
2011-Matabeleland North province has been
turned into a battle-field as
Zanu-PF with the help of police wages a covert
war against the Movement for
Democratic Change , non-governmental
organisations and human rights
defenders in the region.
Radio VOP has it on high authority that the
latest police crackdown in
Matabeleland is being coordinated by the
Matabeleland North police chief,
Assistant Commissioner Edmore
Veterai.
Despite court rulings allowing the mainstream Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC-T) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to conduct
their
campaign rallies in the region; police have maintained their
stranglehold
and barred rallies in Binga, Lupane and Victoria Falls in
recent weeks.
Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC-T national spokesperson said “the
police are
trying to deter and slow down MDC-T campaign machinery and their
behavior
last weekend raises fundamental issues, the police went beyond
disrupting
MDC-T rallies, they also disrupted and interfered with the work
of the PM,
they barred him from visiting key state institutions as part of
his
government work”.
Dumisani Nkomo, a political analyst has urged
the MDC-T to stay put in the
coalition government despite secret plots by
Zanu-PF to muscle it out.
“Police in Matabeleland are intolerant and they
have been banning a number
of non-governmental organisations’ meetings
fearing unearthing of the
Gukurahundi atrocities” said
Nkomo.
Professor Welshman Ncube, leader of MDC’s smaller faction said
that his
party has not been spared from rights abuses in the same
province.
“In the past few months we also had running battles with
Commissioner
Veterai when he arrested and detained Honorable Moses Mzila. On
our way from
Victoria Falls he made us sit down on the floor and told the
media that he
was briefing us about their activities “said Ncube.
The
police spokesperson Superintendent, Oliver Mandipaka has denied
allegations
leveled against police force.
“What you are saying are lies, it is not in
the interest of the police to
comment on that issue, l am not obliged to
give you a comment, you are not
my employer,” shouted
Mandipaka.
MDC-T has threatened to report the disruption of their rallies
to
Parliament, with PM Tsvangirai seeking an audience with President Robert
Mugabe over police actions.
The MDC-T claim the ongoing disruption to
their rallies is part of efforts
to harm its leader, and force the party to
quit the coalition government
ahead of elections expected before next
March.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has indicated that Matabeleland
North
province is the most politically volatile province in the country,
with over
40 political and human rights figures arrested by police since the
beginning
of the year.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
Friday, 04 November 2011 09:49
Dumisani
Muleya/ Faith Zaba
FRESH political divisions have emerged around
President Robert Mugabe
(pictured below) whose continued stay in power ahead
of the party’s key
conference and elections is increasingly becoming a
catalyst for internal
strife within Zanu PF and state
structures.
Extensive briefings to the Zimbabwe Independent this week
show whereas
Mugabe’s inner political circle and close courtiers were
relatively united
even at the height of the economic meltdown and
hyperinflation in 2008, new
strains among them have now emerged due to the
latest turbulent events,
widening existing divisions.
Informed
sources say Mugabe’s inner circle, which includes members of the
Joint
Operations Command (JOC), political diehards and personal advisors, is
now
divided due to mutual suspicions and tensions, mainly after WikiLeaks
disclosures.
Before the 2008 elections there was a thread of
largely consistent and
cohesive cooperation between JOC, Mugabe’s close
advisors and allies like
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, his central bank
bureaucracy and Zanu PF
heavyweights, mainly Emmerson Mnangagwa and his
faction.
The Zanu PF camp led by the late retired army commander
General Solomon
Mujuru wanted Mugabe out. The Mujuru faction tried but
failed to remove
Mugabe as the candidate at the party’s extraordinary
congress in December
2007, where former politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa and
Simba Makoni, who
later quit in frustration, were geared to mount a surprise
challenge against
their leader.
JOC, which brings together army,
police and intelligence chiefs, includes
members like Zimbabwe Defence
Forces commander General Constantine Chiwenga,
Police Commissioner-General
Augustine Chihuri, Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) Director-General
retired Major-General Happyton
Bonyongwe, Air Marshal Perance Shiri and
retired Major-General Prisons
Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi.
This
group, despite its own internal contradictions fuelled by Zanu PF
factionalism, fought fiercely to keep Mugabe in power during the elections
in 2008.
It was largely supported by Gono who availed resources for its
operations
and Mugabe’s campaigns.
Gono and his central bank
bureaucracy worked closely with JOC and the state
apparatus structures to
save Mugabe from defeat. Sources however say this
group is now fractured and
engaged in political skirmishes due to recent
events which rocked the party
like the WikiLeaks disclosures, the death of
Mujuru and the controversy over
Mugabe being a candidate in the next
election.
“Before and during
the 2008 elections, there was an organised group around
Mugabe which
included members of JOC, RBZ and a few Zanu PF officials
working closely to
ensure Mugabe’s continued stay in power,” a source said.
“Although most Zanu
PF officials wanted him out, this group rescued Mugabe.”
“However,
the situation has now dramatically changed because of different
events,
including WikiLeaks revelations, Mujuru’s death and the issues of
conference
and elections. There are now serious divisions to be found within
this
group. For instance, relations between Chiwenga, Shiri, Bonyongwe,
Chihuri,
Gono and others have changed in major ways.
These individuals and
by implication the institutions they head are no
longer working as closely
and systematically as they were during times of
adversity in 2008 and
before.”
A senior government official said relations between JOC
members, Gono and
others around Mugabe chilled after WikiLeaks disclosures
in which Chiwenga,
Bonyongwe and Gono were mentioned in different cables
amid plots and
counter-plots to get each other arrested.
“So many
things have been happening but after WikiLeaks the environment was
poisoned,” the official said. “There have been tensions and suspicions
within JOC. There have been problems between officials like Bonyongwe and
Gono. Relations between Gono and the likes of Chiwenga and Chihuri have also
become frosty. Chiwenga and Shiri don’t see eye to eye.”
“Now we
practically have a Hobbesian state of existence –– everyone fighting
against
everyone. It’s a dog eat dog situation, survival of the fittest.
Political
players are very selfish; they are willing to hurt each other if
they think
that will help them to survive.”
Officials say Gono and some of
senior officials at the RBZ also have
tensions. The situation is said to
have been worsened by divisions on the
issue of Tsvangirai’s Highlands house
purchase. While some officials around
Mugabe want Tsvangirai arrested,
others have warned this would be
ill-advised as it could ignite political
mayhem.
... Zanu PF stuck with leader
ZANU PF is stuck
with President Robert Mugabe ahead of its conference in
Bulawayo next month
and crucial elections expected either next year or in
2013.
While there
is a lot of informal debate in Zanu PF about the need to replace
Mugabe
because of old age and ill-health, senior party officials are finding
it
difficult to deal with the issue because of the party’s constitutional
provisions, which clearly state that a person elected president at a
congress becomes the party’s candidate at elections between
congresses.
