http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
06
November, 2012
There has been a widespread and angry reaction to the
police raid on the
Counselling Services Unit (CSU) offices in Harare on
Monday, and fear of a
general crackdown on Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGO’s), ahead of the
elections due next year.
Several NGOs in the
country issued statements condemning the arrest of
Fidelis Mudimu, Zachariah
Godi, James Zidzimu, Tafadzwa Gesa and Penn
Bruno – CSU employees who are
being detained at Harare Central Police
Station.
The raiding team of
about 20 police officers was led by Detectives Inspector
Henry
Dowa and
Inspector Murira, who were armed with a search warrant allowing
them to
recover “offensive and subversive material” from the CSU offices.
CSU
provides psychological and medical assistance to traumatised victims of
torture. It is not quite clear what the police are accusing them of, but
there is general consensus that the raid is part of a ZANU PF crackdown
meant to intimidate human rights and political activists, ahead of elections
next year.
Kumbirai Mafunda, communications officer at Zimbabwe
lawyers for Human
Rights, who are assisting the accused, said two of them
were released late
on Monday but three remain in custody.
Mafunda
said the police were specifically looking for material that “defaces
any
house, building, wall, fence, lamp post, gate, elevator without the
consent
of the owner or occupier thereof”, in contravention of section 46 of
the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
“We have been made to
understand as police were preparing state papers, that
this had to do with a
banner or a building that was defaced recently. We are
not quite clear what
they will be charged with but we know they are going to
spend another night
behind bars,” Mafunda told SW Radio Africa.
Close sources told SW Radio
Africa that all the police found at the CSU
office were three cans of spray
paint.
Mafunda pointed to the recent police raids at the offices of the
Gays and
Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), the crackdown against NGOs in Masvingo
earlier
this year and the arrest of Abel Chikomo from the Human Rights NGO
Forum, as
signs that the government is intensifying its campaign against
rights
activists.
In a statement, the MDC-T condemned the arrests
saying: “The MDC notes with
great concern the upsurge in the arrests,
intimidation and harassment of
civic society members, political activists
and journalists across the
country by ZANU PF members and State
security.”
The party has said they will not participate in any election
if the
atmosphere on the ground is not conducive to holding a free and fair
poll.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
6
November 2012
There are reports saying that Robert Mugabe’s attempt to
subvert the COPAC
process will fail as no other principal to the GPA
supports his demands for
the draft constitution be brought before the three
principals, before being
tabled in Parliament.
A highly placed source
in COPAC told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that even
ZANU PF officials in the
management select committee spearheading the draft
charter, differ with
Mugabe.
COPAC has been working flat out since last week to produce a
report
detailing the proceedings of the Second All Stakeholders Conference.
They
missed a Monday deadline to hand over that report to Parliament and are
now
expected to complete the report Wednesday.
The state media has
been saying that the constitution making process now
lies under the
portfolio of the principals, who will ensure that the views
of the people
are clearly articulated.
Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme said it is a
big lie by ZANU PF that the
principals want to ensure that the views of the
people are clearly
articulated in the new charter.
‘This is an
attempt by ZANU PF to smuggle their amendments into the new
charter after
failing to do before and after the Second All Stakeholders
conference.
‘But analysts predict that this attempt will fail without
the cooperation of
Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube from the MDC
formations.
‘SADC, as the guarantors of this GPA, will be following
events of this COPAC
process very closely to ensure it’s completed in a fair
manner that does not
disadvantage other stakeholders,’ Saungweme
said.
It is understood contentious issues in the draft include executive
powers,
dual citizenship, appointment of governors and devolution of
power.
Recently the three COPAC co-chairmen reiterated that the country
will hold a
referendum on a new Constitution by January next year, if the
remaining
processes move smoothly.
There are fears that different
views expressed by delegates to the
conference will delay the process, as
these need to be ironed out before the
draft can be presented to Parliament
for debate.
After the debate the draft will be taken for a vote in a
referendum to
decide whether it should be adopted as the new constitution
for the country.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission says it needs about
US$104 million to hold
the referendum.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Tuesday, 06 November
2012 10:01
HARARE - Police officers who arrested MDC activists on charges of
killing a
police officer in Harare’s Glen View suburb last year continue
giving
conflicting statements on the fateful day’s
events.
Investigating officer Clever Ntini told High Court Judge
Chinembiri Bhunu
during trial that three of his officers, Victor Mafavhuke,
Spencer Nyararai
and one Chikura, who has since died, witnessed some of the
MDC activists
stoning the cop.
But all of the police officers denied
witnessing any of the activists
killing the cop when they appeared on the
witness stand prior to Ntini’s
testimony.
Testifying under
cross-examination from defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa,
Ntini said all the
three police details were under cover and watched some of
the accused
committing murder. - Staff Writer
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
05/11/2012 00:00:00
by Phyllis
Mbanje
THE 29 MDC-T members charged with the murder of a police
officer in Harare
last year were betrayed by party colleagues, their
on-going trial heard
Monday.
Principal investigating officer in the
case, Detective Chief Inspector
Clever Ntini, made the claim when challenged
to reveal the identity of
police informants by defence lawyer Beatrice
Mtetwa.
Glen View MP and MDC-T youth leader, Solomon Madzore, along with
28 other
party activists are charged with the murder of Inspector Petros
Mutedza in
May last year.
The ZRP officer was killed when a police
detail responding to reports of an
unsanctioned political gathering at a
Glen View shopping centre came under
attack from dozens of stone-throwing
MDC-T activists.
Detective Ntini told the trial, which resumed Monday,
that he could not name
the informants because they were known to the
suspects. He added that
investigators also dispensed with the usual
identification parade to protect
the identity of the witnesses.
"I
cannot reveal the informants' identity because they apparently belong to
the
same party as the 29 accused persons," he said.
"We did not hold an
Identification parade because we did not want to risk
the identity of the
informants."
However, Mtetwa dismissed the detective’s claim and insisted
that those
arrested were nowhere the scene of the clashes.
