http://www.herald.co.zw/
Saturday, 05 November 2011
00:00
Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
AT least 21 people have been
admitted at a Harare hospital, while 54 others
are under obsvervation
following an outbreak of typhoid.
The affected people are admitted at
Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospitals,
with two confirmed cases by late
yesterday.
City health services director Dr Stanley Mungofa confirmed the
typhoid
outbreak.
"This is an outbreak because it's not normal for
the city to have such
diseases like typhoid or cholera," Dr Mungofa
said.
"Someone can carry the typhoid bacteria for 20 years and they won't be
having the symptoms anymore, but when they dispose their excreta where it
contaminates other people's food or water, there can be an
infection."
He said there were chronic careers of typhoid who posed a
threat to members
of the public if they did not practise hygiene.
"It is
important for people to practise hygiene and wash their hands before
and
after eating. They should not wash hands in a dish because they may get
the
disease if those who would have washed before them are infected. People
should also avoid drinking water from shallow wells because there are high
chances that the water will be contaminated."
Harare City Council
spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said they had positively
identified the
bacteria in two patients and expressed confidence the
outbreak will be
contained.
"The big issue is to screen these people who are suspected because
most of
them are relatives so there are chances of them spreading it among
themselves," he said.
"The 21 have been admitted on the basis that
they have been associated with
each other. At the moment, those who have
come for screening are from
Dzivaresekwa."
Mr Gwindi said city health
officials and their partners were battling to
contain the
disease.
Investigations were still underway to establish the severity of
the
outbreak.
Mr Gwindi said typhoid could be caused by dirty water and
poultry products,
especially eggs and chicken.
The outbreak follows
almost two weeks of intermittent water supplies in the
city's western
suburbs.
Water shortages had resulted in residents fetching water from
unprotected
sources, including Mukuvisi River which is infested with raw
sewage.
Mr Gwindi urged the public to practise hygiene and drink clean
water.
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Last year, typhoid claimed
five lives in Mabvuku where over 300 people were
infected.
Typhoid
symptoms usually develop one to three weeks after exposure to the
bacteria.
Health experts say the symptoms include perforation of
bowels, delirium
(severe psychiatric syndrome), dehydration and very high
fever.
Other symptoms that manifest in the first and second week include
profuse
sweating, non-bloody diarrhoea and painful abdomen.
It is
characterised by a slowly progressive fever. Less commonly a rash of
flat,
rose-coloured spots may appear.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, November 05, 2011-Troubled national
airline, Air Zimbabwe on Friday
once again suspended international flights
due to crippling fuel shortages.
Air Zimbabwe only resumed flights in
September after pilots staged a work
boycott that lasted two months from
July.
Well placed sources at the state-run airline said fuel suppliers
had stopped
supplying jet AI to Air Zimbabwe as they were owed outstanding
payments for
some deliveries.
The sources said Air Zimbabwe is now
only servicing local and regional
routes such as Harare-Johannesburg and
Harare-Lubumbashi and Lusaka.
International flights which were cancelled as
a result of the fuel shortages
include the Harare-London flight and the
Harare-China flight.
The airline will only resume flying to these two
destinations once it
secures adequate fuel supplies.
The fresh
challenge is likely to impact on the airline’s already battered
reputation.
Once considered as one of the best airlines in
Africa, Air Zimbabwe has been
run down due to successive years of
mismanagement, corruption, political
interference and inadequate funding.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, November 05, 2011 – Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s formation of
the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC-T) is scheduled to hold a ‘Real
Change Peace Rally’ Sunday at Chibuku
Stadium.
Zimbabwe's Premier is expected to address issues affecting the
party ahead
of next year polls and also on the visit by South African
mediation team.
“The President is expected to speak on the life and
health of the party
ahead of the next year’s free and fair elections,
performance of the
inclusive government and the visit by President Jacob
Zuma's facilitation
team” reads part of the MDC-T press
statement.
Tsvangirai is also expected to talk and denounce the
increase of state
sponsored violence across the country, the
constitution-making process and
other issues affecting the people of
Zimbabwe,” it added.
The ‘Real Change Peace Rally’ rally comes a week
after police in
Matabeleland North province disrupted MDC-T
rallies.
On Tuesday, police in Harare armed with AK 47 rifles and
baton sticks, fired
teargas into the MDC headquarters, Harvest House
injuring scores of people
and indiscriminately beating up people in the
process.
Tsvangirai will also introduce the party’s new leadership
that was elected
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.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
Nkululeko Ndlovu 22 hours
40 minutes ago
HARARE - United Nations Secretary General, Ban
Ki-Moon and his team will be
in the country in February 2012 on a
fact-finding mission to establish the
capacity of the country to host the
2013 United Nations World Tourism
Organisation General Assembly.
This
comes amid revelations that a United Nations Workshop that was meant to
be
held in another country has been redirected to Victoria Falls this
December,
while Africa Travel Association Convention has also been
redirected to
Victoria Falls in May 2012, and is set to attract 2 000 people
from all over
the world.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Victoria Falls,
Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Dr.
Sylvester Maunganidze,
urged operators go an extra mile in sustaining a
positive image of the
country as it will now be under scrutiny even on
matters considered as
minor, adding that there is an urgent need for the
expansion of Victoria
Falls International Airport to enable it to handle
more and bigger
aircrafts.
“We need to establish how the airport will
handle the flights if fifteen
aircrafts are going to land within an hour and
how long will the passengers
wait to stamp their passports,” said Dr.
Maunganidze.
Dr. Maunganidze emphasised the need for team work and spirit
of unity among
the players saying this will ensure that the country
maximises business
opportunities for all, with previous hosts having managed
to multiply their
Gross Domestic Product by 10 times from hosting the
event.
“We must engage the local traditional dance groups and make sure
guests are
entertained throughout. Guests should never be given a moment to
feel the
heat of the Falls. Let us work together. 3 000 people cannot be
hosted by
one company, we will benefit but let us work together,” he
added.
Some of the concerns raised in the meeting include the immigration
operations with suggestions to adopt the Korean model which saw immigration
officials being deployed on all international flights to stamp passports in
a bid to reduce long queues at the ports of entry.