According to the Zanu PF constitution, one of the powers
and functions of
the conference is to declare the president of the party
elected at congress
as the party’s candidate. In between regular congresses
the change of a
presidential candidate can only be done at an extraordinary
congress. Six
weeks’ notice is required to convene such a
congress.
Because Mugabe was duly elected at the party’s 2009
congress in Mutare, he
remains Zanu PF’s presidential candidate until the
next scheduled congress
in 2014.
Zanu PF politburo members said
yesterday discussion about the party’s
presidential election candidate was a
closed chapter. Zanu PF spokesperson
Rugare Gumbo said Mugabe’s endorsement
in Mutare still stood.
“President Mugabe’s endorsement was done last
year — that endorsement still
stands,” said Gumbo. “It is not on the agenda
at the Bulawayo conference,”
he said.
Gumbo said key issues to be
discussed at the conference in Bulawayo were the
land reform programme, the
indigenisation and empowerment programme and the
humanitarian crisis
obtaining in areas facing starvation such as some parts
of Manicaland,
Mwenezi, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and
Masvingo.
Party chair Simon Khaya Moyo said Zanu PF was silent
because the issue was
not up for debate. “I don’t know why there is a
misunderstanding over the
issue when our constitution is very clear that it
is at congresses that we
elect the leadership,” said Khaya
Moyo.
“We did it in 2009 and our next congress is in 2014. At
conferences, like
the one we are going to have in Bulawayo, we review what
we have done over
the year and those that want to reaffirm what the congress
decided are free
to do so. Whoever is elected president at the congress
becomes the party’s
candidate in the event of presidential elections
in-between congresses,”
Khaya Moyo said.
Provincial conferences
will be held in two or three weeks and some
provincial chairpersons
interviewed said they would endorse Mugabe. Masvingo
chairperson Lovemore
Matuke said: “Our provincial conference is on November
22 and it is then
that we will endorse the president. President Mugabe was
elected at the
congress and he is our candidate for the elections.”
“This issue has
further fractured the cohesion of the group around Mugabe,”
a source said.
“Mugabe’s health and the succession turmoil are further
complications. It’s
a political powder keg around Mugabe.”
Fence-mending meetings between
Mugabe’s courtiers are however currently
underway. Gono and others have been
meeting to try to bridge their
differences.
http://www.radiovop.com
Chinhoyi, November 04, 2011 -
Flamboyant businessman and politician, Phillip
Chiyangwa’s bid to contest in
the Mashonaland West leadership was nearly
sealed amid revelations that top
Politburo members had fast tracked his
readmission into Zanu-PF.
A
senior Zanu-PF member confirmed to Radio VOP the heavy involvement of
Didymus Minister Mutasa in the admission of Chiyangwa back into the
liberation party.
Party insiders confirmed that President Robert
Mugabe challenged why some
senior party members were quick to have Chiyangwa
readmitted back into the
party.
"We were surprised to hear that
question as Didymus Mutasa, the Secretary
for Administration of Zanu-PF had
written to the province to have him
readmitted" said an
insider.
Mutasa unknowingly danced to the tune of a camp led by Local
Government
Minister, Ignatius Chombo that fast-tracked Chiyangwa into
Makonde district
coordinating committee to position him into party
provincial leadership,
confirmed a party senior member who refused to be
named.
He added that it was later resolved that he may be admitted
into the party
but as an ordinary member.
Speaking after the
Politburo meeting at the Zanu-PF headquarters in Harare
on Wednesday, party
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said Chiyangwa bounces back
into the party as an
ordinary member.
"On the Chiyangwa issue we have agreed that he comes
back as an ordinary
member until such a time he is cleared. The Politburo
has made a decision
(that he would not contest any party position)," he
said.
However, rumors continue making rounds in Zanu-PF circles that
Chombo is
playing behind the scenes to support the former Chinhoyi
legislator’s
candidature for the vacant provincial chairmanship
post.
"The camp led by Chombo supported Chiyangwa and has since put
forward Walter
Chidhakwa to contest the seat an idea shot down by Mugabe
saying Zanu-PF
is not Zvimba clan as all hail from his home area and are
relatives" added
another source also speaking on condition that he is not
named.
Among those cleared are former chairman John Mafa who will is
the acting
provincial chairperson and Reuben Marumahoko.
Mafa
and Marumahoko are reported to belong to another faction not aligned to
Chombo's camp in election due to be held this month.
Yotamu
Yotamu is among those who have submitted resumes for the chairperson
position.
Chiyangwa is accused of sponsoring youths from Kariba,
Karoi and Hurungwe to
campaign for him in September during the provincial
district conference
where elections were postponed.
The Zanu-PF
Politburo, the supreme decision-making body outside congress,
also cleared
deposed provincial chairman Mafa to stand for any position in
the provincial
structure, according to Gumbo.
Mutasa denied that he had a link to
fast track Chiyangwa but admitted he
wrote to have him considered back into
the party.
"He is a party member and we understood his plea to be
admitted back into
the party. Just accept that" said Mutasa in a brief
response. Chombo could
not be reached for comment at the time of writing
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
04 November, 2011
A meeting scheduled for the weekend by
the MDC-N was banned by police in
Masvingo, after the district commanding
officer said he was aware of only
one political party in Zimbabwe, ZANU
PF.
The police also banned celebrations for the electrification of a
clinic in
Binga district, calling it an MDC affair, despite clear evidence
that Binga
councilors from all political parties had been
invited.
The news comes in a week that started after the police and ZANU
PF thugs
banned MDC-T rallies in Lupane and Victoria Falls, where Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai was due to address supporters. The MDC-T leader
is said to
be fuming.
The MDC-N meeting planned by Welshman Ncube was
to be held on Saturday in
Chivi district. In a statement, the party said:
“There can be no further
confirmation that our beloved country is
degenerating into a police state.”
A Chivi police officer named Mawadza also
told the MDC-N provincial
chairperson, Sibusisiwe Tamirepi, that ZANU PF was
the only party in Zim.
The law in Zimbabwe requires that police be
notified of any public events,
but the Mugabe regime and ZANU PF have made
unilateral decisions to ban all
public events organized by the MDC
formations and civic groups, while ZANU
PF continue to hold theirs, complete
with police escorts.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme
received reports from Lusulu
ward in Binga, where the MDC-T had organized
celebrations on Wednesda, for a
clinic that now has electricity, after being
ignored since independence.
“They can now store important medicines in a
refrigerator and have patients
stay overnight,” Saungweme said. But the
police forced Binga district
Councillor Temba Toonse Kunjulu, who was
involved with the electrification
project, to cancel the event insisting it
was an MDC meeting.
“It’s shocking because the clinic serves the whole
community and ZANU PF
councilors from Binga were also invited. The area is
an MDC stronghold so
ZANU PF did not want them to get credit for the
positive development,”
Saungeme explained.