She said the
29 suspects fell victim to “political profiling” by the ZRP
whereby MDC-T
members in police records are just rounded up whenever a crime
is
committed.
The defence lawyer added that this had seen 45 people being
arrested in
connection with the murder although police later only charged
the 29.
"You used the profiling method just like you do with WOZA, if
there is a
demonstration you simply pull out the profiles and storm their
homes and
beat them up," Mtetwa charged.
"In this case you simply
showed pictures of the accused to the so called
witnesses."
Detective
Ntini also told the court that the suspects were identified by
undercover
cops deployed in the area who included police officers Spencer
Nyararai,
Solomon Mushaninga, Victor Magutarima.
However, the detective was forced
to admit that he was “mixing up issues”
when Mtetwa reminded him that the
three officers were not plain clothes cops
but part of the reaction group
led by Inspector Mutedza.
Mtetwa also said two of the officers had
since denied witnessing Mutedza’s
murder.
"Nyararai has given
evidence already and he does not mention ever witnessing
the event," she
charged.
Detective Ntini had the gallery in stitches when he said, in
response: "I
could have mixed up issues here."
The MDC-T activists, most
of whom have been in custody for more than a year,
deny any involvement in
Inspector Mutedza’s murder.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Jonga
Kandemiiri, Arthur Chigoriwa
06.11.2012
Mashonaland West’s weekly
Mirror editor Dennis Kagonye was arrested Tuesday
morning on charges of
contravening the draconian Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy
Act.
Kagonye, who was arrested by two officers from Chinhoyi Law and
Order was
incarcerated in the Chinhoyi police holding cells after a lengthy
interrogation, with the police set to question him further.
Police
confiscated all the computers from his newsroom. It was not
immediately
clear what information they were looking for.
Kagonyes’ lawyer Andrew
Choga confirmed his client was being being charged
for publishing without a
licence as required under the law, adding he may
appear in court
Wednesday.
In Harare, meanwhile, the three Counselling Services Unit
employees who were
arrested Monday following a raid at their offices are
spending another night
in police custody as officers continued preparing
charge sheets.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights spokesman Kumbirai
Mafunda told Studio 7
the three could be taken to Bulawayo where police
charged they defaced a
building hosting an information centre donated to the
community by former
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
Officers
raided the Counselling Services Unit offices claiming the
non-governmental
organisation was in possession of material that contravened
criminal law,
specifically the Codification and Reform Act.
Some computers and
materials were confiscated and five employees, including
a daily news
photographer, were arrested in the raid.
Two employees and the journalist
have since been released without any
charges being preferred against
them.
Meanwhile, non-governmental group Community Tolerance reported that
police
in Masvingo Monday arrested political activists Kenny Machingura,
Taurai
Chidaushe and Timothy Mhinga for allegedly convening an
unsanctioned
meeting in Chivi North constituency.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Tuesday, 06 November 2012 09:58
HARARE - Daily
News photographer Watson Ofumeli, who joined the paper last
week, was
yesterday briefly arrested by police from the Criminal
Investigation
Department (CID) Law and Order Section for taking pictures
during a raid at
a local NGO.
Ofumeli was hauled into a police truck packed with police
detectives and
five Counselling Services Unit (CSU) staffers just outside
the NGO’s offices
in Harare and taken to Harare Central Police
Station.
He was covering the police raid.
Police raided the CSU
searching for “offensive and subversive material”.
Ofumeli was later
released without charge but only after forcing him to
delete the pictures he
had taken.
Associated Newspapers lawyer Alec Muchadehama condemned the
arrest.
“We have always said the laws in Zimbabwe are not friendly for
the practice
of journalism or the free flow of information,” he
said.
“Ofumeli’s arrest is evidence that the police’s heavy-handed
behaviour in
dealing with journalists going about their lawful duty is
systematic and has
not changed,” Muchadehama said.
The Daily News
group editor, Stanley Gama described the arrest as another
latest assault on
press freedom in Zimbabwe.
“At the Daily News, we have now become used to
such savagery tactics of
intimidation, and we wonder when will this come to
an end? Why are we always
being targeted as the Daily News?
“The
selective application of the law in Zimbabwe is appalling, we strongly
condemn the arrest of our photojournalist and the subsequent deleting of his
pictures by the police. Can someone please stop the harassment of the Daily
News.” - Staff Writer
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, November 07, 2012 - A regional
corruption watch dog said an increase
in police check points on Zimbabwe’s
highways had seen officers attached to
the traffic section becoming rich
over night.
The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACTA) said
an assessment it
carried out recently showed that corruption by the Zimbabwe
Republic Police
(ZRP) was worsening.
“The report revealed that on the
9th of October 2012, police officers
manning checkpoints between Plumtree
and Kwekwe demanded and were paid bribe
money for which they did not issue
official receipts,” ACTA said in a
statement.
“The money paid was
pocketed by the individual police officers thereby
depriving the nation of
its much-needed resources for development.
“Furthermore, the report
revealed that police officers between Plumtree and
Bulawayo were more
corrupt as compared to their colleagues between Bulawayo
and Kwekwe since
they received bribes at six out of the seven checkpoints,
which constituted
85.7% prevalence.”
Alouis Munyaradzi Chaumba, the ACTA coordinator,
encouraged responsible
authorities in Zimbabwe to take appropriate action
against the culprits.
“The fact that the prevalence of corruption on
Zimbabwean roads is high and
takes place publicly should make it easy for
either the ZRP management or
the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)
to lay traps and catch the
culprits red-handed,” he said.
“Failure to
nip the problem in the bud is a manifestation of a lack of
political will to
fight the problem head-on.”
The report decried the number and the
distance between checkpoints.
“On the 9th of October 2012, there were at
least seven checkpoints between
Plumtree and Bulawayo which delayed
motorists and milked them through bribe
money,” it added.
“The report
demonstrated that the bus departed Plumtree border post at 7:26
a.m and
arrived in Bulawayo at 10:10 am, over a distance of 100 kilometres,
and the
delays were attributed to the police checkpoints where police
officers were
negotiating bribes.”
