FinGaz
Mugabe blasts ministers
Felix Njini
10/21/2004 6:43:51 AM (GMT +2)
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe, under whose
stewardship the economy has
collapsed into a recessionary heap, took a swipe
at non-performing members
of his Cabinet and chief executives of loss-making
parastatals this week for
running down the once resilient and robust
economy.
The ageing leader, who seldom fires at friendly troops,
spared his
irreconcilable enemies - British Prime Minister Tony Blair and
American
President George Bush - at a special caucus meeting held in the
capital city
when he turned his guns on unsuspecting ministers and their
trusted
lieutenants heading parastatals.
Inside sources said
President Mugabe pointed out that the virtual
collapse of some state
companies meant that those responsible were no longer
serving the nation
effectively. The President also reportedly pointed out
that the failure of
these parastatals reflected inefficiency and lack of
seriousness on the part
of the ministers to their "sworn duty of serving the
nation".
What was happening at parastatals, the President said, amounted to
"sabotaging the economy".
The attack re-ignited fading hopes
that the 80-year-old veteran
politician might finally crack the whip, which
he has been accused of
sparing, on under-performing ministers, who have
virtually run down once
vibrant key national institutions.
While the ruling ZANU PF first secretary is likely to keep the Cabinet
intact until after the 2005 parliamentary elections, heads might roll soon
after, as President Mugabe prepares to hand over the throne at the expiry of
his last term in office in 2008.
President Mugabe, who has
ruled Zimbabwe since independence, has
hinted he will not seek re-election
in 2008 although the current
constitution permits him to seek a fresh
mandate from the electorate.
Highly placed sources told The
Financial Gazette that President
Mugabe, whose ruling ZANU PF faces the main
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) in a tricky poll next year,
gave the ministers an
earful, accusing them of incompetence, and warned he
would not hesitate to
sack them.
According to the sources, a
furious President Mugabe said: "If I had
my own way people were going to be
put in jail. I would arrest the minister
responsible for each parastatal,
the chairman of the board and the chief
executive and lock them behind
bars.
"Ministers have never been refused money from the national
treasury
and yet there is no performance. They should take decisive action,
but they
are just crying. They are 100 percent responsible over parastatal
failures,"
President Mugabe is reported to have fumed.
This
implies that pressure is inexorably rising on ministers, who may
respond by
reading the riot act on captains of parastatals, blamed for
bleeding the
government purse. Inefficiency and corruption have put a damper
on the
recovery of state-owned enterprises, which account for at least 60
percent
of the country's public debt.
President Mugabe's outbursts came
amid fears that the ZANU PF risked
leaving a terrible legacy: obsolete
socio-political and economic structures
given the disastrous condition of
the health delivery system and transport
services, the deteriorating
education system and general infrastructure. It
is against this background
that President Mugabe whose government has since
pledged to find a way to
the democratic renewal of the country, seeks the
reformation of the
economy.
The tough-talking veteran, whose anti-graft crusade has
seen the
arrest of senior ZANU PF officials including Finance Minister
Christopher
Kuruneri who has struggled to secure his freedom since April,
expressed
concern at the way some 'war cabinet ministers' have failed to
turn around
their ministries and the parastatals.
The
anti-corruption crusade has however stirred a simmering discord
within the
ruling ZANU PF. The party's parliamentarians were this week
reported to have
implored their leader to pardon those caught up in the
ant-graft dragnet.
The President who has pledge that he will take the
crusade to its full
expression, is however reported to have emphatically
rejected the
proposal.
The government has under its wings more than eleven
parastatals, which
have been a drain on the fiscus. Allegations of
corruption, lack of
corporate governance and accountability have also marred
the operations of
most parastatals.
Some of the strategic, but
most pathetically performing parastatals
include the National Railways of
Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority, the
Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, the
Agricultural Rural Development
Authority, the National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe, the Grain Marketing Board
and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings.
The government has been doling
out billions of dollars, which are not
being accounted for to ailing
parastatals, a move, which has riled the
overburdened, suffering
taxpayer.
At the same special caucus meeting attended by ZANU PF
parliamentarians, traditional chiefs and provincial governors, President
Mugabe also reminded war veterans that they were no special provisions for
them in the redistribution of land under the A2 model.
It is
only under the A1 model that the war veterans are entitled to 20
percent of
the land offered for redistribution.
FinGaz
Split over Joyce Mujuru
Zhean Gwaze
10/21/2004 6:45:43 AM (GMT +2)
FISSURES have emerged in the ZANU PF
women's league's quest to push a
female candidate for the party's
vice-presidency, amid reports that certain
factions would prefer Thenjiwe
Lesabe ahead of Joyce Mujuru, considered a
front-runner.
The
ruling party women's league, for long a mere source of ready votes
in the
ZANU PF scheme of things, resolved at its annual conference held in
September to put forward a female candidate for the party's vice-presidency,
a position left vacant following the death of Simon Muzenda.
Ever since the resolution was passed, Mujuru has been touted as a
front-runner for the position, which would pave way for her emergence as
Zimbabwe's first female vice-president.
However, influential
ZANU PF women's league officials this week
revealed lack of consensus on
Mujuru's candidature ahead of the ruling party's
December congress, where
other far-reaching changes are expected.
It has been noted that
even with the women's support, Mujuru would
still have to contend with a
host of ZANU PF stalwarts coveting the
position.
Politburo
members Emmerson Mnangagwa, Didymus Mutasa, national
chairman John Nkomo and
retired army general Vitalis Zvinavashe have been
touted as possible
candidates.
It was, however, not expected that Mujuru would meet
resistance from
within the usually banal women's league, which hogged the
headlines when it
passed the resolution.
Oppah Muchinguri, the
national deputy secretary in the league, who has
been reportedly drumming up
support for Mujuru in the provinces ahead of the
congress, could scarcely
conceal her exasperation at the lack of consensus.
She, however,
denied campaigning for Mujuru, saying that the ongoing
campaigns in the
provinces were meant to conscientise women on the quota
system and to launch
the ZANU PF women league's membership card.
The campaign is said to
have kicked off in Mashonaland East, where
Mujuru's husband hails
from.
The campaign is likely to proceed to Mashonaland Central,
which is
Mujuru's home province.
"We are not lobbying for any
candidate because there are protocols and
procedures to be followed before
the selection of a candidate to the post.
We have two senior women in the
league (Lesabe and Mujuru) hence we cannot
be lobbying for a candidate,"
Muchinguri told The Financial Gazette.
Garrulous Gutu South MP,
Shuvai Mahofa - the women's league secretary
for security who holds a lot of
sway in the party's grassroots politics -
said any talk of a female
candidate was jumping the gun.
"Ah, I am not aware that we have a
woman candidate for the vice
presidency. It is a resolution which was passed
at congress but the new
women's league executive is yet to meet and make a
decision on how women can
be afforded the chance to the high position,"
Mahofa said.