We were unable to get the
police or the MDC-N for comment.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance
Guma
04 November 2011
The spokesman for the splinter MDC-99 formation
was finally released from
police custody on Thursday after being arrested
Monday for staging a one-man
demonstration at the Munhumutapa offices in
central Harare.
Aaron Muzungu told SW Radio Africa he went to the offices
which house Robert
Mugabe, holding up his placard written “Mugabe and his
GNU must go”. He said
he was almost immediately apprehended by a number of
Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) agents and members of the police
support unit.
Muzungu said they took him behind the Munhumutapa building
and started
torturing him there. Once they got him into police custody he
said they
brought a glass of urine and some faeces and said: “These faeces
are Mugabe’s
faeces, so if you want to rule this country you have to eat
Mugabe’s
faeces.”
Although Muzungu said he managed to avoid eating
the faeces he said he had
no choice but to take ‘one or two gulps of urine.”
Asked why he felt
motivated to demonstrate against Mugabe, Mazungu said: “We
need Mugabe to
understand our true feelings cause it seems he is very much
confused and is
too old to run this country.”
Muzungu said because he
demonstrated alone the police struggled for days to
come up with charges
against him. He said repressive legislation which was
in place, like POSA,
mainly dealt with groups of more than 5 people and
since he was alone,
‘they failed to get a charge that would suit my
activities.”
Police
later charged Muzungu with ‘disorderly conduct.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
04
November 2011
The Chairman of the media rights watchdog, MISA Zimbabwe,
said the group is
‘shocked’ by the fresh threats leveled against the
country’s media
fraternity this week.
Njabulo Ncube was reacting to
statements by the Zimbabwe Media Commission
(ZMC), which has threatened to
censure what it called “errant journalists”
through a ‘Media
Council’
Addressing media stakeholders in Kwekwe on Wednesday, ZMC
chairperson
Godfrey Majonga said the council, to be set up as early as
November 30th,
would have the power to have journalists prosecuted,
suspended or
deregistered, along with their media houses.
“Powers of
the Media Council as provided by the Act include the following
when a breach
has been made in the case of a journalist: cautioning the
journalist,
referring the matter for prosecution, suspending for a specific
period not
exceeding three months the accreditation of the journalist or
deleting his
or her name from the roll of journalists,” Majonga said.
He also warned
media houses that they risked prosecution or suspension if
they contravened
the regulations.
MISA Zimbabwe’s Ncube told SW Radio Africa on Friday
that his organisation
“does not support this threat to media and to freedom
of expression.” He
added that Zimbabwe is far from where it should be in
terms of media
freedoms, as promised by the unity government.
“The
Global Political Agreement (which formed the basis for the coalition
government) talks of media reforms. But such reforms have not been
forthcoming save for what I regard as cosmetic reforms, like the licensing
of a few newspapers this year,” Ncube said.
He also referred to the
calls for commercial radio licence applications as
evidence of this
‘cosmetic’ reform, saying “three of the four shortlisted
applicants have
definite ties to the ZANU PF side of government.” The four
are KISS FM
(which is partnering with the ZBC to provide news broadcasts),
AB
Communications (led by the former head of the ZANU PF linked Affirmative
Action Group, Supa Mandiwanzira), the ZimPapers Talk Radio Project (which
publishes the state’s mouthpiece Herald newspaper), and Radio
VOP.
“Three are linked to the government. Now you have a plot to censure
journalists. Surely you cannot even talk of media freedom when this is
happening,” Ncube said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Four MDC councillors fired by
Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo and
reinstated by a High Court
judge want the Judicial Services Commission to
discipline Magistrate
Munamato Mutevedzi who presided over their
disciplinary
hearing.
04.11.1110:27am
by Chief Reporter
Mutevedzi presided
over the inquiry into the alleged unprocedural allocation
of Harare City
Council stands to the four councillors.
In his report submitted in
December 2010, the magistrate found the four
councillors guilty and
recommended their dismissal.
On the basis of the magistrate's
recommendations, Chombo fired the
councillors - Maxwell Katsande ward 26,
Johnson Zaranyika ward 39, Paul
Gorekore ward 3 and Silas Machetu ward
25.
They appealed against their dismissal in the High Court. And last
week
Justice Bharat Patel acquitted them all of allegations of irregularly
acquiring stands and forcing themselves into council houses.
Justice
Patel said in his ruling Chombo had blatantly ignored evidence
presented to
him absolving the four councillors of any wrongdoing - but
proceeded to fire
them anyway. He said Chombo was directed by his handpicked
commission to
fire the councillors and blatantly disregarded the detailed
record of
proceedings of the inquiry and the evidence contained therein.
"If he
(Chombo) had done so he would not have simply adopted the commission’s
findings and recommendations of dismissal," Justice Patel's ruling
says.
"The town clerk and deputy director of housing were not called to
testify at
the inquiry and the commission totally ignored the evidence of
the director
of housing (Chivavaya) and that of chief housing officer
(Mandizha) which
clearly exculpated the applicants of any wrongdoing,"
Justice Patel said in
his ruling.
"In short the findings of guilt in
relation to all four applicants were so
grossly irrational in their defiance
of logic that no reasonable person
applying his mind to the matter could
possibly have arrived at those
decisions," Patel said.
The Elected
Councillors Association of Zimbabwe’s legal secretary, Tinashe
Madamombe,
has written to the Judicial Services Commission calling for
disciplinary
action against the magistrate.
"We are concerned that a very senior
magistrate failed to apply the
objective test in arriving at his
recommendation to dismiss the
councillors," said the letter to JSC seen by
The Zimbabwean.
"A man of his stature and experience on the bench chose
not to uphold the
professional tenets expected of a magistrate presiding
over a disciplinary
hearing of a political nature. The effects of his
recommendation seriously
impacted on the social standing of the 4
councillors in a negative manner.
"It is our considered view that the
commission is empowered and mandated to
look into the professional conduct
of magistrates in the exercise of their
duties. We are concerned that a
senior magistrate chose to negate the basic
principles applicable in
arriving at a determination. In the circumstances
we implore the commission
to take appropriate action against Mutevedzi.”
http://www.voanews.com/
November
04, 2011
Peta Thornycroft |
Johannesburg
Zimbabwe’s summer rains have started but many
peasant farmers have no seed
to plant crops and many families, particularly
in the south of the country,
are desperately hungry because their crops
failed last year. The Solidarity
Peace Trust produced a detailed report
this week about rural poverty in
southern Zimbabwe and said the situation
was so bad that South Africa should
stop deporting Zimbabweans as their
families at home cannot feed them.
Solidarity Peace Trust, the South
Africa-based rights group, has been
monitoring hungry families in the dry,
southern part of Zimbabwe where there
is desperate poverty, especially in
the Matabeleland South province.
Shari Eppel, the group's director in the
city of Bulawayo, said that seeds
and fertilizer, known in farming circles
as "inputs," are not available to
produce the staple food of
maize.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti allocated money to buy inputs for the
country’s
poorest 100,000 farmers, and subsidized inputs for a further
half-million
vulnerable farmers, but officials have apparently not yet
located and
distributed the materials.