Chaumba urged motorists and members of the public to
take video footages
using their phones and cameras in order to name and
shame the culprits.
ZRP Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has often
defended the increase
in the number of roadblocks claiming they were meant
to curb lawlessness on
the roads.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The Zimbabwe National Students Union
(ZINASU) President Pride Mukono was
yesterday November 5, 2012 remanded in
custody by a Gweru magistrate. The
Union boss had a warrant of arrest issued
after he failed to attend court in
Gweru facing charges under the Public
Order and Security Act (POSA). He will
be back in court on the 21st of
November from Hwahwa prison. The
incarceration comes a few days after the
release of the Union Secretary
General Tryvine Musokeri who is charged
together with the Pres
06.11.12
by Staff Reporter
On
the 15th of February 2012, The ZINASU President, Secretary General and a
member of the Union were arrested while addressing students at Midlands
State University (MSU). They were detained at Gweru Central Police Station.
The three appeared in court on February 17, 2012 charged with assault and
violation of POSA. The charges arose from addressing students without giving
notice to the police and allegedly assaulting MSU security guards. It later
turned out that it was the guards who had assaulted the union leaders. They
were released on free bail and the matter was postponed to March 02, 2012.
Since then the trio have been attending court.
The arrest of Union
Leaders is politically motivated as it came soon after
the launch of the
“final force campaign” which aimed at mobilizing students
for massive
demonstrations in reaction to the government’s failure to pay
for students
on the cadetship scheme. Musokeri was arrested on the 28th of
September
2012, for failing to appear at a Magistrates Court in Gweru in
connection to
charges preferred on him, under the draconian POSA. Tryvine
spent thirty
three days in detention at Hwahwa before being granted bail on
the 31st of
October.
Believe Tapera Vice President of ZINASU was suspended at MSU for
writing a
protest letter to the local daily newspaper demanding the release
of Tryvine
Musokeri. He is yet to appear before the University disciplinary
committee.
The SST notes with great concern the upsurge in the arrests,
intimidation
and harassment of student activists ahead of the Constitution
Referendum and
the pending general elections. By arresting and intimidating
the leaders are
denied their right to represent and participate in these
national processes.
We urge the inclusive government to maintain peace and
open up democratic
space as the country approach polls.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
06
November 2012
The so called ‘well wishers’ responsible for a multi
million dollar farming
inputs scheme launched by Robert Mugabe over the
weekend, are being accused
of helping the regime cling to
power.
There are widespread suspicions that the US$20 million Mugabe
secured for
the farming package is part of a vote-buying strategy for ZANU
PF ahead of
the next elections. The scheme was launched at the party’s
headquarters on
Saturday with the party promising to assist ‘disadvantaged’
farmers. The
inputs bought with the multi million dollar cash boost, are set
to be handed
over to rural chiefs to distribute.
The Chiefs’ Council
has since appealed to Mugabe to mediate in worsening
relations between rural
chiefs and ZANU PF officials fighting over the
distribution of the farming
inputs. Chiefs’ Council president Chief Fortune
Charumbira has been quoted
has saying this week that there are problems in
some parts of the country
with ZANU PF members undermining the authority of
the chiefs in the
distribution farming inputs.
The Chief’s concerns have supported the
claims that the inputs scheme is
part of ZANU PF’s election strategy.
Political analyst Professor John
Makumbe told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday
that ZANU PF could use this scheme
as an opportunity to buy
votes.
“It is quite telling that some of the inputs were distributed from
the ZANU
PF headquarters, instead of somewhere neutral. The message being
sent is
that ZANU PF is in election mode and that vote buying is the order
of the
day,” Makumbe said.
ZANU PF has used this kind of strategy
repeatedly over election periods to
rig polling results in their favour. For
example, the party has politicised
food aid schemes countrywide for many
years, insisting people must have ZANU
PF membership to claim food aid.
Also, the land grab campaign launched by
Mugabe was a clear reward scheme
for his party faithful
“With the elections expected early next year it is
obvious that ZANU PF is
using the distribution of farming inputs as a way of
attracting support and
saying they care more than the MDC formations,”
Makumbe said.
Questions are also being asked about the source of the
US$20 million Mugabe
secured for this scheme, which he has attributed to
unnamed ‘well wishers’.
Observers have commented that these ‘well wishers’
are directly funding an
illegal regime, by giving money to support the
party’s election campaign.
The unknown sponsors are thought to be foreign
governments who have
previously supported Mugabe, including China or Iran.
The MDC-T meanwhile
also pointed the finger closer to home, saying the
inputs scheme has
confirmed their “assertion that ZANU PF is using money
from the Chiadzwa
Diamond fields, siphoned through a corruption magnate
Obert Mpofu to sponsor
a parallel government structure.”
Morgan
Tsvangirai’s party also warned that the input scheme is a ZANU PF
election
exercise.
“That the so- called Presidential input scheme was launched at
the ZANU PF
headquarters raises an eyebrow, and the generality of
Zimbabweans wonder if
this is not another vote buying exercise by ZANU PF.
It therefore ceases to
be a ‘presidential’ input scheme as it is designed to
benefit ZANU PF
members,” the MDC-T said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made has revealed that the amount of
money needed to fund
farming inputs for a successful agricultural sector is
forty times more than
the amount Mugabe was able to secure. Speaking at the
launch of Mugabe’s
inputs scheme on Saturday, Made said that US$800 million
is needed to buy
inputs for the coming season. This news has added more
weight to suspicions
that Mugabe’s cash boost is a ‘reward scheme’ and not
aimed at improving
agriculture.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Tuesday, 06 November 2012
10:55
HARARE - The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) is today
expected
confiscate Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)’s vehicles over
$700 000
the state broadcaster owes the workers’ social protection
institution in
employees’ pension contributions since 2009.
The
property includes the State broadcaster’s vehicles belonging to
managers.
“You are required and directed to attach and take into
execution the movable
goods of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Limited…and
of the same cause to
be realised the sum of $722 401,00,” reads part of the
writ of execution
shown to the Daily News.