The Ministry of
Tourism and Hospitality Industry is also set to open a
permanent office in
Victoria Falls to enable it to work with operators in
the resort town ahead
of the mega event.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Seven banks have opened
branches at Checheche growth point over the past
three months as the area
starts to develop thanks to the ethanol project in
Chisumbanje.
04.11.1111:18am
by Fungi Kwaramba
In an
interview the Chief Executive Officer for Chipinge Rural District
Council,
James Mundoma, said controversial ethanol project had not only
redefined
Chipinge’s investment worth, but also created thousands of jobs
“In the
last three months, seven banks opened branches at Checheche, the
hosting
growth point. This part of Chipinge is very dry and yields from
communal dry
land agriculture are perennially depressed hence the low levels
of
development at homestead levels,” said Mundoma.
However, villagers in
Chipinge have had mixed feelings about the Green Fuel
project owned by Zanu
(PF)-aligned businessman Billy Rautenbach in a Build,
Operate and Transfer
system with ARDA.
Villagers have been complaining that the ethanol
project, where thousands of
acres of sugar cane is being planted along the
banks of the Save River, has
eaten into their communal lands and also that
their animals are dying due to
contamination of water sources by the
project.
But Mundoma said local communal farmers would benefit further as
already
Green Fuel had extended irrigation facilities to families in the
arid region
who usually suffer from food shortages.
“4000 hectares of
the land being developed is for communal irrigation and an
initial block of
just under 500 hectares has been developed. Allocation to
beneficiaries is
underway. We foresee the locals being able to graduate from
subsistence
farming to commercial horticulture through access to
irrigation,” he
said.
Through the Green Fuel plant, Zimbabwe is host to Africa’s largest
ethanol
producing factory, which will generate foreign currency savings
through
import substitution. Over 4500 jobs have been generated around the
project
with major sections of the plant being headed mostly by Zimbabweans
returning home from within the region.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Sapa-AP | 05 November, 2011
13:08
India's gem and jewellery export council hailed the recent
decision by the
Kimberley Process, which governs global trade in diamonds,
to allow Zimbabwe
to sell $2 billion in rough diamonds from the Marange
fields. The African
nation had been under international sanctions since 2009
because of
allegations of rights violations and torture by government troops
in
Marange.
Zimbabwe has denied allegations of human rights abuses.
Rajiv Jain,
president of India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council,
said
Tuesday's decision would stabilize the world diamond business by
encouraging
traders to keep illicit diamonds out of the system.
Jain
said while it was difficult to estimate the volume of trade from
Zimbabwe,
the industry has been keenly awaiting the ruling on exports from
the
southern African country.
"Zimbabwe diamonds are 40 to 50 percent cheaper
than diamonds from other
sources. This will give a boost to the industry,"
Jain said.
Sabyasachi Ray, the council's director, said the imports
should begin within
weeks, once the government completes formalities to lift
an embargo.
India is the world's biggest processor of diamonds, employing
more than 1.5
million workers, with thousands of processing units located
mostly in the
western Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Eleven out of
every 12
diamonds used in jewellery worldwide are cut and polished in India,
according to the council.
According to the council, Indian gem and
jewellery exports jumped 47 percent
to $43 billion in the fiscal year ending
March 31, from $29.4 billion the
previous year.
With Zimbabwe
diamonds off-limits, the industry had been sourcing its stones
from South
Africa, Congo and Russia through the diamond hub in Belgium, Ray
said.
The Kimberley Process was set up in 2002 after brutal wars in
Sierra Leone
and Liberia that were fueled by "blood diamonds." Participant
nations are
now forced to certify the origins of the diamonds being traded,
assuring
consumers that they are not financing war or human rights
abuses.
The 60,000-hectare (140,000-acre) Marange field in eastern
Zimbabwe was
discovered in 2006 at the height of Zimbabwe's political,
economic and
humanitarian crisis. It is believed to be the biggest find in
the world
since the 19th century, and it triggered a chaotic diamond
rush.
Human Rights Watch has accused Zimbabwean troops of killing more
than 200
people, raping women and forcing children to search for the gems in
Marange
fields, but the Kimberley Process allowed 900,000 carats of diamonds
to be
auctioned last year. The latest move allows all diamonds from the area
- a
stockpile of 4.5 million stones - to be sold.
http://www.voanews.com
04 November
2011
Chinamasa told the ZANU-PF leaning Herald
newspaper that President Zuma’s
facilitation team will spend more time in
Zimbabwe stepping up efforts to
resolve outstanding issues related to GPA
implementation
Violet Gonda | Washington
Zuma aide Lindiwe
Zulu, spokesperson for the South African facilitation
team, said it is true
that progress has been slow, but she said no one had
proposed breaking off
talks
Remarks by Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa published
Friday in
the state-controlled Herald newspaper suggested the lead
negotiator for
ZANU-PF in talks within the fractious unity government has
backtracked on
comments earlier this week saying that his party had lost
faith in talks
brokered by South African President Jacob
Zuma.
Chinamasa told the ZANU-PF leaning Herald newspaper that President
Zuma’s
facilitation team will spend more time in Zimbabwe stepping up
efforts to
resolve outstanding issues related to implementation of the 2008
Global
Political Agreement for power sharing.
Zuma aide Lindiwe Zulu,
spokesperson for the South African facilitation
team, said it is true that
progress has been slow, but she said no one had
proposed breaking off
talks.
Commentator Stanford Mukasa, a journalism professor in the United
States,
said ZANU-PF is attempting a tactical retreat but is caught in a web
of its
own contradictions at a time when President Robert Mugabe, the
party's
leader, is believed to be ill with cancer.
"ZANU-PF is
completely confused," Mukasa said. "They don’t know what to do.
Their leader
is sick. They don’t have a successor and they are very jittery
about the
prospects of elections." No elections have been scheduled but a
ballot in
2012 seems likely.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Xolisani Ncube/ Nkululeko Sibanda
Saturday, 05
November 2011 16:21
HARARE - Police have launched a second round of
investigations into the
death of retired army general Solomon Mujuru amid
strong suspicions that he
could have died before a fire that gutted his
Beatrice farm house.
This comes as Mishrod Guvamombe, Harare’s chief
magistrate, and police
commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri have confirmed
that the police have
approached the courts for an inquest into Mujuru’s
death.