"The final decision has to come from ZANU PF. Those
who are lobbying
for a candidate are pursuing their own agendas. A woman
candidate has to be
chosen by women from the grassroots," Mahofa, considered
to be one of
Mnangagwa's allies, said.
Muchinguri expressed
fear that the women's resolution could be
undermined by underhand tactics to
divide the league's position.
"Women are their own worst enemies,"
Muchinguri said. "Some are busy
teaming up with men and decampaigning the
idea for a woman vice-president."
ZANU PF insiders told The
Financial Gazette that Lesabe, the iron lady
of the party's politics, had
not said "no to proposals from certain
quarters" that she also throws her
hat into the ring.
Lesabe, a former ZAPU official, made a belated
and ultimately
unsuccessful bid for the party chairperson's position, which
was won by
Nkomo at the expense of Mnangagwa in 2000.
FinGaz
Govt domestic debt eases, latest RBZ figures
show
Staff Reporter
10/21/2004 6:46:12 AM (GMT
+2)
THE government domestic debt, which ballooned by about five
times
between June 2003 and August 2004, peaked to $2.8 trillion in early
October,
before easing to $1.7 trillion as of last week.
The
debt, which simply put, refers to the amount a government owes its
people,
largely comprises Treasury Bills, government stocks and the Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) overdraft.
Latest RBZ statistics indicate that the
debt, which peaked at $2.8
trillion on October 8 2004, has gone down to $1.7
trillion as of October 15.
Zimbabwe's external indebtedness, which is hardly
being serviced because of
a biting foreign currency crunch, is around US$4
billion.
Analysts told The Financial Gazette this week the debt
had, up until
now been on an upward movement because of efforts aimed at
shoring up the
productive sector, which is seen as the engine of growth and
partly because
of inflationary pressures.
Although the central
bank has fared well in reducing inflation to
251.5 percent by September
2004, the domestic debt is still quite high. The
government should not
compete with the private sector for scarce resources.
The huge interest
burden on the outstanding domestic debt would also put
pressure on the
government's ability to service the debt, while at the same
time frustrating
the stability of fiscal policy.
The rise in the domestic debt has
also been attributed to the decrease
in corporate tax payments, as most
firms' earnings momentum decelerate.
The debt is expected to go up
again in the coming months as government
borrows to finance seed maize and
grain imports to beef up its dwindling
food reserves.
Moses
Chundu, CFX Financial Services group economist noted that
government was
being forced to borrow on the local market because of the
lack of open
offshore lines of credit. Chundu said government was for the
first time only
borrowing to fund capital development, in line with the 2004
national budget
recommendations.
"The treasury has become very tight with
individual line ministries'
expenditure patterns. The only borrowings are
from quasi-fiscal operations,
which is still worrying."
The
withdrawal of balance of payments support by the International
Monetary Fund
(IMF) and other foreign agencies has seen government relying
heavily on
borrowing locally.
He noted that debt was likely to shoot up, as
there were no proper
provisions in the national budget for seed maize, fuel,
electricity and
grain imports.
Efforts by the central bank to
restructure government domestic debt
have been hit by insufficient investor
support.
Government stock issued by the RBZ mid this year evoked
lukewarm
interest among investors.
Analysts noted that the RBZ
has been grappling with the twin
objectives of mopping up excess liquidity
as well as restructuring the
public debt.
FinGaz
Vic Falls Bridge lifespan up
Nelson
Banya
10/21/2004 6:47:38 AM (GMT +2)
THE Victoria Falls
Bridge, the gateway to trade between Zimbabwe and
other SADC member states
such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, is fast approaching
the end of its lifespan and urgently requires
reconstruction to avert a
potentially disastrous structural failure.
The bridge was
constructed and opened to traffic in 1905 with a
lifespan of up to 100
years, which ends in 2005.
Officials in the National Railways of
Zimbabwe's (NRZ) infrastructure
division revealed that the bridge, which
carries a railway line, a roadway
and a pedestrian walkway, had for long
been overburdened due to lack of load
restrictions.
The 1929
design load for the roadway was derived from two five tonne
axles spaced
about three metres apart. Two such lorries were allowed side by
side to give
an intensity of one tonne per foot (or 32.8 kiloNewtons per
metre).
Documents prepared by the NRZ infrastructure department
revealed that
the bridge was being overloaded for the past 15 years, "due to
no clear load
limit being given."
"There have been no loading
restrictions operational on the bridge,
thus the legal load limit on the
roadway has been assumed to be the limit on
the bridge by transport
operators. The legal road limit for vehicles in
Zimbabwe is 24.6 tonnes (241
kiloNewtons) for a triaxle combination 2.8
metres long.
"This
gives a load intensity of 57.4 kiloNewtons per metre, which is
75 percent
over the design load. Overweight vehicles have been measured and
found to
have weights of up to 37.9 tonnes for a triaxle combination, giving
load
intensity of 88.5 kiloNewtons per metre, which is 170 percent above
design
limit. There are excessive vibrations being felt whenever a heavy
truck
traverses the bridge," reads part of the document, prepared by the NRZ
to
lobby for Zambian support in imposing load restrictions.
Zimbabwe
shares the bridge with its northern neighbour, Zambia.
However, an
official in the NRZ's infrastructure division said load
restrictions,
stipulating among other things 30 tonnes per vehicle, have now
been imposed
on the bridge.
"We are now limiting traffic to one lorry at a time
and there are boom
operators from the ministry (of transport and
communications). Plans are
afoot to install robots and other automatic
signals.
"A structural analysis of the bridge is also underway, on
the basis of
which action to either reconstruct it or reinforce it will be
taken. At the
moment we are not quite sure what will happen," the official,
who requested
anonymity, said.
The bridge's railway loading
remained within stipulated levels, he
said.
Divisional head,
engineer, a certain Dzino-tyiweyi, was not available
for
comment.
It has also been established that the Zambian authorities
have
received World Bank funding for adjustments to be made to the
bridge.
Built by Freeman Fox and partners in 1905, the bridge was
originally
desgned to support two railway lines but was reconfigured in 1929
to
accommodate one railway line, one roadway and a walkway.
FinGaz
EU welcomes Tsvangirai acquittal
Staff
Reporter
10/21/2004 6:48:08 AM (GMT +2)
THE European Union
(EU), which slapped President Robert Mugabe's
entire Cabinet and some senior
ZANU PF officials with sanctions, has
welcomed the acquittal of Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) president
Morgan Tsvangirai on treason
charges.
In a statement, the EU said the development should help
reduce
political tension and improve the political environment in the run up
to the
country's parliamentary elections in 2005.
"In this
regard, the (EU) presidency encourages the implementation of
the principles
and guidelines governing democratic elections as adopted by
the Southern
African Development Community, so that free and fair elections
can take
place," the EU said.