“We are made to understand
that the deputy sheriff has attached executive
cars. This is why their
managers were here (yesterday) negotiating for time
to pay, but tomorrow
(today) we are collecting the cars,” said Vanani Simon
Nyangulu, whose law
firm is representing Nssa. - Staff Writer
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Tuesday, 06 November 2012
10:10
President Robert Mugabe
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu
party is splashing a massive $6,5
million on the construction of a
conference centre in Gweru ahead of its
“people’s conference” in December,
the Daily News can reveal.
The party — reportedly buoyed by diamond money
— is bankrolling the
construction of the monstrous structure 15 kilometres
on the Gweru-Mvuma
Road.
With the facility at roof level, the 5
000-seater convention centre is not
only conspicuous by its size, but has
also raised eyebrows about the source
of its funding.
While Mugabe’s
Zanu PF is expected to use the facility for its 13th annual
conference in
early December, its construction has also come at a time the
Midlands city
is grappling with serious de-industrialisation.
For instance, the cost of
its erection is more than two thirds of the money
needed to recapitalise
Bata Shoe Company.
With the five-day annual gathering expected to map
Zanu PF's strategies to
stay in power after next year's polls, critics say
the $6, 5 million is
likely to turn into another "white
elephant".
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist since
Independence in 1980,
will be endorsed as the party's presidential candidate
at the annual feast,
where food and drink will be in free
flow.
According to party insiders, land and broad-based empowerment will
remain
Mugabe’s trump card and rallying point to woo a restive electorate,
which
has seen steadily rising incomes since the inception of a coalition
government in 2008.
Zanu PF, which suffered electoral defeat in March
2008 and was forced to
form a “unity” government with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC and a
smaller MDC faction headed by Welshman Ncube, will be
expecting that the
conference strengthens the party’s campaign
thrust.
Between 5 000 and 10 000 visitors will be in Gweru.
Zanu
PF politburo member and ex-Midlands’ governor Cephas Msipa, who is part
of
the organising committee, said indications pointed to the largest
conclave
in the party's history.
"It will be one of the best conferences, everyone
is looking forward to it,"
Msipa told the Daily News.
"We are
building a special conference centre. We want to be the first to
build that
kind of conference centre. We are well prepared."
Msipa said the
politburo will meet tomorrow to finish arrangements for the
reception of
dignitaries and the vast crowd of the party's rank and file
which will turn
out for the national people’s conference.
Aides were also paying close
attention to the distribution of provincial
tickets to the convention
hall.
Spearheaded by Midlands Development Association (MDA) chairman
Larry Mavima,
the association is reported to be planning a gallery
demonstration for
Mugabe which they hope will make a lasting
impression.
Standing on a 60-hectare piece of land on the outskirts of
the so-called
“city of progress”, a massive stage 20 metres long and 12
metres wide is
being erected for speech making.
The intention,
convention organisers say, is to convey a certain level of
warmth and
intimacy inside the 5 000-seater arena, while also creating a
“wow factor”
that will impress with state-of-the-art technology.
The conference
centre, with a red tiled roof, is impressive; with a
futuristic design being
put up by Chinese contractors.
The conference centre will include offices
for the Zanu PF presidium -
comprising the first secretary Mugabe, his two
second secretaries Joice
Mujuru and John Nkomo and the national chairman
Simon Khaya-Moyo - and
several other amenities.
The huge auditorium
has been arranged to seat 10 000 delegates.
Organisers say it will be a
"celebration of gathering" with open walkways
and plenty of space. Massive
screens and headphone speakers will be
available for all the delegates, with
translations in most vernacular
languages.
The thousands who will
attend the convention events in person, and all those
tuning in across the
country, “should be ready for quite a show,” Msipa
said.
He contested
the notion that Zanu PF was bigger in style than substance,
saying each
party strategically constructed a stage to convey its own unique
style and
“image”.
The ex-Midlands governor described the centre as a legacy
project.
Meanwhile, most Gweru hotels expect brisk business during the
five-day
conference.
Local hotel managers say they are double
checking their systems, sprucing up
rooms and talking over access and
security with their employees. - Gift
Phiri
http://www.reuters.com
Tue Nov 6, 2012 9:40am
EST
* Fails to sell $30 mln in T-bills
* Banks demanding high
yields for debt
* Zimbabwe struggles to revive debt market
By
Nelson Banya
HARARE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe failed to sell treasury
bills for the
third time in around a month on Tuesday, traders said, as wary
banks brushed
off government pressure to help revive the domestic debt
market.
Cash-strapped Zimbabwe is trying to relaunch its T-bill market
but has seen
little interest from commercial banks, which are demanding
hefty yields to
hold the short-term debt.
The central bank had said
in private meetings it would garnish money from
foreign lenders as
punishment for refusing to buy the bills, one banker
familiar with the
matter told Reuters.
Dealers said Tuesday's $30 million offering of
91-day bills attracted just
$8.65 million worth of bids, with yields ranging
from 8.5 to 12 percent.
The government relaunched the treasury bill
market last month but has
managed just one successful auction in four
attempts -- selling $9.85
billion on Oct. 26.
In the run-up to the
latest planned issue, Finance Minister Tendai Biti had
leaned on the
country's major banks.
"I am giving the banking sector the last chance to
fully support the
treasury bills. If they don't support it, I will issue
NCDs and that's it,"
Biti was quoted by the Herald newspaper as
saying.
NCDs, or negotiable certificates of deposit, are a form of a
savings
instrument issued by banks for big deposits and are transferable,
and
therefore tradable in the secondary market.
Both Biti and Central
Bank Governor Gideon Gono have previously criticised
foreign-owned banks,
Standard Chartered , Barclays, Standard Bank and a unit
of South Africa's
Nedbank, for their lack of interest in the treasury bills,
which both men
say are low-risk.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said lenders
remain sceptical about
the government's ability to honour its
debt.