“We can confirm that notification of death was made by the police
to the
Magistrate in compliance with section 5 of the Inquest Act Chapter
7:0,7,
which provides as follows: (the police officer, shall without any
delay,
report to a magistrate, in detail, the circumstances of the case, in
order
that the magistrate may take such further steps, if any, as may be
needful,
either to ascertain the cause of death or bring to justice such
person or
persons as appear to have unlawfully caused such death,” he said
in written
responses earlier this week.
In the meantime, government
insiders said the new probe will centre on
establishing the human hand or
element in Mujuru’s death. The late general,
undoubtedly one of the
country’s most decorated liberation war heroes, died
in what many believe
are suspicious circumstances and that there was a
hidden hand in the late
Zanu PF stalwart’s death.
“The primary investigations did not help much
as they left more questions
than answers as to how Mujuru died,” said a
police source.
“This time around, we are focusing on ascertaining what
really killed the
general because the perception from the investigating team
is that something
else besides the fire could have happened,” the source
added.
The new round of investigations also comes as there is a feeling
that out of
the 23 recorded statements, most of them have been conflicting,
thus
triggering further inquiries.
Those quizzed in the earlier probe
include farm workers, police who were
manning his farm and other security
personnel.
“We will focus on establishing whether he died before the fire
breakout or
was killed by the inferno,” said the source.
Mujuru was
burnt beyond recognition at his Beatrice Farm in August.
People close to
the investigating team, which comprises the police forensic
unit, Central
Intelligence Organisation department and other security
chiefs, told this
paper that the fresh probe would also seek to determine
whether Mujuru died
before the fire.
“We are now focusing on what really happened and this
includes an attempt to
ascertain who could have been behind the demise of
Mujuru. There is a lot of
anxiety as to what really happened,” added the
source.
Mujuru’s widow Vice President Joice Mujuru was among the first
individuals
to query how a well-trained war hero like Mujuru would have died
in such
circumstances and given his war-time skills and training.
She
hinted to a Mighty Warriors squad, which was paying condolences at her
Chisipite home two months ago that the death was suspicious.
“What is
surprising is that we don’t know what happened from 8:30 to when
the fire
was seen. There are two long windows (from my side and his side,
and) you
don’t have to jump out, but just lift your leg. Our grandchildren
used to
play getting in and outside the windows and it would have been
difficult for
a military man not to have made it out,” she said then.
“The (bedroom)
set-up had two western big windows, so if you want to come
out you just
jump. Our kids used to jump and we used to laugh about it. It
was closer to
come out through the window than the door,” she added.
However, police
spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said he was unaware of any new
investigations
or developments in the case and he stuck to the old hymn or
story that they
are waiting for the inquest.
“The highest office in the police force gave
a statement on this issue and
nothing has changed. For us, the matter is now
with the courts and that’s
it,” he said.
From Guvamombe’s response,
though, the court only acknowledges the notice of
death and says a full
inquiry will only be conducted in terms of Section Six
of the same Act,
which says they shall only act upon receipt of a detailed
report from the
police.
“The (original) report was somewhat hazy and did not have
specific details
about what happened. That is why even the Mujuru family had
to seek external
investigators. In comparison, the foreign investigator’s
report is probably
way ahead of the local report,” said the
source.
“It is difficult for a magistrate to independently conclude on
the way
forward. That is why the police have been asked to conduct further
investigations,” they added.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Retired Brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri, who was
publicly humiliated by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week, has used
a gun to threaten MDC
supporters in the Marondera West
constituency.
04.11.1105:23pm
by Fungai Kwaramba Harare
On
Monday last week Tsvangirai deliberately omitted Mutinhiri from an
official
tour of Mahusekwa. Mutinhiri has, in the past, vowed to remove the
MDC from
his constituency.
After Tsvangirai left the area, villagers told The
Zimbabwean that Mutinhiri
has increased his presence in the constituency,
which he narrowly won in
2008.
“If we had we tried to respond to this
provocation we would have been
arrested. So we just ignored Mutinhiri, who
touted a gun, and went home very
scared,” said MDC-T District Chair
Eddington Magwenzi.
The villagers said Mutinhiri was usually accompanied
by 13 so-called Youth
Officers who reside at Mahusekwa Growth point and
receive a salary monthly.
He is the former Minister of Youth Development and
Employment Creation and
also a retired army commander and
brigadier.
“People are now scared of openly supporting MDC. They are
scared of
Mutinhiri’s boys and what they are capable of doing,” said a
villager who
asked not to be named.
Villagers in Mahusekwa accuse the
former soldier of having politicized the
Constituency Development
Fund
The villagers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that
Mutinhiri gave
door and window frames he bought using the CDF only to Zanu
(PF) supporters.
In most parts of the country preparations for polls are
already underway but
unfortunately for villagers who belong to the MDC-T in
Marondera West they
cannot openly organize meetings for fear of
reprisals.
“We are being targeted here and cannot organize meetings
without fear of
being attacked, we are being monitored daily,” said
Mangwenzi.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zimbabwe students have been described as
“academically gifted” in their
studies in the United States, excelling in
many courses when compared to
their African
counterparts.
04.11.1109:48am
by REGINA PASIPANODYA
The remarks
were made by a visiting American and Canadian delegation from
the Council of
International Schools during a well-attended public fair
showcasing various
colleges at the Harare Gardens.
Fredrich Schilingemann, the International
Recruiter at the Winthrop
University, said that Zimbabwean students were
fantastic and usually
excelled.
“There has been an increase in the
number of applicants from the country and
we are very pleased about that,”
said Schilingemann.
Josh Keller, Director at Thompson Rivers University
said: “Zimbabwe has the
second highest number of African students studying
at the university and
they are doing exceptionally well.”
The
embassy’s education officer, Rebecca Zeigler, said a high number of
Zimbabwean students returned to Zimbabwe after completing their studies in
the US. “Most of the students that have enrolled in colleges in the US are
coming back to work in the country. This is a very positive development.
Some 400 students have been granted visas to study in the US since 2011,”
she said.
Patrice Gumbo, a Lower Six student at Zengeza High I School
in Chitungwiza,
attended the fair and said he would try to access a
scholarship to study in
the US or Canada.