The Netherlands currently holds the EU
presidency.
Tsvangirai was jointly charged with the party's
secretary general
Welshman Ncube and shadow minister for agriculture Renson
Gasela with
treason in the run-up to the 2002 presidential election, which
the 80-year
old President Mugabe won controversially.
Ncube and
Gasela were later acquitted while Tsvangirai had to be put
to his defence in
a year-long trial.
Tsvangirai this week said the party has now
refocused its attention
from the treason case to national issues,
particularly the issue of
agriculture.
"Even if we get good
rains, we are still not far from the threat of
famine. An MDC government
shall attend to agriculture as a national
emergency in order to revive the
economy, create jobs and place food on the
table," he said.
FinGaz
Parly body to grill Made over food
Zhean
Gwaze
10/21/2004 6:48:44 AM (GMT +2)
JOSEPH Made, the
Agriculture Minister who predicted yet another bumper
harvest despite the
limiting factors facing farmers, will be hauled before a
parliamentary
committee to explain the current food situation.
The Financial
Gazette can reveal that the Agriculture Minister, who
became part of
President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet in 2000, will face the heat
as pressure
mounts on government to reveal the actual grain stocks, amid
concerns that
Zimbabwe could plunge into yet another food crisis.
This
development also comes as it emerged that the ruling ZANU PF
supreme
decision-making body, the Politburo, and the Cabinet had also cast
doubts on
figures touted by Made, the former boss of the state-run
Agricultural Rural
Development Authority.
Made, who will be fighting against Gibson
Munyoro for the Makoni West
constituency, is supposed to ensure the nation's
food security but his
execution of the task at hand has become questionable
after previously
misleading the nation on the food situation, lulling the
nation into a false
sense of security.
ZANU PF Member of
Parliament for Zhombe and chairman of the 11-member
portfolio committee on
lands, agriculture, water development, rural
resources and resettlement
Daniel McKenzie Ncube said his committee had
requested a meeting with the
minister before they could present their final
report on the food situation
to parliament next week.
The portfolio committee has already met
Ngoni Masoka, the permanent
secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, as it
moves to compile facts and
bring sanity to the former breadbasket of the
region.
"The food situation is confusing and we have already met
other
stakeholders in the sector. We have arranged to meet the minister this
week
and we will conduct the meeting as superintendents of our committee. I
cannot reveal what evidence we have obtained so far because I will be in
contempt of parliament," Ncube said.
Stakeholders under the
portfolio include the country's granary, the
Grain Marketing Board (GMB),
seed houses and fertiliser firms.
The government, which has been
accused of politicising food to woo
voters to the ruling ZANU PF fold,
claims that the country has enough food
while donors and the West insist
that Zimbabwe faces a massive grain
deficit.
According to
reports from the GMB, the country has harvested 2.4
million tonnes of maize,
which would be enough to feed the nation of 12
million people up to the next
harvest without importing the staple food.
However, the Famine
Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), a United
States Agency for
International Development-funded programme, in its latest
report warns that
more than 2.3 million rural people require a total of 178
000 metric tonnes
of food in the current marketing year.
"Current constraints on
farmers' attempts to prepare for the 2004/05
agricultural season include
seed, fertiliser and fuel shortages, all of
which sell at prices far above
the affordable range for most people,"
FEWSNET said.
A
British-based rights group Amnesty International in a report this
week also
added that supplies of grain may run out by the next harvest in
April 2005.
It added that the cessation of most of international food aid
since mid-2004
had left millions of people dependent on grain distributed by
the state-run
GMB, which in the past has been criticised of playing politics
of the
stomach by depriving opposition supporters food. This has been
disputed by
the government.
The country's major seed producers, Seed Co and
Pannar Seed, last week
made startling revelations before the parliamentary
committee on agriculture
that the country had a seed maize deficit of more
than 40 000 tonnes out of
more than 100 000 tonnes required in the 2004/05
farming season.
The 100 000 tonnes of seed maize will enable the
country to produce
the three million tonnes of maize to almost double the
country's annual
requirement of 1.8 million tonnes.
Zimbabwe
also requires US$20 million to purchase agro-chemicals ahead
of this current
farming season, which began this month.
FinGaz
Seed crisis blamed squarely on Made
Charles
Rukuni
10/21/2004 6:50:16 AM (GMT +2)
Zimbabwe is
currently facing a seed and input crisis because
Agriculture Minister Joseph
Made rejected recommendations made by farmers
and Parliament's Portfolio
Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Rural Resources,
Water Development and
Resettlement.
Movement for Democratic Change shadow
minister for agriculture, Renson
Gasela, who is also a member of the
committee, said this week farmers had
recommended that the government should
have an agricultural plan for the
next season by January or
February.
The committee, which produced its report in December last
year, had
recommended that the Minister of Agriculture should advise
Parliament about
the state of preparations for the next season by
March.
Gasela said when the report was presented to Parliament,
Made had
bluntly told the committee that he did not take instructions from
anyone.
The Lands committee is dominated by ZANU PF MPs and is
chaired by
Zhombe Member of Parliament Daniel Ncube.
Comment
could not be obtained from Made. The Financial Gazette was
asked to fax its
questions to his office last week, and did so, but no
response had been
received up to the time of writing.
While Gasela said there was
total chaos in the seed and input sector,
agro-economist Jonathan Kadzura
said the situation was much better this
year. He said there had been total
chaos in the past two seasons because of
the ongoing land reform programme
but things had stabilised.
"We are now better organised," Kadzura
said. "Demand for seed maize
has been overwhelming. In the past we used only
35 000 tonnes of seed maize.
We now require 80 000 tonnes. This is an
expanded requirement because of the
land reform programme."
Kadzura said 60 000 tonnes of seed was already in the country. There
was
therefore a shortfall of only about 20 000 tonnes. Gasela said national
requirement was about 60 000 tonnes but the country only had just over 20
000 tonnes.
Kadzura also argued that the inputs were not late
because the season
only started in November. Seed companies said they were
going to import 31
000 tonnes of seed maize from the region. They said only
6 900 tonnes had
already been released to the market.
Some
reports in the media have said the country requires up to 200 000
tonnes of
seed. Kadzura said 80 000 tonnes were enough as only 1.2 million
hectares
was going to be put under maize. Some officials have put the area
of land to
be put under maize at four million hectares.
"Why should we put all
that land under maize when we were already
producing a surplus with 35 000
tonnes of seed?" Kadzura asked.
He also disputed reports that some
of the wheat crop could have been
wasted because of the delay in harvesting
the current crop which could have
been affected by the early
rains.
He said the harvesting plan was coordinated by the Grain
Marketing
Board and all those who owned combined harvesters entered into a
contract
with the GMB as early as May.