"It seems that banks do not share a similar view relating to the
low risk
associated with (T-bills). The outcome of the tender suggested that
most
banks think the risk level is not low, contrary to the views of the
authorities," the AfDB said in its monthly economic review.
"This is
against the background of tight budgetary constraints and the
uncertain
political and economic environment."
The lack of enthusiasm for the
treasury bills also reflected a dollar crunch
in the market, one dealer
said.
"What this shows is that there is no liquidity in the market,
although there
does appear to be resistance to the bills from the bigger
foreign banks
which do have the cash," she said.
Zimbabwe faces a
huge debt burden. Its total external debt is estimated at
$10.7 billion, or
113.5 percent of GDP, at the end of 2011. More than half
of it is in
arrears.
The country's economy is growing again under coalition
government after a
decade of decline and hyperinflation. But the momentum
has slowed and Biti
has said 2012 growth, initially projected at 9.4
percent, could come in at 4
percent, even lower than his mid-year revision
of 5.6 percent.
The country is due to hold elections in 2013 and there
are fears a repeat of
the violence that marred a 2008 presidential poll
could send the economy
into a spiral again.
http://www.zimeye.org
By Staff
Reporter
Published: November 6, 2012
(Harare)Harare
residents took to the streets today in protest at the Council’s
‘heavy hand’
as they petitioned a change of policies in which they demand an
end to sewer
bursts, no-refuse collection and other ills committed by the
Harare city
council.
This also comes after City Council recently began issuing final
demands and
eviction orders to residents in the face of dirty sewage
contaminated
drinking water together other abnormalities which have
continued for years
in Zimbabwe’s capital.
The demonstration which
saw the handing over of a petition signed by 3 000
residents on these
demands, began Tuesday morning at 9am as the Hararians
demanded that “water
should be made available to every citizen, not the
current situation where
most suburbs do not have any running water.”
A statement by the residents
association stated: The residents have risen
.They demand for a more
accountable system of governance in Harare .
Residents across the greater
Harare undertook a demonstration against
Harare City Council today at 9
am demanding the cancellation of debts
accrued between February 2009 and
December 2010. In addition Harare City
Council is issuing final demands and
eviction orders to residents yet there
is no clean water, no refuse
collection,sewer burst among other poor service
delivery issues within the
communities. The residents have demonstrated that
they are the custodians of
Harare City Council and sent a clear message that
the Harare City Council
Leadership should not take them for granted.Its NOW
TIME TO TAKE ACTION
AGAINST POOR SERVICE DELIVERY.THIS IS JUST THE ADVENT OF
A CITYWIDE PROTEST!
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
6 November
2012
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’ spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, has
regained
consciousness and doctors believe his life is not in danger any
more. He was
seriously injured in a car crash on Sunday, when his 4×4 Toyota
Prado
overturned and rolled three times, in Domboshawa.
He was
travelling with his two brothers, Ngonidzashe and Kelvin, and two
uncles,
Milton and Cleopas. All the passengers escaped with minor injuries.
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai, on honeymoon with his wife in London, is being
kept
updated by officials in his office.
Kudakwashe Matibiri, a close friend
of Tamborinyoka’s, confirmed he had
regained consciousness but said he is
still unable to speak.
‘He can smile, respond to commands and move his
limbs, especially the legs,’
Matibiri said.
After the accident,
Tamborinyoka was treated at Makumbe mission hospital in
Domboshawa before
being taken to the Avenues clinic in Harare. Initially
doctors had described
his injuries as life-threatening but his condition is
now understood to have
improved.
‘Since Luke’s arrival at the hospital Sunday he has been
receiving the best
medical attention possible at the hospital, which is the
country’s major
trauma centre. He is conscious and medical assessments are
ongoing.
‘The doctors will await the outcome of these assessments before
providing
further comment. The priority now at this time is Luke and his
family,’
Matibiri added.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us
information from the Avenues points
to Tamborinyoka making a full recovery,
though after extensive
rehabilitation.
‘What we hear is that Luke
will obviously take months to fully recover and
in the interim, the Prime
Minister’s office is expected to appoint someone
on a caretaker basis to be
spokesman,’ Muchemwa said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Tuesday, 06 November 2012 11:07
HARARE - This semester could
be the last for University of Zimbabwe (UZ)
political science professor John
Makumbe, who is quitting teaching to pursue
a political dream.
After
years of fiercely criticising President Robert Mugabe’s politicies in
newspaper columns, Makumbe has decided to hit the ground and contest for a
parliamentary seat in the next elections.
Dates are yet to be set but
coalition government parties agree polls will be
held next year without
fail.
Makumbe told the Daily News at the weekend that time was ripe for
him to
leave the institution he has served for two decades.
“I will
be leaving the university probably by the end of the year to
concentrate on
my campaign in Buhera West Constituency,” said Makumbe.
“Elections could
be held anytime next year so the time has come. I have been
doing a lot of
talking, now I must start doing the walking.
“I want to get into the ring
and demonstrate that things can be done
differently and that elections can
be won without violence and Buhera West
will be the case study,” he said,
without elaborating how he will ensure
non-violence when he does not control
Zanu PF structures which are largely
blamed for violence.
Buhera West
Constituency is held by Constitution and Parliamentary Affairs
minister Eric
Matinenga, who has indicated his desire to step down from
active
politics.
Makumbe, who will stand on the mainstream MDC ticket, said he
would follow
Matinenga’s lead and serve only one parliamentary
term.
“I just need to serve a one five-year term and see if I can make a
difference then I will go back to university,” Makumbe said. - Mugove
Tafirenyika
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Tuesday, 06
November 2012
Two infamous senior police officers, Detective Inspector
Henry Dowa and
Chief Superintendent Chrispen Makedenge were leading the
teams that arrested
and severely tortured some of the 29 MDC members who are
on trial on false
charges of murdering a police officer.
This was
revealed at the High Court today by the defence lawyers during
cross
examination of Clever Ntini, the investigation officer in the murder
charge.