Eppel said Zimbabwe’s
meteorological service and the Commercial Farmers
Union agree that rains
will be plentiful until year's end, so people must
plant crops now as there
will be little rain from January onwards.
"The problem which people are
facing in Matabeleland South and I assume all
over country is that there are
no free inputs available and it is absolutely
crucial that people plant
now," said Shari Eppel.
She said research among some of the poorest
families in Matabeleland South
showed that many families are becoming ever
weaker for lack of food, as
crops failed because inputs were also late last
year.
"Children were crying of hunger during interview sessions and by
the second
round of interviews in October adults were noticeably weaker,"
said Eppel.
"This is a real concern when you have a family with children
when there is
no food whatsoever in the house, which is the situation at the
moment."
Agriculture in Zimbabwe's tense inclusive government is
controlled by
President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party. So far the ministry
has not
replied to questions about the missing inputs.
Many
Zimbabweans whose applications to work in South Africa failed are being
deported home at present. Eppel said South Africa should stop deporting
them because their families were too poor to cope with another mouth to
feed.
“I think it is disastrous at this state in terms of the
additional pressure
it is going to put on families," she said. "Those family
members are
returning to a situation of desperate poverty and it is simply
going to
exacerbate the desperate economic situation in the
country.”
Eppel also said she is distressed at the lack of emergency food
aid
available for so many hungry Zimbabweans in the south of the country.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, November 04,
2011---Attorney General , Johannes Tomana has withdrawn
power to prosecute
vested in some of the prosecutors who led a strike last
month after charging
them with misconduct.
The Zimbabwe Law Officers Association (ZILOA)
leaders Dereck Charamba and
Mehluli Tshuma together with three other leaders
saw their powers being
stripped off Thursday.
Tomana removed the
authority and powers to prosecute after charging ZILOA
leaders with defying
him, defying Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick
Chinamasa,
physically blocking access to his offices and the courts without
his
authority and for withdrawing their services.
Before prosecution, the law
officers are granted an authority to prosecute
signed by the Attorney
General.
“My constitutional mandate and duty to uphold the constitution
of and the
laws of Zimbabwe and in particular my duty to administer criminal
justice,
does not envisage a situation in which I would rely on a prosecutor
of the
predisposition….,” Tomana wrote in one of the letters served to the
ZILOA
leaders.
It could not be ascertained whether the letters had
also been served on
other ZILOA leaders including the organisation’s
President Leopold Mudisi,
Patrobs Dube, and Musekiwa Mbanje.
Tomana
charged the five labour leaders early last month with misconduct and
inciting prosecutors to boycott their work stations for two weeks in protest
against poor salaries.
The prosecutors wanted to be paid salaries and
benefits equal to those
earned by
magistrates, who earn three times as
them.
During their protest, the prosecutors staged demonstrations outside
Tomana’s
office and at magistrates’ courts around the country.
The
strike was only called off after their employer, the Public Service
Commission agreed to address their grievances.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
04 November
2011
A robber convicted to serve 12 years in prison stunned a Harare
court on
Thursday when he called Robert Mugabe ‘impotent’ and threatened the
prosecutor with unspecified action soon after his sentence was
passed.
A report by the Daily News says 26 year old Daniel Mutema
threatened
prosecutor Zivanayi Makwanya telling him: “I am not afraid of
you, even if
you sentence me to 70 years in prison, I don’t care because
Mugabe will be
dead by then and Tsvangirai will be in power and I will still
come and deal
with you.”
Mutema and two of his accomplices, Brian
Juma and Tatenda Nyanhemwa, who are
all from Mbare, faced accusations of
robbing a Tynwald man of his car in
Chinhoyi after they hoodwinked him by
posing as genuine travellers.
Mutema however lost his cool when
Magistrate William Bhila passed sentence
on the matter. He also targeted a
female court orderly, accusing her of
being Mugabe’s prostitute. It’s
reported another docket has been opened
against Mutema and he will now face
charges of undermining the authority and
the office of the President.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Godfrey Mtimba
Friday, 04 November 2011
12:13
MASVINGO - Police in Masvingo yesterday afternoon arrested two
student
leaders at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) after they led a
demonstration
against officials at the institution who barred them from
holding Students
Representative Council (SRC) elections.
The students
also protested against the deferment of students exams over
tuition fees
arrears.
Angry students led by Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu)
provincial
spokesperson and GZU SRC, secretary-general, Prosper Tiringindi
and Butah
Makuvire the Zinasu provincial deputy organising secretary
demonstrated at
the university.
The student leaders stand accused of
leading an unlawful demonstration as
well as assaulting university staff
including the Dean of Students, Lovemore
Chirove, a Ms V Chikodzi, the
Deputy Registrar and their secretaries.
Zinasu national treasurer general
Zivanai Muzorodzi confirmed the arrests.
“Our two leaders were picked up
by police at the college after they led a
demonstration demanding the
authorities to allow the holding of elections
for the sake of leadership
renewal.
“They have been adamant and reluctant because they want the old
executive
which is loyal to them and their political party to continue for
another
term, but students have said no,” said Muzorodzi.
Police were
called in to quell the demonstration leading to the arrest of
the
two.
Muzorodzi blasted the police and university authorities for their
heavy
handed approach in handling the matter.
“Maladministration and
dictatorship has no permanent legs, the voice of the
students will prevail.
Even if they rope in the heavy handed police force,
we will continue to
fight for our rights.
It was a simple call of elections for renewal and
continuity. The outgoing
executive’s term is up and we need a new SRC that
will lead students,” he
said.
Muzorodzi said they were not aware of
their colleagues’ whereabouts as they
failed to locate them at Masvingo
central police station and other stations
in the city.
Their lawyer,
Dumisani Hwacha of Hwacha and Ndlovu legal practitioners said
he was still
looking for them.
“It’s true they have been arrested but I can’t locate
them as yet. I have
been to Masvingo Central Police Station and the rural
station and they were
not there.
We are not sure where they have been
taken to but we will continue our bid
to locate them,” Hwacha
said.
Efforts to get a comment from Masvingo police spokesperson
Inspector Tinaye
Matake were fruitless as he was not picking up his phone.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Friday,
04 November 2011 11:16
HARARE - The celebrated 98 percent adult
literacy rate of Zimbabwe could
fall down to 70 percent if the current rate
of school dropouts is not nipped
in the bud, Swedish ambassador to Zimbabwe
Anders Liden has said.
Speaking at the launch of the second phase of the
Educational Transition
Fund (ETF) yesterday, Liden said that there was need
for government and the
donor community to support the educational sector
particularly the girl
child.