Gasela differed. "There
is a potential disaster in this year's wheat
crop," he said. "There was a
lot of rain in and around Harare which is the
main wheat-growing area. This
has disrupted harvesting and even though the
rains have stopped, the farmers
have to wait until the ground dries up
because harvesters cannot go in while
the ground is still wet."
FinGaz
Mzembi imposed on people
Felix Njini
10/21/2004 6:51:00 AM (GMT +2)
ZANU PF heavyweights cowed Daniel
Shumba, the party's chairman in the
fractious Masvingo province, into
lifting Walter Mzembi's suspension, a move
which party insiders said has
done little to douse the raging factionalism
flame in the politically
volatile province.
So tight was the noose around Shumba's neck that
the former army
colonel rushed to appoint Mzembi the de facto candidate for
Masvingo South
constituency, left vacant following the death of firebrand
politician
Eddison Zvobgo.
Mzembi has since landed the Masvingo
South seat unopposed after the
country's opposition parties failed to file
their papers by the close of the
nomination court two weeks ago. The
by-election for the constituency had
been slotted for October
30.
Party insiders however, told The Financial Gazette that the
subsequent
imposition of Mzembi had added a spark to the factionalism flame,
which is
likely to ignite in the forthcoming ZANU PF primaries pencilled for
November
to chose candidates who would represent the ruling party in the
watershed
2005 parliamentary polls.
The imposition, sources
said, had created a simmering atmosphere
likely to explode when ZANU PF
finalises its list of candidates to stand on
its ticket in next year's
polls.
Shumba, who had been instrumental in suspending Mzembi from
his post
as the district coordinating chairman (DCC), had got wind that the
party's
national chairman, John Nkomo and the political commissariat Elliot
Manyika
wanted to appoint Mzembi and immediately end his
suspension.
To avoid embarrassment, Shumba decided to take the
lead, much to the
amazement of his backers in Masvingo who were itching for
a showdown between
the TeleAccess boss and the ZANU PF
heavyweights.
"Nkomo and Manyika had already made their decision
that Mzembi's
suspension was to be lifted. Shumba had little choice, but to
impose him as
the candidate," said a well-placed source.
"The
Politburo also vetted candidates who wanted to participate in
the --
primaries and concluded that Mzembi is developmentally minded,"
the
source said.
Party insiders however, said that factionalism
was far from over in
the province. Sources said the silence by the
Shumba-led faction was just a
lull before a storm. Reports emanating from
the party say the Shumba-led
faction is still baying for Mzembi's
blood.
"They are just playing for time and strategising," sources
said.
It has been established that the Shumba led provincial
executive,
angered by the decision taken by the party's heavyweights to lift
Mzembi's
suspension and appoint him to run for Masvingo, boycotted the
nominations
court to choose Mzembi.
Little known provincial
party political commissar, Admore Hwarare
presided over the
nominations.
Sources also said Shumba and his team had not formally
lifted Mzembi's
suspension as the party's DCC.
The simmering
divisions are pitting Mzembi, whose sympathisers include
former solider
Josiah Tungamirai, presidential hopeful Emmerson Mnangagwa,
former Masvingo
Member of Parliament Dzikamai Mavhaire and Eddison Zvobgo
Junior against
Provincial governor, Josiah Hungwe, Foreign Affairs Minister
Stan Mudenge,
Fortune Charumbira and Shumba among others.
"They are just saying
let sleeping vets lie, let us carry on with the
existing legal structures.
They only lifted Mzembi's suspension on national
television but they have
not done so formally," said a party insider.
"Masvingo squabbles
are not yet over. The Shumba-led faction's
behaviour on the ground does not
demonstrate reconciliation. They have
adopted a standoffish behaviour. If
they have genuinely suspended Mzembi,
they should have summoned him to chart
the way forward on developments in
the province," the same source
said.
Mzembi refused to comment saying he was still waiting for
"senior
provincial party leaders to tell him the way forward".
Primary elections to choose the ruling party's representative for the
Masvingo South constituency were promptly cancelled as other candidates
chose not to court the wrath of ZANU PF gurus by contesting against the
"blessed candidate".
Mzembi, a close relative to the late
Eddison Zvobgo courted the wrath
of the provincial leadership when he openly
allied himself with the late
firebrand politician.
Nkomo
refused to comment referring all questions to Manyika who could
not be
reached at the time of going to press.
Mzembi's appointment,
without going through the usual primary polls
caught people in Masvingo
South by surprise.
"Did these other people who wanted to run for
the same constituency
voluntarily decided to step down," said a source from
Masvingo.
FinGaz
Public against MDC poll boycott
Charles
Rukuni
10/21/2004 6:51:32 AM (GMT +2)
BULAWAYO - The
movement for Democratic Change (MDC) could sink into
political oblivion if
it boycotts next year's elections. More than half of
its supporters feel
that the party should contest the elections because
electoral reform is a
process and not an event.
They believe that the MDC's participation
in elections acts as a
bulwark against total dominance by ZANU PF and
guarantees that ZANU PF is
kept on its toes.
According to an
independent survey whose results were released last
week, most people felt
that although elections were important only when
carried out in a democratic
way, the MDC's responses to the current ZANU PF
initiatives could be
better.
"The tight ZANU PF control notwithstanding, the MDC needs
to find
alternative means to get its message across," the survey said. "It
is
apparent that ZANU PF will not voluntarily give up on its
hold."
The MDC decided in August to boycott all pending elections
until the
government abides by the principles and guidelines for democratic
elections
agreed to by the Southern African Development
Community.
Though the guidelines are not legally binding, they
advocate for an
independent electoral commission, access to the state media
by all political
parties, and freedom to campaign, among
others.
The government has already tabled an Electoral Bill that
will set up
an election commission but the chairman, it appears, will be
appointed by
the President.
It has also agreed to have
transparent ballot boxes and to hold voting
over a single day, but critics
say these concessions are not enough.
The survey, which was carried
out by the Mass Public Opinion Institute
in August, has some startling
revelations which seem to imply that ZANU PF
has already bagged the
elections.
It showed, for example, that 37 percent of the
electorate was not
registered as voters. The bulk of those not registered
were aged 18-24, the
group from where the MDC draws the majority of its
support.
Only 36 percent of those aged 18-24 years were registered
while 88
percent of those aged 45-54 years and 80 percent of those over 55
years were
registered.
Despite protests that electoral reforms
so far agreed to by ZANU PF
are inadequate, 83 percent of the people
surveyed were not aware of the
reforms. This applied even to urban areas
where information flows more
rapidly.
In Harare only 33 percent
were aware while in Bulawayo a paltry 19
percent were aware.
Though the government has already decided that Zimbabweans living
abroad
will not be allowed to vote, 66 percent of those surveyed said they
should
be allowed. The survey showed that even in provinces that are
predominantly
ZANU PF, a majority supported postal votes.