Gail Nyikayaramba, from
Girls High, said the fair had opened her eyes to
opportunities abroad as
local universities lacked many facilities.
http://www.voanews.com
04 November
2011
Critics say the new council looks very much like the Media and
Information
Commission which shut down a number of publications under the
previous
government of President Robert Mugabe
Tatenda Gumbo &
Sandra Nyaira | Washington
The Zimbabwe Media Commission,
reconstituted in 2010 as a step to
liberalizing the long-repressed sector,
has proposed to set up media council
to monitor practitioners, a move press
freedom advocates say will put a
chill on independent
reporting.
Commission sources said the media council will function as a
statutory body
under the authority of the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy
Act, which press rights advocates say is repressive
and should be repealed,
to guide the industry with powers to see prosecute,
suspend or withdraw the
credentials of journalists.
Critics say the
new council looks very much like the Media and Information
Commission which
shut down a number of publications under the previous
government of
President Robert Mugabe, including the independent Daily News
in 2003 (since
resurrected).
To some that is not surprising as the chief executive of
the reconstituted
Media Commission is Tafataona Mahoso, former chairman of
the infamous MIC.
Though he does not sit on the commission, he heads the
secretariat,
controlling administration.
Press freedom advocates say
self-discipline by the media would be
preferable.
Zimbabwe Media
Commission Chairman Godfrey Majonga says that by law the
council will work
to protect and promote ethics and journalistic standards.
He told reporter
Sandra Nyaira the council will represent all media
stakeholders.
Voluntary Media Council Director Takura Zhangazha said
the proposed council
will work under the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act,
which he says was put in place to repress free
media expression. He says in
such a political climate a statutory council
would only stifle the freedom
of the press and other media.
http://www.voanews.com/
04 November
2011
Harare police late this week gave the Movement for
Democratic Change
formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai clearance to
hold a rally in
Chitungwiza on Sunday, following his protest of recent rally
bans
Blessing Zulu | Washington
Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe has launched appeals in the High Court
and the Supreme Court
seeking to nullify a High Court ruling last month
giving him 14 days to set
dates for by-elections for vacant House seats in
Bulilima, Nkayi and Lupane,
all constituencies in the country's western
Matabeleland region.
Mr.
Mugabe and others in the unity government have been reluctant to hold
by-elections which might destabilize power-sharing. No by-elections have
been held since 2009. There are currently 19 seats to be filled in the House
of Assembly and Senate.
The Office of the Attorney General said the
High Court judge who issued the
latest ruling erred as as Mr. Mugabe cannot
be compelled to call
by-elections.
Former Nkayi lawmaker Abednico
Bhebhe, one of those who brought the suit
demanding the by-elections, told
VOA's Blessing Zulu his lawyers are filing
opposing
papers.
Elsewhere, Harare police have given Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change formation clearance to hold a
rally in
Chitungwiza on Sunday.
Sources said the police move came
after the prime minister protested to
President Mugabe signaling his
intention to appeal to the Southern African
Development Community after
rallies in Matabeleland North were prohibited
last weekend.
Political
analyst Trevor Maisiri said ZANU-PF is torn by in-fighting and
reluctant to
see Prime Minister Tsvangirai gaining electoral traction in the
presidential
race.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
by 4 hours 15 minutes
ago
Zanu PF National Chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo says his party's
government has
no intentions of re-joining the Commonwealth of Nations
despite calls by its
members for the Southern African nation to be
re-admitted.
Moyo’s statements following reports from Perth, Australia,
at a Commonwealth
summit of government heads held in late October where
members were said to
be looking forward for Zimbabwe to join the group of
former British
colonies.
Khaya Moyo said it is surprising that
Zimbabwe never expressed its
willingness to re-join the group of nations
which has become racist, but
already there is talk of Zimbabwe to rejoin
it.
Zanu PF's government was booted out of the Commonwealth group of
countries
in 2003, for gross human rights abuses.
Ever since
Zimbabwe has intensified its failed look east policy which has
yielded
nothing beneficial the Southern African country.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
05/11/2011 00:00:00
by
nzherald.co.nz
SPORTS minister, David Coltart insists the
coalition government has managed
to haul the country back from the brink of
implosion and believes increased
cricket tours such as New Zealand’s can
help sustain the country's recovery
from the chaos of the last
decade.
Coltart believes greater international engagement can help build
on the
progress made since the formation of the coalition government
following the
disputed 2008 general elections.
But critics arguethat
there should be a mandatory boycott of sporting links
with Zimbabwe until
President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party are
removed from
office.
Mugabe led the liberation movement against white minority rule
and assumed
power in 1980. He has led the country since but his health is
reportedly
deteriorating and is said to regularly travel to Singapore for
medical
treatment.
Coltart is the first to admit the running of the
country is flawed but says
the installation of democracy is a process, not a
one-off event.
"The situation is far from perfect. It is a fragile
transition. There are a
lot of things I dislike but we have no viable
non-violent alternative. It is
not as bad as it was before the 2008
elections.
"We faced rampant cholera, hyperinflation, the closure of
schools and
politically motivated murders. Today none of that applies. We
tackled
cholera, controlled the currency, got teachers back to work and
there has
not been a single politically motivated murder this
year."
Coltart draws comparisons to South Africa's return from boycott in
the 1990s
when apartheid was in its death throes. While Nelson Mandela was
released by
president FW de Klerk's government as part of a conciliatory
step in 1990,
he did not take office until 1994.
"There are always
hardliners in and out of government determined to derail
the process. In
South Africa there were political assassinations as late as
1993. Yet the
international cricket community embraced the South African
cricket team as
early as November 1991 when they went to play a one-day
series in India.
That was long before any guarantee everything would end
happily. We are in a
similar position."
Coltart claims cricket is a microcosm of Zimbabwean
society where those in
charge have brought past players back from premature
retirements instigated
by Mugabe's regime.
"We had ructions with
white players leaving and racially discriminatory
policies appearing to be
implemented. We've sought to reconcile the racial
fractures by bringing back
disaffected players like Heath Streak and Grant
Flower to coach. Some black
players like Tatenda Taibu have returned as
well.
"I believe efforts
like that deserve to be rewarded by the ICC and national
boards when
deciding whether to tour. They are not superficial decisions.