The fund which is being spearheaded by
United Nations Children Fund (Unicef)
and other donor community will see
over 7 million textbooks in six subjects
which include English, mathematics,
history and other local languages being
distributed to over 1 million
secondary schools and reduce the student book
ratio from 1:15 to
1:1.
“When schools are forced to close, teachers run away as happened in
2008,
there is a high rate of school dropouts and the impact is very
negative.
“The World Bank has estimated that this could lead to a drop in
adult
literacy rate that is over 90 percent to as low as 70 percent by 2015.
If
that happens, it will be very difficult for Zimbabwe to compete on the
international community,” said Liden.
He said educating a girl child
is educating a community.
Unicef country representative Dr Peter Salama
added that the current
situation spelt doom for the country as most girls
were being forced out of
school especially at secondary school
level.
“Data suggests that the likelihood of girls dropping out of
secondary school
is 40 percent higher than boys.
“In addition, while
girls and boys appear to have equal opportunities in
primary school, the
situation in secondary schools changes,” said Salama.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
04/11/2011 00:00:00
by
Agencies
SECURITY agents loyal to President Robert Mugabe are behind
a ''coup'' that
is plunging the country back into political violence, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has claimed.
Tsvangirai, speaking this
week after police sealed the offices of his
Movement for Democratic Change
party, firing tear-gas into the building and
at bystanders in Harare, said:
''It appears the demons of violence are
back - a siege mood seems to be
slowly gripping the country.
''The state security agents have instituted
a coup over the civilian
authority and they are now above the law, to the
extent of disrupting
government programs and assaulting civilians with
impunity.''
Incidents of political violence decreased after Mugabe and
Tsvangirai formed
a unity government following disputed elections in 2008,
during which more
than 200 people died, but talk of a poll next year has
reignited tension.
Tsvangirai remains critical of the President for
clinging to power, but
describes the relationship in their weekly meetings
as cordial.
However, tensions appear to be escalating as parties begin
campaigns for
elections expected early next year and in recent weeks police
have disrupted
Tsvangirai's rallies in the western Matabeleland region,
where the MDC won
the majority of parliamentary seats in 2008.
Last
Saturday, ZANU-PF militants disrupted an MDC rally organised by a
minister
jointly responsible for police affairs.
Tsvangirai said: ''The violence
we are witnessing is state-sponsored and
state-driven. It is being
championed by a few fascist leaders who want to
reverse the little progress
we have made.
''The country is at a high risk of imploding if some in the
leadership
continue to be privately abetting lawlessness while publicly
preaching
non-violence.''
Tsvangirai said Mugabe had assured him during a
meeting on Tuesday the issue
of violence would be dealt with.
In a speech
to parliament in September, Mugabe called for an end to
violence.
While he was speaking, militants attacked MDC activists
outside. ZANU-PF
denies engaging in violence and accuses MDC supporters of
provoking its
supporters.
http://www.voanews.com
03 November
2011
Independent Harare economist John Robertson said the lack of a
robust
government structure to account for Marange diamond revenues will
ensure
that funds continue to be diverted, suggesting Botswana as a
model
Sandra Nyaira | Washington
Now that the Kimberley
Process has given the green light for Zimbabwe to
sell diamonds from its
controversial Marange field on international markets,
the question remains
whether Harare's system can ensure gem proceeds go
where they
should.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu bragged this week that Zimbabwe will
now “unleash
her worthiness” on international markets and will never need to
seek donor
aid again.
But skeptics note wide discrepancies between
official revenue figures and
independent estimates of how much should be
generated by the rich Marange
alluvial field.
Meanwhile,
non-governmental organizations argued that the Kimberley deal
reached this
week in Kinshasa is bad for Kimberley and for ordinary
Zimbabweans.
Research director Alan Martin of Partnership Africa
Canada said NGOs have no
faith in the diamond supply chain out of Marange
and that black market sales
will continue.
"The integrity of the
entire clean diamond supply chain is on the line,"
said Martin.
"How
can consumers buy a diamond this Christmas with any confidence that
they are
not buying a Marange diamond mined in unquestionable violence?"
Martin
demanded. "How can industry give any assurances that they will be
able to
separate these diamonds from the legitimate diamond supply chain?"
Global
Witness researcher Mike Davies said in a discussion Thursday on
LiveTalk, a
call-in program of the VOA Zimbabwe Service, that the Kimberley
votes in
Kinshasa failed to address the risk of diamonds financing political
violence
in Zimbabwe.
VOA reporter Sandra Nyaira turned to independent Harare
economist John
Robertson and former Affirmative Action Group president Supa
Mandiwanzira,
who was involved in a plan to build Zimbabwe’s diamond
industry, for
perspective.
Robertson says the lack of a robust
government structure to account for
Marange revenues will ensure that funds
continue to be diverted. He said
Zimbabwe should look to neighboring
Botswana for ideas on how to manage a
diamond resource.
Mandiwanzira
maintained there is sufficient transparency to how diamond
revenues are
handled, saying some problems were to be expected in a new
industry.
Friday, 04 November 2011
All is set for the MDC Real Change
Peace Rally on Sunday at Chibuku Stadium in Chitungwiza where President
Tsvangirai will be the main speaker .
Thousands of MDC supporters are
expected to attend the rally at which President Tsvangirai who will be
accompanied by the party’s senior leadership will touch on a number of issues
affecting the party and the country.
The President is expected to speak
on the life and health of the party ahead of the next year’s free and fair
elections, on the performance of the inclusive government in his capacity as the
Prime Minister, this week's visit by President Jacob Zuma's facilitation team
and the roadmap to a free and fair election.
President Tsvangirai is also
expected to talk and denounce the increase of State sponsored violence across
the country, the Constitution-making process and other issues that are daily
affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
The rally comes a week after police in
Matebeleland North province disrupted rallies that the President was supposed to
address in Lupane and Victoria Falls although the rallies had been sanctioned by
the High Court.
On Tuesday, police in Harare armed with AK 47 rifles and
baton sticks, fired threw teargas into the MDC headquarters, Harvest House
injuring scores of people and indiscriminately beating up people in the
process.
However, the people of Zimbabwe remain undeterred in their fight
for real change and will on Sunday show this by attending in their thousands the
Chitungwiza rally.
During the Sunday rally President Tsvangirai will also
introduce the party’s new leadership that was voted into office at the party’s
3rd National Congress held in Bulawayo in May.
Similar provincial rallies
attended by thousands of party supporters have been held in Harare, Bulawayo,
Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo, Kwekwe, Chegutu, Marondera and Nkayi.
Together, united, winning, voting for real change!!!
--
MDC Information & Publicity Department
From the
Zimbabwe Vigil
We have been asked to
circulate the following press notice by Zimbabwe We Can.
Zimbabwe
Vigil Co-ordinators
The
Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every
Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights
in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe.
http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
Press Notice from
‘Zimbabwe We Can’ – 4th November 2011
History is in the
Making, Zimbabwe Arise!