"This is very confusing
because the government is asking them
(Zimbabweans living abroad) to
contribute to Homelink but will not give them
the vote," Tulani Sithole, one
of the coordinators of the survey, said.
"In other words, what the
government is saying is that they are
citizens in one aspect and
non-citizens in another."
Another blow to the MDC could be that
while the party has been
advocating for voting over a single day, 76 percent
of the people were
against the idea.
Compilers of the survey
found that people were convinced that the
government did not have the
capacity to ensure that voting could be
completed in a single
day.
The survey indicated that while most people supported the idea
of
counting ballot papers at polling stations, observers were afraid that
this
could lead to a rise in intimidation because it would be easier for
ZANU PF
to identify which villages or areas had voted against them. People
from
these areas could thereafter be denied either food or
development.
The same applied to transparent ballot boxes. While
people supported
them, others were afraid these boxes would not guarantee
the secrecy of
their vote. One interviewee even said: "If your ballot paper
unfolds inside
the box, everyone will see who you would have voted
for."
Observers said this could be used as an intimidation tactic
by ZANU PF
because if people were afraid that party cadres could identify
who they had
voted for when they were using wooden boxes, what more when
they were
transparent.
While admitting that the playing field
was not level, most people said
the MDC should not boycott the
elections.
"The provincial analysis shows that even in provinces
considered
opposition strongholds such as Harare and Bulawayo, the view is
the same,"
the survey said.
The survey showed that 64 percent
of the people were against the
boycott. Among respondents who indicated that
they supported the opposition,
56 percent said they were against the
boycott. Sixty-seven percent of ZANU
PF supporters were against the
boycott.
"Most people are against the boycott because they consider
the MDC to
be a control of some sort that tends to rein in ZANU PF when it
gets carried
away," Sithole said.
A member of the National
Constitutional Assembly said: "What worries
most people is: What will the
MDC do if it decides to go ahead with the
boycott? It can become irrelevant.
It has no other arena to air its views
outside Parliament. Is there a plan
B?"
FinGaz
Comment
Whither
parastatals?
10/21/2004 7:29:48 AM (GMT
+2)
THE future of Zimbabwean parastatals increasingly
appears
bleak. They have all, except for an insignificant few, lost their
way and
they seem to be competing in a race to the bottom. The situation at
most of
these institutions is shocking and confounding, to say the least.
They have
become something of a national tear duct. No wonder alarm bells
have been
ringing for years now, underlying the concern about the financial
health of
the state enterprises.
There is a common
thread that runs through most of the
government-owned companies. Be it the
potentially most bankable local
company, ZISCO, which has no reason
whatsoever except in never-never land to
operate below the red-ink line, the
beleaguered national airline Air
Zimbabwe, the National Railways of Zimbabwe
or the Cold Storage Company, to
name but a few. The situation is the same.
They are haemorrhaging national
resources instead of augmenting the
fiscus.
Not only have they remained on a life-support
system
provided by the already stretched fiscus where public funds have
continuously been poured into bottomless black holes. But they also all
operate at a loss and are saddled with mountains of delinquent loans, which
they might not be rid of any time soon. Their books have never been in order
and they have been hit by a scandal of one form or another over the past few
years. It's almost always a case of billions of dollars being spirited away
by corrupt officials or books being cooked and the truth being shaded. Their
operations have, for the convenience of those corruptly benefiting from
underhand deals, largely remained opaque and unfriendly to scrutiny.
Corruption is so deep-seated that the deadly slime of the touch of those
running the companies will remain long after the corporations have been rid
of them.
It is, however, not difficult to pass off
the failures of
the crisis-hit parastatals mainly as a function of gross
incompetence and
malfeasance on the part of those running these
institutions. As already
pointed out in one of our editorials of June 2003
entitled
"influence-peddling and sweetheart deals", the mess should be
blamed
squarely on the deep-seated political patronage system and the
resultant
influence-peddling that we have decried, time without number. To
this end,
government should be blamed for the corruption in the parastatals
because,
in the words of Harold Schonberg, ". . . it planted it, nursed it,
fostered
it, watered it and watched it grow to sequoia size . .
.".
Indeed, other than raising questions about the
calibre of
those running these companies, the shambolic state of affairs at
these
perennial loss-makers called parastatals also exposes the extent to
which
the country's politics meshes up with business. Influential
politicians are
known to have thrust their cronies to top management
positions in companies,
not on merit, but on the basis of political
connections and back-scratching
relationships for commercial convenience.
And to say that these managers
have exhibited dismaying mediocrity would be
unwarranted flattery - they
have been monumental failures. They inherit
companies in fine fettle and run
them down. The taxpayer bears the brunt of
mismanagement as he ultimately
picks up the tab when government is called in
to take over the debts as was
the case recently with the public broadcaster
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings
(ZBH) and many others before
it.
This has become something of a national curse. But
sadly,
it does not seem to prick the conscience of those wallowing in the
alarming
and nauseating corruption like rhinoceroses in African pools. Hence
the
scandal-tainted state-owned companies have been turned into some
fiefdoms
for the seemingly untouchable chief executives who appear to be
answerable
not to their respective boards of directors but to their
political
Godfathers who appear to suffer from delusions of grandeur.
Examples abound.
Among the most prominent is the
ever-borrowing ZESA where
some board members who were not happy with the
defective corporate structure
at the power utility voted with their feet
over a proposed controversial
off-shore borrowing they refused to
rubber-stamp. There are also one or two
formerly state-owned commercial
banks which had to go through a radical
surgery in the late 1990s after
political interference created an
environment where less-than-wise lending
occurred. Suffice to say that this
gave rise to crony-capitalism,
Malaysian-style, where funds were pumped
towards the politically
well-connected in misguided expansion plans in the
expansionist early 1990s.
Of course the rot at the fuel procurement monolith
NOCZIM, where billions of
public funds have silted up the pockets of corrupt
officials, is
well-documented. Not to mention the headline-grabbing failures
at NRZ,
AirZim, GMB and most quasi-government companies.
The
most frightening thing is that despite the pathetic
state of the parastatals
which could spell absolute disaster for the country
and the fact that there
is supposed to be a government department
responsible for the companies, the
authorities have not yet elaborated a
formula out of the crisis. This
obviously begs the question: Does government
have a strategy regarding the
parastatals? Most likely not. Even if they do,
we wouldn't have high hopes
for it. Simply because if past experience is
anything to go by, these could
be nothing more than paper reforms.
Yet despite all
this, we still feel that the ruins must
not obstruct the prospects. This is
why we feel that it is time for
President Robert Mugabe to make good his
pledge this week to push for a
radical reform to overhaul the ailing
parastatals and inculcate a new
corporate governance culture. Just as well
he has finally spoken out against
the rot in parastatals and their failures.