Our team is
selected on merit. Any suggestion of discrimination is gone. It
is reflected
on the playing field. We could barely get through two days of a
test six
years ago. We were annihilated and axed from test cricket as a
consequence.
Compare that to now. We've beaten Bangladesh and competed
against Pakistan
and New Zealand.
"The relevance to New Zealand Cricket and other
cricketing bodies is that we
are making steps to rectify the situation. I'm
hopeful people seeking reform
from us will be encouraged. It is about
rebuilding a national spirit."
World cricket's scepticism about Zimbabwe
ambitions is not helped by Mugabe
remaining the Zimbabwe Cricket patron, a
curious affinity for the game
driven by the British once piping the BBC's
Test Match Special radio
commentary into his prison cell as a form of audio
torture. He came to love
or at least tolerate the game, but Coltart says
Mugabe's involvement is
largely irrelevant these days.
"That fact is
used against us because he looms large in all facets of our
society. The
reality is he has not been involved in cricket in any way since
I became
minister."
Zimbabwe Cricket has still had problems of late. Taibu
complained ahead of
the New Zealand series that no player had received match
fees or signed a
contract for more than a year. Coltart acknowledges the
issue.
"No sane person would argue Zimbabwe is perfect, cricket included.
Zimbabwe
Cricket is in financial difficulty but not alone in that regard
around the
world. Look at Sri Lanka and the West Indies. While you can't
condone the
non-payment of match fees it is not a deliberate act."
New
Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills visited Zimbabwe
last
year as part of pre-tour security.
"Our health and safety concerns were
met, there were no issues from that
perspective. We were comfortable the
infrastructure would support the tour.
The New Zealand government was
supportive of us being there following David
Coltart's visit to New Zealand
which demonstrated progress was being made.
"Coltart were desperately
keen for touring to resume. He felt the country
had started to rebound from
rock bottom following the establishment of the
Unity government. You could
see things were far from perfect but cricket
coming back was a big thing for
those trying to bring about change."
http://www.voanews.com/
04 November
2011
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network earlier this week warned
that one
in 10 Zimbabweans will need food aid through year’s end, more in
early 2012
as the so-called hunger season develops before
harvest
Violet Gonda | Washington
Parts of Zimbabwe
suffered serious crop failures earlier this year and a
million people are
likely to need food assistance as a result, according to
a report by the
Solidarity Peace Trust, a civic organization based in South
Africa
Though the rainy season has begun in Zimbabwe, the
organization warns that
next year could see increased food insecurity
because the government has
failed small farmers by not making seed and
fertilizer widely available to
them.
The group said Harare should
urgently spread seed and fertilizer among small
farmers, and is urging South
Africa to hold off on deportations of
undocumented Zimbabweans who may only
face hunger if they are sent home in
the months ahead.
The Famine
Early Warning Systems Network earlier this week warned that one
in 10
Zimbabweans will need food aid through year’s end, more in early
2012.
Solidarity Peace Trust director Shari Eppel, the report's
co-author, said
there is grinding poverty in the frequently parched province
of Matabeleland
South in particular.
She said that in Gwanda, for
example, half of the households interviewed
spent a day without food, and
most of them lost livestock to drought and
marauding baboons.
Gwanda
North lawmaker Thandeko Zinti-Mnkandla said hunger is widespread due
to a
poor harvest this year and insufficient assistance from government and
NGOs.
Eppel said the Finance Ministry has announced it will fund crop
inputs for
100,000 small farmers and subsidize them for another 250,000
through a
system of vouchers that will be administered by the
state-controlled Grain
Marketing Board.
“But when you speak to people
on the ground they have never heard of this
system," Eppel said, "and yet
the rains have already started and people
should be planting.”
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
President Robert Mugabe was
dealt a humiliating blow this week when his Zanu
(PF) party thugs were
ordered by a High Court judge to pay $12 000
compensation to a victim of
violence that engulfed Zimbabwe's 2008
presidential run-off
election.
03.11.1110:03am
by Chief Reporter
It is unlikely that
the money will be paid, but lawyers for the victims plan
to begin
appropriating assets in Zimbabwe.
The plaintiff, Western Katiyo, who was
abducted and sustained a fractured
knee at the hands of Zanu (PF) militants,
said the award proved that some of
Mugabe's followers "are absolute thugs
and terrorists".
Even if he never sees the money, he said, the case
brought further
credibility and attention to the accusations of human rights
abuses in
Zimbabwe.
"At least I can tell my children I did everything
in my power," he told The
Zimbabwean. Any money received from the suit will
go first to settle medical
bills.
The award was made against Robson
Marozva and Phanuel Nhenda, who assaulted
him in Murehwa, in 2008, breaking
his leg.
Katiyo testified in the High Court how he was abducted from his
home and
assaulted by the defendants - who are self-proclaimed Zanu (PF)
supporters.
He was taken to a base at Madamombe Township in Murehwa where he
was
detained for three days and nights under inhuman
conditions.
During his detention, Katiyo was denied medical treatment and
was forced to
share the room with a corpse of a fellow villager who had
succumbed to
gruesome treatment by the defendants.
Katiyo's crime was
supporting the MDC, according to the thugs. Katiyo did
not deny the
allegations as he believed it was his constitutionally
guaranteed right to
freedom of association.
As a result of the assault, Katiyo sustained
numerous injuries and had to
undergo a total knee replacement operation. He
is currently unable to walk
without the aid of crutches. He is also
undergoing continuous analgesic
treatment to help alleviate constant
pain.
The High Court awarded compensatory damages for "shock, pain and
suffering,
loss of amenities of life, unlawful detention, loss of property"
in a
default judgement handed down by High Court judge, Justice Martin
Makonese.
Summonses were issued against the two assailants on March 24,
2011 but the
defendants, despite acknowledging receipt did not file a
response and were
accordingly barred from doing so in terms of the
law.
Consequently, the judge granted the application for a default
judgement
sought by Katiyo's lawyers.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum
documented more than 200,000 crimes from
beatings to torture committed
during the 2008 election campaign.
It said over 200 people were killed in
violence widely attributed to
supporters of the ruling Zanu (PF), who were
later given an amnesty for
their crimes.