It was great to
gather in Woking as concerned Zimbabweans under the banner of ‘Zimbabwe We Can’
and even more exciting to leave behind a team of dedicated cadres eager to take
the movement and its mission forward. The setting up of Woking branch was
historical and inspiring in many ways:
·
It was our very first
grassroots structure and many more are to come
·
It was our first,
direct appeal to the people
·
it represented our
resolve and commitment to take the Zimbabwe question
head-on
·
it was a road test
for our vision and for us as leadership
·
We stood up and took
the first steps leading our people from bondage and suffering to a possibility
of being able to dream, believe and live again. Indeed, the struggle has truly
begun.
At the start of his
address, the Interim President, Mr Ephraim Tapa, asked what the audience thought
when they heard news about the Zimbabwe We Can movement. One attendee (later to
become Interim Provincial Chair for Woking) Miss Mahachi answered, ‘we just
thought like; here comes another organisation, all talk and no action’. When the
same question was posed at the end of the President’s address, Miss Mahachi said
‘now I know this is different, Zim We Can is about each Zimbabwean taking
responsibility of the Zimbabwe situation and not just blaming, complaining or
waiting for others to change things’. Quite rightly so, Zimbabwe belongs equally
to all its citizens and we all need to take responsibility in our different ways
and according to our calling. We all must accept responsibility for the Zimbabwe
that was, that is and that will be.
Gone are the days
when we would constrain ourselves to providing support or being bystanders. In
2008, Nelson Mandela criticized Zimbabwe as a ‘tragic failure of leadership’.
Zimbabwe We Can adds the concept of taking responsibility. We all participated
to bring about our liberation, we were there when Zimbabwe and its leadership
lost its way, and we did not do anything even if we could. We only have
ourselves to blame and until such time when we come to accept that and begin to
believe in our collective ability to stop the rot, the suffering will
continue.
In the run-up to the
2000 parliamentary elections, the late Vice President, Simon Muzenda declared;
‘tichatonga kusvikira madhongi amera nyanga (we will rule until the donkeys grow
horns)’ and ‘kana tikakupai Gudo, munotorivhotera (If Zanu-PF
gives you a baboon as a candidate, you vote for the baboon)’. Some
in the audience ululated whilst some remained mum. What arrogance on the part
of the Zimbabwe leadership and what docility on our part. Yes, those days are
over. Together WE CAN set ourselves free. In Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and much
closer home Malawi, we have seen the people’s power manifest itself in a bold
push to overcome fear and insignificance and to reclaim their power and with it,
their destination.
Saturday, 5 November
represents another historic day. Yet another structure will be put in place in
Wolverhampton adding more belief and impetus to the dream. We urge Zimbabweans
from all walks of life not to look aside this time around. Violence in Zimbabwe
coupled with police brutality is on the rise. We can stop this! Never mind if
you have never done anything or whether you have difficulties understanding the
history; Zimbabweans like other citizens of the world, deserve peace, dignity,
respect and well-being. Our experience so far has shown that the cost of not
doing anything at all is too ghastly to contemplate. Make an effort to attend
the Wolverhampton meeting this Saturday; we need a better deal for Zimbabwe by
Zimbabweans. Those in other countries including Zimbabwe, are encouraged to get
together under the unifying and energising banner of Zimbabwe We Can and
organise themselves ready for action.
Isaiah Bizabani:
Zimbabwe We Can Publicity and Information Secretary
(07427496737)
publicityandinformation@zimbabwewecan.org
Join us on Facebook
and Twitter
http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2011/176656.htm
Testimony
Johnnie Carson
Assistant Secretary, Bureau
of African Affairs
House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Africa,
Global Health, and
Human Rights
Washington, DC
November 2,
2011
Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Payne, honorable Members of the
Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you concerning
the situation
in Zimbabwe and U.S.-Zimbabwe relations.
Zimbabwe is a
country of enormous economic, agricultural, and regional
potential.
Unfortunately, a history of fiscal mismanagement, poor
governance, and a
culture of political violence have limited that potential
for nearly 15
years. While some visible improvements have been made, serious
challenges
remain.
After a deeply flawed and violent election in 2008, Zimbabwe’s
former
opposition parties are now part of a transitional coalition
government that
has lasted nearly three years. This coalition government was
established
under the stewardship of the Southern African Development
Community as a key
tenet of the Global Political Agreement, which was
negotiated between the
opposing parties to end political violence and move
past contested
elections. Although significant challenges remain on the
political front,
there has been progress. A tri-partisan parliamentary
committee has sought
input for a new draft constitution from millions of
Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe’s
economy, which dollarized in 2009, has made a
remarkable recovery. The
International Monetary Fund estimated
that
Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product grew at nine percent in 2010.
Humanitarian
need has decreased significantly since 2009, when 7 million
people received
humanitarian aid. In January 2012, the number of people
needing humanitarian
assistance is projected to be just one million. Schools
and health clinics
previously closed due to a lack of staff and supplies
have re-opened and are
providing vital social services to the Zimbabwean
people.
At the same time, substantial progress has been impeded by
censorship, weak
rule of law, and the continued politicization of state
institutions.
Politically motivated harassment, intimidation and violence
continue, and
state institutions are beholden to partisan
agendas.
The United States has always supported the people of Zimbabwe’s
aspirations
to create a country that would truly empower its citizens. In
the 1960s and
1970s, we supported UN efforts to pressure Rhodesian
authorities to accept
majority rule. The United States was the first country
to extend diplomatic
relations to the newly independent Zimbabwe in
1980.
We have also voiced our concern when the liberation-era leadership
has taken
actions that posed a threat to Zimbabwe’s stability, prosperity,
and
development as a modern democratic state. The U.S. sanctions program is
the
most visible manifestation of that concern, as it targets 121
individuals
and 69 entities pursuant to Executive orders issued to address
the
undermining of democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe. These
sanctions began in March of 2003. Much has changed in Zimbabwe since then.
Over the past year, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control has modified the sanctions list, adding or deleting names on
the list to reflect some of those changes. The Administration will continue
to ensure the targeted sanctions program remains meaningful and
accurate.
At the same time, the United States is working to help develop
a strong,
democratic, market-oriented Zimbabwe and respond to humanitarian
needs. We
have provided nearly a billion dollars in assistance from Fiscal
Year 2006
through Fiscal Year 2011. I will defer to my USAID colleague,
Senior Deputy
Assistant Administrator for Africa Sharon Cromer, to provide
more
information about USAID programs in Zimbabwe.
We are mindful of
the current fiscal climate and the existing legal
restrictions on our
assistance and we will continue to consult closely with
Congress, especially
with this Committee, on any proposals to change our
assistance program to
Zimbabwe.
The next two years will be a test for Zimbabwe, and the world
will be
watching to see if its political leaders stick to the commitments
they made
and hold free and fair elections according to a roadmap negotiated
with the
assistance of the Southern African Development
Community.