We say so because while silence
cannot be misquoted it can certainly be
misinterpreted. President Mugabe's
continued silence over this sensitive
issue could have sent wrong signals.
While the
government's stop-go privatisation programme,
implemented through the
low-profile Privatisation Agency of Zimbabwe, is
still thin on detail and
hazy as to the timetable, this could provide a
perfect opportunity to clean
the house. The government should insist on
hiring resolute, competent and
hands-on managers whose packages should be
heavily leveraged towards
performances. It is a job for those who do not
fear the political backlash,
real or imagined, of disturbing what has been
arranged!
FinGaz
Letters
I don't mind regime change
10/21/2004 7:02:12 AM (GMT +2)
EDITOR - When the Western countries
call for regime change, they are
not after oil or any of our resources, but
freedom for all Zimbabweans - who
also are hungry for it.
To
say that United States President George W Bush would have invaded
Zimbabwe
if it was an oil producer, as one contributor to the Readers' Forum
claimed
recently, is to miss the point. If America was after oil, it would
have
invaded Nigeria, for instance.
Although I don't agree with the
military action against Iraq, the fact
that Saddam Hussein was a brutal
dictator who tortured his own people and
deprived them of a chance to choose
their preferred leader makes me happy
that he was removed from
power.
I still believe that one day the people of Iraq will
experience total
freedom and live in a democratic society, and I wish the
same for the people
of Zimbabwe.
Sipiwe
Mbanje,
United States.
FinGaz
...and now to the NOTEBOOK
10/21/2004
7:27:28 AM (GMT +2)
And finally Episode One of the hilarious
treason soap has reached its
denouement. It was good while it lasted, thanks
to all the actors who went
the extra mile to ensure that Zimbabweans get
real value for their money!
All those who followed the
exhilarating Zim-Treason Soap will
unanimously agreed that Cde Ari
Ben-Menashe emerged as the star actor. We
really wonder if it would be
possible to get just one more performance by
this Toronto-based
brother!
CZ again refers Zimboz to one paper most of them
simply ignore out of
existence, The Voice, the paper edited by his own
personal brother Cde
Ranga. The paper is just news on its own, especially
when it comes to the
new version of English it is introducing to the plus or
minus 24 000 ZANU PF
supporters who make up its readership.
Yes, one needs to get any copy of this paper to get a gist of what CZ
is
driving at. Small wonder the professor is always angry with almost
everyone
at the publication.
This week's issue of the paper is the most
entertaining. The first
word on the lead story is "Indsicpline". We wonder
what it is supposed to
mean.
Or this introduction: "The ruling
ZANU PF has said the judgment by
Justice Garwe in the treason trial of MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai has shown
that Zimbabwe is a fair society governed
by the rule of law and the
constitution."
ZANU PF national
chairman John Nkomo was quoted verbatim as saying:
"What we say or do within
the party gives the party credit or discredit."
Then there is the
ever-exciting Candid Comment from the (Bereted)
Editor.
"The
road to Chimoio was more than perfect with scars." "It is this
town whose
general environs are too still crying for mercy."
What is supposed
to be the paper's comment is more or less a high
school composition in which
we are told that: "Cde Manyika also castigated
some war veterans for being
indiscipline . . . "
And this picture caption: "ZANU PF national
chairman Cde John Nkomo
and national commissor (sic) Cde Eliot (sic) Manyika
at a workshop held for
political commissars in Harare last
week."
Uku ndiko kunonzi kungochengetana chete uku!
Anyway, it is good to notice that Cde Ranga has since come to terms
with the
sad fact of life - the fact that he is powerless in the face of the
marauding Professor. And he has since transmogrified those deadly brickbats
into euphonious praise songs! Another sword turned into a
ploughshare!
An advert is running in one of the newspapers. In
the advert, the
Secretary for Transport and Communications, Cde Karikoga
Kaseke, is trying
to sell himself. Over-excited to be appointed by the Great
Uncle, the man
who, when he is dealing with whites, calls himself "Koga" is
running
half-page full-colour adverts in which he is telling anyone who
cares a few
things about himself.
Himself? Yes, himself of all
the people in this country. That he is an
"O" Vet, ex-soldier and holds this
and that professional qualification. Then
there is a lot more trash about
which dead parastatals he is trying to
resurrect and all that
hogwash.
We wonder whether a war background and/or being a former
army man
makes one better qualified for any job. War veteran projects are
collapsing,
the courts are jammed with war veterans facing criminal charges,
some
telecommunication firms owned by war veterans and former soldiers can't
take
off . . . so what makes him different? Newspaper adverts?
Everybody should be really wondering what the advert is meant to
achieve.
Isn't it better for him to do the miracle and then let the people
say it for
him? Because right now he is behaving like one of those Mbare
"prophets" who
go around putting up posters telling people that a "prophet"
is at such and
such a place when it is the people who should do it for him.
When people
hear of such a "prophet" they become very suspicious. So we
naturally become
suspicious.
We know there are people who just love publicity, but
this is taking
this penchant for publicity too far. And by the way, who is
paying for this
self-serving advert? Hopefully not the sick and tired
taxpayer!
Lastly, a curious Zimbo has asked CZ to please ask,
on his behalf, in
what capacity Cde-Dr Tafataona Pasipaipa Mahoso attended
the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa's Fourth African
Development Forum in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, as part of the Zimbabwean
government delegation?
cznotebook@yahoo.co.uk
FinGaz
ZESA, WCC debt row set to spill into the courts
Zitha Dube
10/21/2004 6:54:07 AM (GMT +2)
THE $60 billion
debt dispute between government-owned energy entities
Wankie Colliery
Company (WCC) and ZESA Holdings has taken a new twist, with
the latter
threatening to sue Zimbabwe's sole coal miner for slander
following press
reports on the conflict.
The two parastatals have been haggling
over the $60 billion debt that
WCC claims it is owed by ZESA, which
steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the
debt.
Instead, ZESA has
threatened to sue WCC should the colliery company
continue claiming it is
owed money.
In a letter to WCC dated October 8 2004, ZESA
categorically denies
owing any money to the coal producer. It instead
accused WCC of erratic coal
deliveries and poor quality of coal and
coke.
"We are seriously concerned over the disturbing trend whereby
WCC is
resorting to seeking undue media publication of coal pricing issues.
As you
are well aware, issues relating to coal pricing are determined by and
resolved through the coal supply agreement, which further provides for an
arbitration process to resolve any dispute over pricing.
"Regrettably, instead of addressing the coal and coke oven gas
accounts in
terms of the said agreement, WCC has de-campaigned and thrown
spurious
allegations against ZESA in the press for the plight of WCC, which
we know
is due to the need for recapitalisation more than anything else,"
reads part
of the letter.
ZESA further states that the amounts that have been
cited as making up
the debt were in dispute.
"In all instances
WCC has not had the courtesy to consult with ZESA on
the alleged
indebtedness," reads part of the letter ZESA wrote to WCC.