The defence counsel led by Beatrice Mtetwa had queried why
Ntini had ignored
a ruling made at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts last year
that Ntini should
carry out investigations into reports made by some of the
accused that they
had been assaulted and tortured while in police
custody.
Among those who were identified as the torturers of the MDC
members in the
police cells are; Dowa, Makedenge, police officers Maida and
Muchada.
Dowa was in 2003 removed from a UN peacekeeping mission in
Kosovo after he
was found to have tortured hundreds of MDC and civic society
members in
police custody.
Dowa has been named by several torture
victims as having directed and
carried out beatings with fists, boots and
pickaxe handles, and as having
administered electric shocks to the point of
convulsions, at the Harare
Central Police Station throughout 2002 and in
early 2003. The charges have
been backed up by medical examinations which
confirm injuries consistent
with torture.
Makedenge has been
mentioned in connection with numerous human rights
abuses. He was named in
court as having participated in the abduction of
human rights defender,
Jestina Mukoko and dozens of others in late 2008. He
is further accused of
being involved in several other abductions of MDC
members especially in
Harare. Makedenge was withdrawn from a UN peacekeeping
operation in Sudan,
reportedly because of his abusive history.
The violations by the two
notorious police officers prompted the defence
lawyers to query why Ntini
had not carried out investigations and arrests as
ruled by the courts on the
two infamous police officers.
The State prosecutor, Edmore Nyazamba tried
in vain to block Mtetwa from
addressing the two as infamous police officers
claiming that it was
character assassination but the trial judge, Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu
overuled the objection.
Some of the MDC members who
were injured during the torture in police cells
are Councillor Tungamirai
Madzokere and Yvonne Musarurwa. Councillor
Madzokere had his arm broken
while Musarurwa had visible injuries which
according to Ntini showed that he
had been assaulted.
During the cross examination, Ntini again failed to
reveal the names of his
informers who led to the arrest of the 29 MDC
members on trial.
“Who are these nameless, faceless, genderless and
addressless people who
only exist in the eyes of the police?” asked
Mtetwa.
It was also revealed in court today by the defence lawyers that
arrested
females were interrogated in the presence of male police officers
only, who
were also involved in torturing them.
When Musarurwa went
for indications her jean trousers were blooded and torn.
The trial
continues tomorrow.
The Last Mile: Towards Real
Transformation!!!
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Tuesday, 06 November
2012
Water is central to life and without it, numerous problems arise
chief among
them being disease outbreaks. The country in recent times has
experienced
these diseases which include cholera and typhoid both of which
are caused by
inadequate supplies of clean water and poor
hygiene.
The MDC is determined to make sure that the water situation in
the country
improves by ensuring that all its councils are doing everything
they can to
solve water woes.
In line with the above, the MDC
applauds the Minister of Finance, Hon Tendai
Biti for the recent allocation
of funds to the tune of $500 000 as a stop
gap measure to solve the water
woes in Bulawayo. This is a commendable move
which will go a long way in
alleviating the plight of the people of
Bulawayo.
Water shortages
have plagued many parts of the country, including the
capital, Harare. Years
of neglect and corruption under ZANU PF rule and a
growing urban population
have all combined to create the current water
problems that plague Zimbabwe.
Taking Harare as an example, the capital now
has about 5 million people
while Bulawayo has between 1.5 to 1.6 million.
The current infrastructure
was built to serve only 600,000 people in both
cities. This clearly
demonstrates lack of planning and vision on the part of
ZANU PF for the past
32 years.
The MDC through its minister Hon Sipepa Nkomo has successfully
negotiated a
deal that will help increase Bulawayo’s supply of clean water
from 5,000
cubic litres to 15,000 daily from just one dam. This will supply
at least
20% of Bulawayo’s daily consumption needs. The 110 boreholes that
were not
working are currently being rehabilitated which will also help
alleviate the
water woes.
The MDC notes that the Mtshabezi-Umzingwane
pipeline that is largely viewed
as the short-term solution to Bulawayo's
water problems has missed many
completion deadlines. The party believes that
the permanent solution
Bulawayo's water shortages is the National
Matabeleland Zambezi Water
project, which has been on the drawing board for
100 years.
Harare on the other hand just needs the entire aged
infrastructure
especially in high density suburbs repaired and
upgraded.
The Last Mile: Towards Real Transformation!!!
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
05/11/2012
00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
CORRUPTION by Zimbabwe
Republic Police traffic officers is “worsening”, the
Anti-Corruption Trust
of Southern Africa (ACTSA) says in a new report.
Researchers from the
ACTSA travelled by public transport from Plumtree to
Kwekwe on October 9
this year and documented incidents of bribe solicitation
by traffic
officers.
The Namibia-registered bus they travelled in was stopped SEVEN
times between
Plumtree and Bulawayo – a distance of 100km. The journey which
should have
taken slightly over an hour lasted three hours due to traffic
officers
negotiating bribes, ACTSA said in its findings released on
Monday.
Foreign-registered vehicles are more likely to be stopped than
vehicles with
Zimbabwean number plates.
The report, titled ‘Stealing from
the State and Impoverishing the Nation:
Zimbabwean Traffic Police Officers
Pocketing Huge Sums of Money through
Bribes at Checkpoints’, says “the sin
of corruption is now deeply rooted to
such an extent that the culprits are
demanding bribes publicly as if it is
normal to do so.”
The
researchers said: “Police officers between Plumtree and Bulawayo were
more
corrupt as compared to their colleagues between Bulawayo and Kwekwe.
They
were paid bribes at six of the seven checkpoints, which constitute
85.7%
prevalence.
“There were five checkpoints between Bulawayo and Gweru and
only one
incident of corruption was recorded. At 11:24AM when the driver was
stopped
for overspeeding, he begged for forgiveness but the police officers
demanded
a bribe which he paid before being allowed to proceed. No receipt
was
issued.
“There were no incidents of corruption between Gweru and
Kwekwe.”
ACTSA says its researchers boarded the bus as it cleared the
Plumtree border
post.