Zimbabwe’s future will not depend on the actions of any one
individual or
even one political party. It will depend on the collective
decisions
Zimbabwe’s people make to replace a legacy of political violence
and
one-party rule with a culture of tolerance, reconciliation, and the
de-politicization of state institutions. We are contributing to empowering
Zimbabweans to build the markets and institutions necessary to determine
their own future.
The United States values partnerships with nations
whose leaders demonstrate
a commitment to the rule of law and the free flow
of information. These
features form the foundation of stable,
growth-oriented democracies all over
the world, and will be a key factor
governing our relationship with the
Government of Zimbabwe in the years to
come.
If Zimbabwe’s political parties implement the commitments that they
themselves have made in the Global Political Agreement and the electoral
roadmap, there will be a clear imperative for the United States to
reconsider our current sanctions policy. Specifically, this would mean the
holding of free, fair, and internationally monitored elections. It will also
require state institutions to be de-linked from ZANU-PF.
The
Department of State will continue to press for the protection of human
rights and accountability for those who abuse them while acknowledging
progress where it is made. Zimbabweans have already enshrined these rights
in their own laws, constitution, and international obligations, and we will
continue to stand by Zimbabweans who are working to protect these
rights.
We are also doing what we can, within the confines of the
targeted sanctions
program, to promote Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and to
highlight
opportunities for investment that will benefit U.S. and Zimbabwean
businesses alike. We will continue to provide guidance to U.S. businesses
interested in taking advantage of opportunities in Zimbabwe about how they
can move forward in a way that complies with U.S. law.
I would be
remiss if I did not mention Zimbabwe’s importance to the Southern
African
region. Zimbabwe shares borders with South Africa, Botswana, Zambia,
and
Mozambique. It is a critical transport hub, a rich resource of talent,
and a
country with great economic potential. Unfortunately, as we saw in
2008, the
unstable political situation in Zimbabwe affects all the countries
around
it. Partisan influence over elements of the security sector and the
use of
these forces for violent actions against political opponents has led
to a
darkening of the security sector’s reputation, both at home and abroad.
Zimbabwe’s neighbors are still feeling the effects of the refugee flows and
economic collapse.
It is important to note the areas of concern and
stalemate, as we often do,
but also to recognize progress and change in
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a young
nation with a long colonial legacy to
overcome. Social, political, and
economic advances do not happen quickly,
nor will they necessarily follow an
American or western model.
Implementation of the Global Political Agreement
has been problematic from
the beginning, but the Southern African
Development Community takes its
mediating role seriously, and I am confident
that they will not allow
elections to go forward if it appears that the
prevailing conditions will
lead to a repeat of the 2008 crisis.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the
Committee, I want to thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you
today. I will be happy to answer any
questions you have.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Leon
Hartwell
South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, seems to be tougher on
Zimbabwe than
former president Thabo Mbeki with his much criticised ‘quiet
diplomacy’
approach. What lead to this rapid change?
Zuma can be
condemned for many controversial decisions he has made in the
past, but one
has to give him credit for promoting a democratic process in
Zimbabwe. As
vice-president under Mbeki, Zuma was not particularly outspoken
about the
Zimbabwe situation. This changed soon after he lost his position
as
vice-president.
In July 2009, shortly after becoming president of South
Africa, Zuma said
during Q&A time in parliament that “interventionist
measures” will be taken
through the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) if there is “any
indication that the provisions of democracy are
compromised.” This was a
stern warning that the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) should not be
derailed. In South Africa, this statement went largely
unnoticed, but two
days later prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai met the
National Security
Council for the first time.
Over the next year
South Africa was caught up with the FIFA World Cup and
Zimbabwe’s government
of national unity (GNU) continued to miss key Global
Political Agreement
(GPA) deadlines. When the Cup ended in July 2010, Zuma
began to turn up the
heat.
By March 2011, South Africa secured the Livingstone Consensus at
the SADC
Troika meeting in Zambia. As facilitator, Zuma condemned the GNU
for failing
to implement key agreements contained in the GPA and said that
“the
situation can no longer be tolerated”. He also raised the issue of a
roadmap
towards free and fair elections, which his team had been discussing
with
Zimbabwe since January 2011. Since then, SADC has been driven by an
almost
uniform voice, demanding to see progress in Zimbabwe’s unfinished
business.
This is despite objections from ZANU-PF that Zuma should no longer
be the
facilitator.
Clearly, South Africa’s approach changed at a
rapid pace. What caused such a
radical shift in foreign policy? Broadly
speaking, it is due to the
personalities of South Africa’s leaders and their
relations with other
actors.
Mark Gevisser, Mbeki’s biographer, often
described him as “disconnected”.
This characteristic also defined his lack
of interaction with the South
African Embassy in Harare: he often flew in
and out of Zimbabwe without any
real consultation with his chief
representatives. He also gave the cold
shoulder to the MDC formations. Mbeki
much rather preferred to meet with the
ZANU-PF elite and to make use of ‘red
telephone diplomacy’, which led him to
proclaim in 2008 that there was “no
crisis” in Zimbabwe.
Mbeki established contact with ZANU during the
liberation years when
relations between the ANC and ZANU were frosty. The
ANC was much closer with
ZAPU, as it shared linguistic and cultural
affinities, both parties were
sponsored by the Soviet Union, and they lived
side by side in Lusaka.
However, when ZANU won the 1980 election, Mbeki was
tasked with bonding with
Zimbabwe’s new ruling party. His main contact was
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the
country’s top securocrat. Mbeki’s diplomatic
endeavours in Zimbabwe also
brought him closer to president Robert Mugabe
who treated him like a son,
and to whom Mbeki became greatly
indebted.
Zuma’s personality is different from Mbeki’s; he listens and
asks for advice
from the people who surround him. Zuma’s Deputy Minister of
the Department
of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Ebrahim
Ebrahim, who
once shared a jail cell with him, came to office promising to
promote
Pretoria’s human rights agenda. Ebrahim seems to be governed by
human rights
and democracy rather than pure liberation rhetoric.
Zuma
also listens to his facilitation team which engages all stakeholders
(including the MDC formations), giving them a more balanced view of the
Zimbabwe situation. His international relations advisor and spokesperson for
the facilitation team, Lindiwe Zulu, has often been belittled by the ZANU-PF
controlled media whenever she expresses frustration with the GNU.
In
contrast to the Mbeki years, South African diplomats in Harare are
engaged
with their president. The country’s ambassador to Harare, Vusi
Mavimbela,
has spoken out against “lawlessness” and “a culture of impunity
that has to
be stopped”. Zuma’s policy towards Zimbabwe could therefore be
expected to
reflect and respond more accurately to the situation.
Back in Pretoria,
DIRCO has started to regularly debate South Africa’s
position in the region
with civil society. There are a number of
individuals, including a new
generation of diplomats and analysts, who argue
that DIRCO should not be
afraid to throw its weight around the region,
something it shied away from
in the past. Mbeki was overly cautious not to
be seen as the region’s
bully.