WCC has
been accusing ZESA over non-payment of debts incurred for the
supply of coal
to ZESA's power generating subsidiary, Zimbabwe Power Company
(ZPC).
The debt is understood to have arisen out of adjustments
made to the
price of coal from $37 000 to $60 000 per tonne.
"In the event that WCC continues to slander ZESA in the press, we
reserve
the right to counter such allegations and sue for defamation and
consequential damages thereto," ZESA warned.
The latest dispute
comes amid reports that ZESA has been heavily
pressing government to okay
the cession by WCC of its US$100 million Chaba
coal mine
concession.
Munacho Mutezo, WCC chairman, scoffed at the threats
from ZESA but
refused to comment on the issue.
FinGaz
Govt's tobacco projections just a dream
Zhean
Gwaze
10/21/2004 7:11:39 AM (GMT +2)
ZIMBABWE'S tobacco
industry players predict an average crop estimate
of 80 million kilogrammes,
despite government's target for a miracle 160
million kg in the 2004/05
season.
The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) this week said
although the
government, in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ), has
embarked on a programme termed 'Vision 160' to target a crop of
160 million
kilograms for the coming season, the projected crop output would
be low
because of inadequate funding and inputs shortage among
growers.
Although the projected output represents a 15 percentage
increase from
the 68.7 million kg obtained this season, the figure falls
short of the
glory that was associated with the crop four years
ago.
The golden leaf, which enjoyed a peak of over 200 million kg
in 2000,
has slid year on year over the last four years to 160 million kg in
2001/2,
85 million kg in 2002/03 to an estimated 68 million kg in the
current
season.
A shortage of inputs, undercapitalisation and
the government's chaotic
land reform programme have been blamed for the
decline of the erstwhile
principal foreign currency earning
commodity.
"The availability of affordable financing in particular
the Productive
Sector Finance, was cited as the main concern in all areas
along with high
borrowing rates.
"Most growers have 80-90
percent of requirements on farm except for
coal. Very few growers have moved
coal onto their farms. High transport
costs is the main inhibiting factor,"
the ZTA said.
The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) said it
has managed to
raise $232 billion for the financing of the 2004/5 tobacco
crop, with 70
percent of the funds going towards inputs while 30 percent is
for capital
requirements.
Three commercial banks, Syfrets
Corporate and Merchant Bank, Agribank
and the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe
are also working on raising $50 billion
to re-establish Zimbabwe's long lost
glory as one of the major tobacco
producers.
Up to 80 percent
of large-scale growers have signed growing contracts
with British America
Tobacco, Tribac or Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco.
Analysts, however, said
money raised so far was just a drop in the
ocean. Financing of the crop
remains critical.
Two batches of tobacco bills introduced early
this month failed to
raise the required amounts as bids were rejected with
potential investors
shunning lower yielding rates.
Last season
it cost $30 million to produce one hectare of flue cured
tobacco but
production costs have since gone up by nearly 40 percent.
"Looking
at the calibre of most of our farmers not many could afford
even half of
that, they will be sitting on a farm with a potential to
produce more than
100 hectares of the crop," said Moses Chundu CFX Financial
services group
economist.
"Indications to date show that areas to be planted by
large-scale
growers are, at this time estimated to be below last year
levels, but it is
still very early to be entirely certain, as many growers
are still planting
or intending to plant," the ZTA also added.
The US$120 million earned last year can only supply six weeks of
foreign
currency allocation at the central bank's auction floors and
accounts for
one week of Zimbabwe's foreign currency demand.
Drop in output is
despite a sharp rise in the number of growers who
have increased from 1 493
in 1990 to 12 700 in 2003, the ZTA said.
International investors
such as Dimon, Stancom, Universal Leaf Tobacco
Company, have now shifted
their attention to nascent regional tobacco
growing competitors such as
Zambia and Malawi, which are taking steps to
ramp up production.
FinGaz
Rising cost of living and its impact on
consumers
10/21/2004 7:29:20 AM (GMT +2)
CONSUMERS
in Zimbabwe are confronted with escalating bills for all
essential goods and
services for daily consumption such as food and
beverages, medical care,
housing and accommodation, transportation,
clothing, education and
communication, public utilities, recreation and
other vital goods and
services.
All basic goods and services, which form part of the
"consumer market
basket", have skyrocketed beyond affordability levels for
most people. The
hyper-inflationary environment in Zimbabwe, which is
characterised by
continuously rising prices and equivalently continuously
falling value of
the dollar, has highly inflated consumer prices as measured
by the consumer
price index (CPI).
Though there are other
indexes which measure different aspects of
inflation, the CPI is probably
the best measure for inflation as experienced
by consumers, (who are mostly
the working class people) since it's based on
the movement of day-to-day
costs for basic goods and services.
In January 2004, inflation as
measured by the CPI stood at 622.8
percent before moving downwards in April
to 505.0 percent and August 314.4
percent, respectively. The average
inflation for 2004 could be well around
450 percent given the highs recorded
in the first quarter of the year. What
these figures tell us is that rising
costs in consumer goods and services
has deflated the purchasing power of
the dollar, making it extremely
difficult for the majority of consumers to
afford a decent standard of
living.
To the contrary, though
wages have changed, they have not done so at
the same pace as inflation. For
example, as per Statutory Instrument 141 of
2004, Labor Relations (Domestic
Workers) Employment (Amendment) Regulations
2004, basic monthly salaries
applicable from June 1 2004 for grade
1yard/garden worker is $83 000, grade
2 cook/housekeeper $90 300, grade 3
child-minder $109 245 and grade 4
disabled/aged person minder $131 094,
respectively. Retirement incomes, such
as pensions, for retired minimum wage
earners are lower than these figures
in many instances.
Minimum wages in Zimbabwe have lost their
purchasing power to an
extent that they have only become wages in nominal
value and not real wages
in dollar terms. It goes without saying that many
working people, especially
those in receipt of minimum wages, are living in
the shadows of poverty.
As wages (including pensions) have not been
adjusted frequently in
line with inflationary trends, most working people
cannot afford basic
necessities in life. Workers continue to work hard
daily, yet the returns
from their wages are insignificant and inadequate to
sustain their
day-to-day cost of living. Retired workers who are on fixed
income have been
severely impacted as they rely only on one income and also
considering that
they have higher medical bills because of their ages. Most
workers and
pensioners in Zimbabwe have simply sunk into a bottomless pit
and can only
be rescued if the government, private and public sectors, take
stern
measures to avert the crisis.
Wages overall have only
been jogging while inflation has been
sprinting towards the infinity line.
The economic indicators like the CPI
show us that the cost of goods and
services consumed daily by Zimbabweans
have been increasing at a rate beyond
sustainability by wages. The imbalance
between prices for basic goods and
services and wage increases has made it
difficult for workers to fill their
market baskets with basic necessities.