The rights group commended
the ruling by Justice Makone as a positive step
towards promoting respect
for human rights. "This serves to deter future
violators of human rights
thereby fostering a culture of accountability in
the communities," said the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum in a statement.
"The order serves not
only to compensate Katiyo for the ordeal he suffered
but also as an
expression of the shared societal outrage at the
ill-treatment he
experienced. This is a positive step towards promoting
respect for human
rights and serves to deter future violators of human
rights thereby
fostering a culture of accountability in the communities."
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The arrest of members of the
MDC-T Youth League including national
chairperson, Solomon Madzore, will not
stop the party from making
preparations for the coming election, said
Mashonaland East Youth Organising
Secretary, Brighton
Takavadini.
04.11.1107:21am
by Jane Makoni
Speaking to The
Zimbabwean on Monday, Takavadini said: “Though the arrests
are a cause for
concern, they will not derail party programmes or the
mobilisation of party
supporters to fully participate in the coming
elections. We are ensuring
that every youth casts his deciding ballot as
Zanu (PF) should be dealt the
fatal blow at the election.
Zanu (PF) might have thought that arresting
youth leadership would deter the
electorate from voting for political
change, but the recycled and failed
strategy was bound to backfire against
them. The arrest of Madzore and his
team left the people more determined to
tame tyranny”.
Madzore and dozens other MDC-T youths were arrested early
this year for
allegedly taking part in the murder of a police officer in
Glen View. They
remained in custody as the state denied them bail. He said
as provincial
youth executive they were conducting youth voter education
programmes to
educate the youth about the need to register as
voters.
“The youths, who make up the majority of the electorate, realised
that Zanu
(PF) had no capacity to improve their lot but only used them as
agents of
violence against members from rival parties. Every youth wants to
be
identified with the machinery that will drive the final nail into
Mugabe’s
coffin.”
Takavadini also said the youths were asking the
party leadership to
introduce a youth quota system in all elected
portfolios.
“To enable the youths to fully participate in determining the
future of the
country, we felt they should be allocated a quota share in
contested local
authority and parliamentary seats. Representation of youths
at these levels
remained poor resulting in perpetuated suffering of the
future leadership”.
The youth leader said that to help push their agenda,
party members would
soon finalise a resolution stipulating that youths would
only vote for adult
election candidates interested in championing the course
of young people.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, November 05, 2011
- Centre for Research and Development director,
Farai Maguwu (FM) has been
honoured with the Alison Des Forges Award for
extraordinary Activism for his
contribution in fighting for human rights in
Zimbabwe.
RadioVOP’s
Nkosana Dlamini (ND) spoke to the diamond rights researcher to
hear the
journey he has travelled to earn this prestigious award and to also
hear his
views about the decision by the Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme to
allow Zimbabwe to export her rough diamonds.
Nkosana Dlamini (ND):
You have tested state persecution in its form. I refer
also to your
incarceration by the state for four weeks? How has been the
experience?
Farai Maguwu (FM): Zimbabwe is a country where
the rule of law is in an
intensive care unit. As such, those like me who
seek to hold the state to
account have no protection. Life has been
extremely difficult. I live one
day at a time. At our offices we have CIO
people parked at the gate many
times during the day, monitoring who comes in
and out of
CRD. I receive threats over the phone and sometimes I have people
following
me wherever I go in Mutare. I am constantly checking who is in
front, behind
and on my sides. However, I have committed my life to God and
in His hands I
take my refuge.
ND: Tell me about two occasions
where you can say you suffered the most in
the hands of the
state.
FM: When I got arrested I got very sick with a high fever,
throat infection
and chest infection. Lawyers demanded that I be taken to
hospital but the
police would have none of it. The lawyers then brought in a
medical doctor
and he was denied access. My condition worsened and for a
while I began to
smell death. I cried at one point, thinking my life was
being prematurely
terminated. In the end I had to be operated to remove my
swollen tonsils.
The doctor advised that I stay in hospital for 12 days but
I was only
allowed 2 days and a prison doctor came to demand that I be
released into
his custody. He successfully took me back to jail but never
came to see me
thereafter. I was writhing in pain for 2 weeks before my
wounds healed.
ND: Is there a time you can recall when your inner
Farai told you “no this
is dangerous business. Please quit this human rights
business? If so, what
had happened?
FM: When I was released from
jail I was under intense pressure to slow down.
I strongly felt the high
risk involved in my work as surveillance around me
intensified. At the same
time I had a strong conviction that told me not to
betray my conscience. I
decided to continue with my work.
ND: Do you fear for your life any
time?
FM: Yes sometimes I do fear for my life, but I also try not to
be paranoid
about security. I strive to live a normal life just like any
other person.
ND: Do you ever joke with some security agents when you
meet them and in
what form are those jokes?
FM: I joke with a
number of security agents. Recently I met one at an
intersection in Mutare
and he shouted, “Maguwu, when will you be arrested
again”.
ND:
What would be your response to government claims that you were being
used by
the powerful West in an attempt to throttle the country's economy by
blocking the sale of Zimbabwe’s diamonds?
FM: It’s difficult to
respond to rhetoric. The issues that we advocate for
are very domestic and
easily verifiable. We are saying government should
stop brutalising its
citizens in order to secure diamonds. Further, we are
saying diamonds must
not enrich a few people, as is the case now and for the
foreseeable future,
but rather should benefit
the whole country like is happening in Botswana. I
don’t see an imperial
hand in such advocacy work. All right thinking
Zimbabweans see reason in our
advocacy work. A country cannot survive on
donor funds but must make the
most out of its God given
resources.
ND: Do you have any evidence of human rights abuses in
Marange and where do
you premise that?
FM: There is overwhelming
evidence of human rights abuses in Marange by both
state security agents and
private companies.
ND: What is your reaction to the green light that
has been granted to
Zimbabwe to export her rough diamonds?
FM:
The deal is a step in the right direction but it falls short of our
concerns
as Zimbabweans. It does not protect the Marange community from
abuses. The
deal is silent on human rights nor does it call on the
Zimbabwean
authorities to protect the Marange community. The deal sweeps
under the
carpet the failure by Zimbabwe to implement earlier agreements
reached in
Namibia and St Petersburg recently. This is the third deal on
Zimbabwe in as
many years and there is no justifiable reason to think this
‘deal’ will mark
a turning point in Zimbabwe’s commitment to the KPCS and to
transparency and
accountability. It is largely a blank check to the
privileged few who are
making a killing
out of Marange diamonds.