Unlike Mbeki, Zuma also listens to concerns raised by the ANC’s
alliance
partners, who have not only been instrumental in his accession to
power, but
also vocal about human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Beyond that,
they
represent a large domestic constituency that is angry about its
economic
disenfranchisement and easily blames Zimbabwean expatriates for
“stealing”
local jobs.
Zuma is also under pressure from a multitude
of South African businesses
whose interests are threatened. Despite
ratification by Zimbabwe of a
bilateral investment agreement in May 2010,
companies such as Zimplats and
Old Mutual continue to be under threat from
indigenisation policies, while
South African farmers are still being
evicted.
Zimbabwe is thus not only seen as a political problem, but is
now more
clearly defined as an economic threat that also affects South
Africa and the
region. As Mavimbela recently stated, “the ill health of one
[state in SADC]
affects the others”. South Africa’s regional integration
efforts will be
constrained as long as Zimbabwe remains
fragile.
While Mugabe and Mbeki had a father-son relationship and an
intellectual
common ground, Zuma has been perceived by many ZANU-PF elites
as the former’s
junior. However, Zuma has shown time and again that he can
outwit many a
politician, and it is said that he is a pragmatist and a
negotiator par
excellence. He has the ability to simplify highly complex
ideas, which is a
key skill in any negotiation process. Mbeki can be
credited with developing
the GPA, but Zuma’s message is that parties have to
be realistic about the
transition; Zimbabwe should not gun for another
election in the absence of
key institutional reforms.
In addition to
Zuma’s personality differences from his predecessor, it is
critical that he
succeeded in mobilising several strategic individuals in
the
region.
Most decisively, Zuma cleverly re-engaged Angola’s president Jose
Eduardo
dos Santos, head of southern Africa’s second largest economy and
leader of
the MPLA – the ANC’s traditional liberation ally. Mbeki mockingly
referred
to the dos Santos’ administration as “urban mulattoes”.
Zuma
visited dos Santos first as ANC president in March 2008 and again as
head of
state in August 2009. The latter occasion marked Zuma’s first state
visit
and he was joined by 124 business delegates. At the time it was the
largest
business delegation to accompany a head of state in post-1994 South
Africa.
Dos Santos oiled this relationship further by visiting South Africa
in
December 2010.
These exchanges focused predominantly on developing both
countries’ economic
interests. Beyond business prospects, an entente
developed between the two
leaders; Zuma recognised the importance of dos
Santos’ leadership within
SADC, while the Angolan gave more leeway and
support to Zuma in his
facilitator’s role vis-ą-vis Zimbabwe.
It is
thus noteworthy that the Livingstone Consensus was once again
reiterated in
Luanda in August, when, in reference to Zimbabwe, dos Santos
as the SADC
chair stated, “we have to realise that peace and stability are
the backbone
of our development.”
We have not yet witnessed any substantial cracks in
the Livingstone
Consensus. The bottom line is that the space for those who
want to
destabilise the transitional process in Zimbabwe is becoming smaller
by the
day. As long as Zuma is South Africa’s president, he will do his best
to
promote peace and stability for his northern neighbour.
http://www.cathybuckle.com
November 4, 2011, 2:49 pm
Events in
Zimbabwe this week have once again illustrated that without an
impartial
police force to implement the law, society descends into violence
with no
protection for the victims. In Zimbabwe, the police have, in effect,
become
a law to themselves. Despite a Court Ruling that all three opposition
rallies in Matabeleland North could go ahead, the police ignored the Ruling
and banned the rallies. When that failed and the MDC attracted thousands to
their rallies, the police did everything they could to disrupt the
gatherings. At one rally in Matabeleland North police actually threatened to
shoot people who attended saying that they were not obliged to follow court
orders – and anyway the orders were fake! But the real give away line was
the comment that the police only take instructions from their bosses! The
increasing level of violence throughout the country was reported by Prime
Minister Tsvangirai to Robert Mugabe at their weekly meeting and he was told
by the President that ‘it will be dealt with.’ The truth, however, is that
without the police doing their job and maintaining law and order in an
even-handed way, the violence will continue.
That violence came right
into the middle of Harare this week when a group of
30 fully armed police
raided MDC headquarters on the flimsy excuse that they
were searching for
vegetable vendors who had taken shelter in the building.
The police then
fired tear gas into the opposition’s head quarters; unlikely
that would ever
happen to Zanu PF HQ. And therein, as I have said before, is
the root of the
whole problem: the police have become a totally politicised
force. Augustine
Chihuri, the present Commissioner, has openly declared his
support for Zanu
PF and police officers who support the MDC have been
demoted or dismissed
from the force. In the wider public, MDC supporters
face constant harassment
for trivial ‘offences’ such as putting up posters
for an MDC rally in Vic
Falls while two other MDC supporters were detained
when they were heard
saying that Mugabe could meet the same fate as Mumar
Gaddafi, a remark that
was deemed to be a criminal offence, since insulting
the president is a
crime punishable by imprisonment. There is almost daily
evidence that
speaking your mind in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is an increasingly
dangerous
occupation. Senator Eddie Cross spoke out openly about the
corruption and
theft going on at Marange and was then followed and
threatened by the CIO
for his blunt speaking.
Apparently the Kimberley Process chooses to turn
a blind eye to the human
rights abuses going on at the diamond mine and this
week they announced that
Zimbabwe is once again free to sell their rough
diamonds on the open market.
Today, Friday, the US is on record saying – if
I understood it correctly –
that it was necessary to compromise on the
Zimbabwe diamond issue in order
to find out if Zimbabwe would improve its
behaviour! Meanwhile the Minister
of Mines, Obert Mpofu is crowing with
delight at the KP.decision. In the
light of news this week that 1 in 10
Zimbabweans will need food aid by early
2012, it would be good to think that
diamond revenue might actually be used
to feed the hungry and not just to
enrich the few already wealthy
individuals.
The question of how a
downtrodden population counteracts the violence of a
brutal regime was
addressed this week by the MDC’s Theresa Makone and her
words deserve
serious consideration. The MDC’s original non-violent stance
was approved by
many Zimbabweans tired of the constant violence meted out
against them for
no reason other than their belief in a different political
party. For the
past eleven years and more, those opposed to Mugabe and Zanu
PF have
appeared to sit back and wait for the blows to fall. And fall they
did. It
has become clear that Zanu PF has nothing but contempt for the MDC’s
non-violence stance. Now, in November 2011, here’s what Theresa Makone
advises the people: “You do not attack anyone, you do not offend anyone but,
should anyone strike you, don’t just sit there because they will kill you.
You have seen them do it before. That is what Zanu PF got on Sunday from the
people. The people refuse to be battered citizens.”
Theresa Makone’s
words do indeed deserve the serious thought and
consideration of all
Zimbabweans.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.