Stop 1: The bus exited the immigration and customs
before 7AM and at
exactly, 7:18AM on the way out, three male police
officers, including a
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) official,
demanded US$10 or R100 to
allow the bus to leave the immigration area
without being searched.
The bus driver and the conductor resisted paying
the bribe claiming that
they had already paid immigration and customs
officials. There were heated
arguments until the bus was allowed to leave
the immigration area but
instructed to park outside the
gate.
Advertisement
At exactly 7:26AM, two uniformed
police officers (1 male and 1 female)
different from all those involved at
immigration followed outside the gate
and demanded payment of US$10 or R100.
They negotiated with the driver
outside the bus and were paid US$5, which
they accepted though they expected
more. The bus driver was warned that in
future he will risk more delays if
enough bribe money is not
paid.
Stop 2: At 7:28AM, the bus arrived at another checkpoint where a
male police
officer demanded a bribe, which the driver paid. In order to put
pressure on
the driver, the police officer demanded the driver’s licence and
the vehicle’s
registration books, which he kept holding, whilst demanding
that the whole
trailer be offloaded.
In order to avoid all the
inconveniences the officer openly demanded payment
of US$10, which he was
given before giving the driver his driver’s licence
and the vehicle
registration documents.
Stop 3: The bus arrived at another checkpoint at
7:49AM, where again the
police officer demanded to see the driver’s licence
and the vehicle
registration documents. He instructed the bus driver to
follow him to a
nearby tree where he was paid US$5 before allowing the bus
to proceed.
Stop 4:At 7:56AM, the bus was stopped at another police
checkpoint, where a
CID official demanded that he needed to search the bus
and ordered that the
trailer should be offloaded. The driver lied and argued
that the trailer had
been offloaded at the border and it was pointless to
offload it again. The
official insisted and he was paid US$10 before
allowing the driver to
proceed.
Stop 5: At 8:39AM, the driver was
stopped and asked to produce road permits
which he did. Police officers did
not ask for any bribe and the bus was
allowed to proceed.
Stop 6: The
vehicle was stopped at 9:02AM and the driver was asked to
produce his
driver’s licence and road permit which was done. The police
asked for a
bribe citing the need to avoid offloading the trailer. The
driver paid R100
and he was allowed to proceed.
Stop 7: At a police checkpoint close to
Redwood along the Plumtree-Bulawayo
highway, a woman police officer demanded
a bribe which she was paid. The
driver inserted US$ notes in the ticket book
and was immediately allowed to
proceed.
The bus driver who paid the
bribes said: “When you are driving a bus and
have a trailer the approach is
to ask all passengers to contribute money,
which will then be paid to
immigration and customs officials to avoid
delays.
"At Plumtree border
post, we always pay a minimum of R1,000 to these
officials and we budget for
at least US$200 for traffic police officers from
Plumtree border post to
Harare. To us this is normal and the best way to
proceed, instead of being
delayed.”
In 2010, ACTSA conducted research on police corruption in
Botswana, Namibia
and Zimbabwe which concluded that Zimbabwean police were
the most corrupt.
In recommendations contained in its latest report,
ACTSA advised the
Zimbabwe government to “take appropriate action to arrest
the situation
since traffic police officers are pocketing huge sums of money
that should
have been significantly contributing to the national envelope
and channelled
towards national development.”
“The government’s
failure to take action would be self-defeating,” it said.
As part of the
measures, ACTSA is recommending the establishment of “an
elite unit to
monitor the operations of police officers.”
In specific recommendations
to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the researchers
called for clear guidelines
on the setting up of police checkpoints.
“In other words, checkpoints
cannot simply be set up when, where and how
police officers choose as is the
current situation on Zimbabwean roads,”
ACTSA said, making an exception for
national security.
ACTSA is also calling for all police officers to
visibly display their force
numbers “for ease of identification and
reporting of corrupt members by the
public”; the education of motorists on
checkpoint procedures, including
their rights and obligations as well as
monitoring the operations of traffic
police officers whose lifestyles have
changed but cannot be matched with
their incomes.
A police officer
cited in the report said: ““Being a traffic police officer
has a number of
advantages. We can all clearly see that our traffic
colleagues have better
lifestyles though our salaries are the same.
“They take advantage of
motorists who pay bribes in order to avoid being
delayed on the road. We all
want to be traffic officers but sometimes, it’s
not easy since you should
also try to please bosses before they can keep you
on the
road.
“Sometimes, these bosses are given their shares on daily bribes
otherwise
you risk being deployed to other departments.”
Speaking at the
launch of the report, ACTSA Coordinator Alouis Munyaradzi
Chaumba said: “The
fact that the prevalence of corruption on Zimbabwean
roads is high and takes
place publicly should make it easy for either the
ZRP management or the
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to lay traps and
catch the culprits
red-handed.
“The Zimbabwean government should also wake up since it is
losing a fortune
due to corruption.
“ZRP management should restore sanity
in the police force.”
http://www.diamondintelligence.com
06 November
2012
Members of Zimbabwe's Civil Society Coalition say they will attend
the
Zimbabwe Diamond Conference 2012 and aim to play an active role in
discussions at the November 12-13 event at Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe.
Kimberley Process (KP) Civil Society Coalition representatives
in Zimbabwe,
Shamiso Mtisi and Tafadzwa Musarara, will debate the subject
Diamonds,
Engine of Local Beneficiation with Godwills Masimirembwa, Chairman
of the
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, and Abbey Chikane, KP
Monitor for
Zimbabwe, on the second day of the conference.
The
conference is the first pan-African gathering focused on the potential
of
Zimbabwe as a global diamond producer, and has attracted participants
from
some 20 countries.
In addition to representatives from diamond trading
centers such as New
York, Antwerp, Ramat Gan, Mumbai and Hong Kong, a large
group of visitors is
expected from several neighboring states, as well as
from other African
diamond-producing countries.
"We expect to have
open and frank discussions with all participants at this
high-profile
event," says Richard Mvududu, Chairman of the Diamond
Beneficiation
Association of Zimbabwe, and one of the speakers at the
conference. "Our
common goal is to propel Zimbabwe's diamond mining sector
forward and to
assure that it is will be an engine that will advance the
Zimbabwe economy,
and bring prosperity for all the people of Zimbabwe."