ND: By the way, did you
finally get back your laptop and other valuables
that were seized from you
by state agents at the airport?
FM: The court order to return my
property has been ignored.
ND: How serious are human rights
violations in Zimbabwe and what is your
assessment of other human rights
defenders? Are they cut out for the
gruelling task of standing up to the
regime?”
FM: The human rights situation in Zimbabwe remains terrible.
Citizens do not
have protection of the law. The level of risk human rights
defenders face is
commensurate with the level to which they hold government
to account.
ND: Perhaps last Farai, you have been awarded the Human
Rights Watch Alison
Des Forges Award for extraordinary Activism, how do you
feel about the
honour?
FM: I feel very much humbled to be
recognized by such an international
organisation working in 90 countries.
Being chosen amidst many great people
doing incredible human rights work
around the world is something very
special. I keep asking sarcastically,
"why me!"
http://www.cricket365.com/
Saturday 05-November-2011
17:33
Long-time supporters of Zimbabwe will recognise Sunday's
headlines - after
all, plucky Zimbabwe snatching defeat from the jaws of
victory is an old
habit from the 1990s. But even if we're to take the
pessimistic view, and
see Zimbabwe losing seven wickets in the final session
to go down in a Test
match they could have won, then we unavoidably arrive
at an overwhelming
positive: they have competed to the last, and deserve to
be playing Test
cricket again. In their own funny way, Zimbabwe are
back.
There were many times over the past five days when they could
easily have
given up on themselves and folded. On day one New Zealand won a
useful toss
and lost few wickets, but at no point were they allowed to score
freely as
Zimbabwe showed intelligence in setting straight fields and
bowling tightly,
a ploy which ultimately paid off as they limited the Kiwis
to 426 when 526
looked more likely.
In their own first innings
Zimbabwe fell to 198 for five with only debutants
and tail-enders to come,
as opportunities were wasted, yet they recovered to
post a total that kept
them in the game more than anyone would have
predicted at the time. They
took early wickets in New Zealand's second
innings, and very nearly bowled
them out despite the Black Caps reaching a
breezy 155 for three on the
fourth afternoon.
Yet it was day five on which they lost the match but
gained admirers, not
just for their continued refusal to lie down but also
for their insistence
on pushing for the win. A draw would have looked a
highly respectable result
in the record books, but Zimbabwe shunned
mediocrity and won everyone's
respect in the process.
"There were a
lot of nerves, but the guys carried on and kept trying to push
for the win,
and that's why we're all very proud of each other," Brendan
Taylor said
afterwards. "We could have shut up shop with an hour and a bit
left in the
game but the guys were still fairly positive, so it was just a
good positive
day today and the guys can hold their heads high."
Taylor will no doubt
be accused by some for turning the game in New
Zealand's favour when he
senselessly got out in the same fashion as he'd
earned a lucky reprieve
before the tea break. Yet he only carries that
burden because he gets his
team into match-winning situations in the first
place, and he can certainly
find consolation in the words of Daniel Vettori.
"The innings that he
played today would rival the innings that any of the
best batsmen in the
world could play," Vettori told Cricket365. "We realised
what a special
innings it was, and that's what put us on the back foot.
There aren't many
guys in Test cricket who can play that well."
Taylor's dismissal to the
second ball after tea would have put the shackles
on most other teams. But
this new Zimbabwe team have shown that they have a
bit of attitude - most
notably when they chased down 328 in the third
one-dayer - and even after
Tatenda Taibu and Malcolm Waller had gone through
a cautious period it was
clear that they weren't settling for the draw. When
Taibu and Regis Chakabva
had been dismissed, they even sent in Njabulo Ncube
as something of a pinch
hitter.
"It put us under pressure the whole time but in some ways it
probably opened
the door for us as well," Vettori reflected. "I think if
they'd shut up shop
on that wicket it would have been difficult, but good on
them for trying. I
think everyone would have sat back and said that this was
a great Test
match, to go into the final six overs, people want to see those
sort of
matches."
If there is a concern it is that Zimbabwe will
slide back into those old
habits from the '90s, and habits can be difficult
to break. Victory here
could have broken the spell and provided the
unwavering belief required to
win from similar positions in the future. But
this is still an inexperienced
team who should get better with time. For now
they can look back with pride
and enjoy the new supporters they gained on a
great day for them, and for
Test cricket.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Either the fact that cholera killed more than 4 000
Zimbabweans in 2008/9 is
simply not enough make the government to want to do
something to prevent
another outbreak, or the administration is purposely
and perversely
oblivious of the time bomb dangerously ticking away right
under its nose.
04.11.1102:03pm
by Editor
How else can one
explain the appalling fact that a mere 24 months since the
last cholera
outbreak we face exactly the same awful conditions that led to
that deadly
epidemic?
The chief source of cholera two years ago were the hand-dug
wells in Harare’s
low-income suburbs that desperate residents resorted to
for water as the
capital’s water supply system failed.
It is these
same dig-it-yourself wells, which are unprotected and into which
sewage
water seeps, that have in recent weeks become the main sources of
water for
tens of thousands of households in poor townships.
In Harare, which was
the epicenter of the last epidemic, as well as in other
cities and towns it
has become normal to go with dry taps for days or even
weeks on end. The
sight of women and children balancing buckets and other
types of containers
on their heads trooping to the nearest open well, stream
or, if they are
lucky, donor-sunk borehole, has become common sight in
Harare and other
urban centres.
It is to state the obvious to say that the water supply
systems in Zimbabwe’s
cities, especially Bulawayo and Harare, are so
overburdened that they could
anytime collapse altogether.
Take for
example the case of Harare, which because of its location in a
higher
rainfall area is supposed to be in a better situation than Bulawayo.
The
capital city requires 1 400 megalitres of water per day for its three
million residents. But by the city council’s own figures, it can only
process 650 megalitres - or less than half of what is required.
No
one needs to be told that the collapse of service delivery in cities and
indeed across the entire country is because of the failed policies of
President Robert Mugabe and his previous governments.
But what
everyone needs to know is whether this present government actually
needs to
first count dead bodies from cholera before it can start doing
something to
fix the broken water and sewer systems in our urban areas?
Well, if
corpses are what shall move the government it looks like it won’t
be long
before that happens.
All that is needed is one case of cholera infection
– which you can bet will
come soon as the summer rains approach – and the
backyard wells will come in
handy to ensure the killer disease spreads like
a wildfire.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The wounds of the liberation struggle
through to the Gukurahundi phase and
contemporary acts of violence and
torture have seen Zimbabwe increasingly
becoming a traumatized nation, with
large sections of the community
suffering from mental
disorders.
04.11.1105:30pm
by Fungi Kwaramba
A report by the
Research and Advocacy Unit released on Friday says at least
one in every 10
Zimbabweans suffers from a mental health disorder.
The research, in
graphic and empirical terms, details the cases of violence
and torture in
Zimbabwe, mainly drawing on statistics from the 2001-2009
period, but in
some cases going back further.
“Zimbabweans have suffered during this
period of complex emergency, when the
infrastructure of the country has
collapsed around them,” said the report.
Damage to the psychological
well-being of the population, according to the
report, is likely to have
enduring effects on the populace as evidenced by
war veterans who
participated in the 1970s war of liberation but are still
suffering mentally
31 years on after independence.
Government sponsored programmes such as
Gukurahundi of the 1980 when a
estimated 20 000 people were killed by the
government army and also
operation Murambatsvina which saw the displacement
of close to a million
people have heightened mental suffering of
many.
In addition, many thousands of Zimbabweans have been affected by
torture and
organized violence. The prevailing situation, where national
healing and
reconciliation is proving difficult to establish, has made it
difficult to
collect accurate figures of people who are suffering from
mental health
problems.
“The true scale of the problem will not be
known until an enabling political
and legal infrastructure is in place to
facilitate the research needed to
generate accurate figures. The most
obvious effects are physical, seen in
illnesses and injuries, which may be
short-lived, but also may lead to
long-term disability. However, the most
persistent consequences will be
psychological, and especially if the trauma
was deliberately inflicted, as
in torture,” said the report.
“There
clearly are people who need individual treatment and provision has to
be
made for this through development of mental health services within the
existing health system. At the same time, it is argued here that healing
interventions of quite a different kind, focusing on communities and the
social/political context, will constitute the majority of the work that
needs to be done.
“One small study, in Gwanda district, indicated
that five adults in 10 over
the age of 18 were suffering from significant
psychological disorders, with
over 90% of the sample reporting an experience
with organized violence and
torture,” noted RAU.
Click here to read From Dictatorship to Democracy
Dear Family and Friends,
The searing heat and record breaking temperatures
melting Zimbabwe in
late October were finally broken by rain a few days ago.
Never have
thunder, lightning and mud been so welcome. There’s nothing quite
so
delicious as walking out on a quiet dirt road early in the
morning
after a night of noisy rain storms. It’s that time of day when
yours
are the first footprints to mark the wet sand. The ground is soft
and
springy underfoot, the air cool and clear and if you are lucky you
may
see the tracks left by an animal of the night. It always comes
as
something of a surprise the way a single rain storm awakens
an
extravaganza of weird and wonderful beetles, spiders and
insects.
Almost overnight they are back: Flying ants, Tsongololos,
Sausage
Flies, Rhino beetles and giant moths the size of saucers.
As
the sun lifts from the horizon its not long before the voices of
the crickets
fall silent, to be replaced by the screeching of cicadas
as the day heats up.
The reality of Zimbabwe is sitting in a heap at
the side of the road. There’s
obviously been a burglary in the
neighbourhood during the night and the
unwanted, discarded items are
lying in the wet grass: a black sun hat, an
ornamental carved wooden
assegai with steel tips, a plumber’s rubber plunger
and an
assortment of car parts. Walking a little further down the road
the
day’s work has already started for two young men who are digging
a
foundation for a new house. Damp soil thuds off shovels, their
laughter
rings out in the quiet of the dawn; a raised hand is lifted
in greeting. A
builder strides past carrying his spirit level; smiles
and greetings are
exchanged. A school girl meanders along, a little
pink satchel on her back;
she casts her eyes down and responds shyly
when you say good morning. The
first vehicle approaches, it is an
early commuter minibus going towards the
half built high density
housing complex nearby. They started building there
after the
government’s Operation Murambatsvina (clear out the rubbish) of
2005
left 800,000 people homeless. Four workers wearing overalls
emerge
from a gate, we chorus early morning greetings. A woman carrying a
hoe
and a bag of seeds heads down to a roadside field; a man
inspecting
his newly germinated maize crop lifts his hat and we exchange a
few
words about the rain, the weather, the hope for his crop.
With
encounters like these to illustrate the face of Zimbabwe at the
start of
every new day, it’s hard to comprehend the turmoil that
engulfed the capital
city this week. Apparently a choir member
complained that street vendors were
selling pirated CD’s in central
Harare, right outside the building that
houses the offices of the MDC.
Police arrived to arrest vendors who ran into
the MDC headquarters.
Minutes later the police were firing teargas, first
into the MDC
building and then at the large crowd of bystanders who had
gathered to
watch. The independent papers had screaming headlines and
frightening
pictures the next day. “Mayhem,” was the banner covering the
front
of the Daily News with headlines: “Police turn city centre
into
battlefield,” and “Teargas thrown on civilians.” NewsDay’s
front page
screamed: “Hell Breaks Loose” and showed pictures of
riot police, men and
women running and clouds of tear gas engulfing a
street in the centre of the
Harare.
The next day Prime Minister Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe was
retreating
into ‘siege mentality.’ He said political violence was on
the
increase and that 800 cases had been reported in September.
Talking
about the teargassing of MDC headquarters, the PM said police
had
threatened bystanders, thrown teargas into crowds of people
going
about their business and bought the capital to standstill.
“The
police say they are for the law, for the people, for the
country,’
the PM said, “but what we have witnessed is that they are anti
law,
anti people and anti country.”
At the end of it all, looking at
pictures of rows of helmeted riot
police in grey police trucks two thoughts
were uppermost; the first
was ‘oh no, here we go again’ and the other was:
’goodbye
tourists.’ Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy
5th
November 2011. Copyright � Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com