Meanwhile, the
Permanent Secretary of Mines and Mining Development of
Zimbabwe, Prince
Mupazviriho, says: "It is encouraging to see that so many
people actually
want to engage in a conference about how to unlock
Zimbabwe's diamond
potential together. We look forward to lively debates
which will deal with
every subject of importance to our future diamond
trading."
http://blogs.independent.co.uk
By Rose
Benton
Tuesday, 6 November 2012 at 6:00 am
The
Zimbabwe Vigil recently marked – not celebrated – our tenth anniversary
protesting outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London against human rights
abuses and in support of free and fair elections. Since the 12th October
2002 Zimbabwean exiles and supporters have gathered every Saturday, come
what may, overlooked by Jacob Epstein’s sculptures slowly crumbling away on
the Embassy’s neo-classical façade.
When the Vigil started we were
hopeful that the then newly-formed Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC)
would soon sweep away President Mugabe’s
sclerotic Zanu PF party which had
ruled since independence in 1980. Robert
Mugabe had taken over what had been
described by President Nyerere of
Tanzania as ‘the jewel of Africa’, yet
despite achievements in expanding
education, had steered the economy onto
the rocks and increasingly resorted
to violence to deal with
opposition.
The invasion of white-owned farms, aimed at undermining
support for the MDC,
had destroyed commercial agriculture and prompted the
exodus of millions of
people. More and more Zimbabweans began turning up in
the UK – not primarily
the dispossessed white farmers, who could use their
skills elsewhere, but
impoverished black Zimbabweans, many of them
professionals from towns which
collapsed as large swathes of formerly
productive land were looted.
As Mugabe increasingly subverted the
judicial system and police force, the
rule of law in Zimbabwe became the
rule of force, backed by an increasingly
politicized army and a subservient
media parroting the Zanu PF mantra that
the mounting economic woes were
caused by ‘illegal’ Western sanctions
imposed on a number of Mugabe’s
cronies. The fact that trade with the West
continued to increase – along
with Western aid – was conveniently ignored.
Developments at home were
watched with growing dismay by Zimbabweans in
London who formed a branch of
the MDC. Encouraged by visiting speakers from
Zimbabwe, including the MDC MP
Roy Bennett, it was agreed to launch a
regular Vigil outside Zimbabwe House,
independent of the MDC, along the
lines of the anti-apartheid protest which
had been held outside the South
African Embassy.
At our first Vigils
we had a few posters and a petition to the UN Human
Rights Commission and
not much else. A report appeared in the UK newsletter
of the MDC on 8th
November 2002. The first two Vigils, it said, had been
well-attended but on
the third it rained steadily. ‘But that Vigil was the
best ever. If it
rains, you have to sing and dance to keep your spirits up .
. .’ The report
went on to say of the Vigil ‘It’s only going on for a
limited period . . .
all signs are that Mugabe is finished . . .’ Such
optimism! But we prepared
for the future and bought a tarpaulin which we
strung from the four maple
trees outside Zimbabwe House and gradually
became, in the words of the
Observer newspaper, the largest regular
demonstration in London.
In
the early years a good proportion of Vigil supporters were white
Zimbabweans
– perhaps 40%. But, as hope died, this dwindled until the Vigil
became a
90%+ black protest, now averaging about 60 people a week. In the
intervening
years we have carried out many demonstrations apart from the
weekly
Vigil.
One of the first was to hire an open-top double decker bus, adorn
it with
our banners “No to Mugabe No to Starvation’ and ‘End murder, rape
and
torture in Zimbabwe’, and tour London delivering petitions to
Parliament,
the Commonwealth and the UN. On another occasion, a group of
about 25 of us
went to Lisbon to protest at the presence of Mugabe at a
meeting there.
As the Vigil enters its second decade, we remember friends
who have
supported us: Remus Makuwasa, the gaunt, dying MDC shadow minister
who sat
huddled silently in blankets for the whole of a bitterly cold Vigil,
Archbishop Pius Ncube who came and comforted people at the Vigil kneeling at
his feet, the silent benefactor who would from time to time stuff a wad of
£20 notes into our startled hands, the Oxford music professor who joined us
in a local pub to tutor us on singing, the film stars such as Tim Robbins
and Emma Thompson who signed our petitions, not to mention Simon Callow who
stopped his taxi to get out and give us some money.
Zimbabwe is now a
gangster state. Its democracy a travesty, with impunity
for the rich and
powerful, and poverty and disease for the majority. On one
level there is a
vibrant economy fed by money made serving Mugabe’s corrupt
mafia, on another
there is mass unemployment, power cuts and water
shortages. The Vigil has no
doubt that there will be violence as Zanu PF
seeks to steal the upcoming
elections. We expect the same outcome as in 2008
with another ‘government of
national unity’ denying true democracy.
But as Epstein’s statues continue
to crumble like Zimbabwe’s towns,
environment and wild life, we are
determined to continue alerting the world
to what is going on in the former
jewel of Africa – reduced to one of the
poorest countries in the world. A
recent South African report says that from
being one of the most advanced
economies in Africa, Zimbabwe’s GDP per
person is now the second lowest of
185 listed. It is ironic that the country
listed last, the DRC, is even
richer in natural resources than Zimbabwe.
For more information about the
Vigil visit www.zimvigil.co.uk
BILL WATCH
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES SERIES
[5th November 2012]
Portfolio Committees and Thematic Committees Inaugural Meetings This
Week
But
No Meetings Open to the Public
Fifth
Session Committees
During the short
sittings of both Houses that took place
immediately after the official opening of the new Parliamentary session
on Tuesday 30th October, the presiding officers announced that membership of
Portfolio Committees [House of Assembly] and Thematic Committees [Senate] would continue as they were at the end of the
last session.
The meetings this week will be to plan their work for the
session. The meetings will not be
open to the public.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information supplied