Price controls that have
been imposed by the government as a measure
of keeping the prices for basic
consumer goods and services down, have not
worked out as intended. This is
so because price controls are a reactive
short- term economic measure, which
in the long term has little impact in
keeping the prices of goods and
services at affordable levels.
To the contrary, price controls have
led to shortages of basic
commodities on the market as industries affected
by them have simply stopped
producing those goods as they found it
economically unsustainable to do so
given the higher production costs they
incurred. Most companies simply
closed their factories in response to price
controls, sending thousands of
workers into the streets.
The
consequence of price controls is unemployment, more shortages of
goods, a
thriving black market and even higher prices for consumers. In a
price
controlled environment goods will be available in the streets,
backyards and
alleys at double or treble the gazetted government prices.
Instead
of benefiting consumers, price controls in actual effect shoot
consumers in
the foot as they hurt the consumers more that they benefit
them. From
experience, in 2003 when we had sweeping price controls for basic
goods,
consumers faced even higher bills for basic goods and services. The
year on
year percentage movement in the CPI in 2003 rose to record highs for
most
categories of goods and services. For example: the year on year
percentage
CPI in 2003 for transport and communication averaged 1110.6
percent, medical
care 569.1 percent, food 635.6 percent, clothing 525.2
percent,
respectively.
As part of the economic recovery process, we need to
address and not
sideline concerns for consumers, which relate to the cost of
living. We need
a concerted effort not only by the government, but by the
private and public
sectors too. The government, of course, should take the
lead in policy
formulation and implementation at the macroeconomic level,
but industry and
commerce, which employs the majority of the workforce at
the microeconomic
level, has to step in too. The Consumer Council Of
Zimbabwe should also step
up its efforts in lobbying the government and
private sector on issues
relating to cost of living, wages and consumer
rights.
In Zimbabwe as we approach the 2005 budget announcement,
the Minister
Of Finance should take bold steps to address consumer issues.
The budget,
while addressing the broader macroeconomic issues, should also
specifically
address minimum wages, salaries, pensions and other employee
benefits. The
budget should adopt measures that increase workers' take home
pay, such as
increasing non- taxable thresholds for wages and salaries,
increase
non-taxable portion on bonuses, cut tax on retirement income, cut
taxes on
contributions to retirement plans and so on.
Tied to
this are reductions in sales tax and duties on importation of
basic goods
within the definition of the CPI market basket.
Failure to address
consumer issues such as linking wages to cost of
living could make picket
lines the norm in Zimbabwe. Workers will be driven
to industrial action not
by choice, but as a last resort in order to draw
attention of government and
employers to their grievances. In conclusion the
rising cost of living
caused by high inflation can only be successfully
addressed within the
broader macroeconomic environment. The 2005 budget
should therefore focus on
addressing the macroeconomic fundamentals such as:
economic growth, job
creation, monetary policy (interest rates, devaluation,
foreign exchange
rates), fiscal issues (budget deficit, government
expenditure, taxes) and so
on, that will put the economy on a path to
recovery.
Part 2 of
this article will specifically look into the consumer price
index and its
key components.
Allen Choruma is a corporate lawyer based in
Seattle USA. He can be
contacted on e-mail:
allenc17@juno.com
FinGaz
Behold:'Third Chimurenga' is now eating its
children
10/21/2004 7:26:15 AM (GMT +2)
It is
generally accepted that apart from policy implementation, the
functions of a
government ministry include imposing restraints on groups and
individuals
and compelling them to take or not to take certain actions.
I
strongly believe government regulation should also include
promotion, which
means encouraging, strengthening and safeguarding the
interests of
stakeholders falling under a particular ministerial portfolio.
But
alas, the approach of some ministries these days seems to be
vengeful and
vindictive. Instead of providing leadership to ensure adherence
to
stipulated procedures, some ministries seem to have abandoned this
facilitatory role. They appear to have assumed a prosecutorial stance in
which their main objective seems to be "to fix" stakeholders for real or
imagined transgressions.
I came to this conclusion after
watching the now annual eviction of
unsuspecting families from land they
occupied at the height of the seizure
of farms from whites in 2000. At that
time these peasants were encouraged to
stay put on the farms and their
presence was touted as a sign of the success
of the land reform
programme.
But disturbingly and confoundingly, the government has
now changed its
tune and the story is now that these peasants were occupying
land earmarked
for large-scale farming.
The government may not
admit it, but these developments prove that
those observers who have
commented on the chaotic and haphazard manner in
which the resettlement
programme was implemented had a point. For, how can
the government only
realise four years later that some peasants were settled
on land not
earmarked for subsistence farming?
But whether one believes the
official excuse given for evicting these
landless people or the cynical and
more realistic observation that these
peasants are being moved to make way
for "chefs" is now beside the point.
What is of great concern is
the manner in which the hapless settlers
are being forced off land they had
begun to call home. It is as though they
are now being punished for having
helped to make agrarian reform a "success"
by occupying white-owned farms,
for which they were once applauded by the
government.
One can
not help wondering whether something good will eventually came
out of a
process that has caused so much unnecessary anguish and acrimony.
First it was the white farmers who were bundled off the farms without
notice. Now it is the turn of the peasants who helped to hound the whites
off the land to have a dose of the same medicine.
One wonders
if, after this, the incoming settlers will become the
permanent occupiers or
whether another wave of evictions will occur when the
government discovers
yet another anomaly a few years down the road.
But why, may I ask,
can't the ministry concerned undertake these
evictions in a more humane
manner? Why do the peasants' huts have to be
bulldozed at this time of the
year when the rain season is imminent?
Pictures of stranded
families parked along highways surrounded by all
their earthly belongings
evoke images of the crisis in the western Darfur
region of Sudan where more
than one million people have been driven from
their homes by Janjaweed
militias. It is worrying that the actions of our
government that is supposed
to have the welfare of all Zimbabweans at heart
are indistinguishable from
those of anarchic Arab militias in Sudan as far
as these forcible evictions
are concerned.
This is not to say that the government should not
have taken the
action it has embarked on to correct what it regards as an
anomaly. The
question is why it is necessary to humiliate these landless
people.
The timing of the evictions is yet another perplexing
matter. Why does
the ministry concerned wait until the rain season is almost
upon us to evict
people who rely on tilling the land to feed their families
and eke out a
living?
The fact that these evictees become
fixtures along highways with
nowhere to go is proof that when these
evictions are embarked on, no thought
is given to the human dimension. But
these hapless evictees are every bit as
Zimbabwean as the "chefs" who are to
replace them as the rightful occupiers
of the farms.
The
government's failure to be humane and even-handed in tackling this
matter is
the worst example of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The peasants are
now being nonchalantly cast aside as though they are
criminals and yet they
are supposed to be the main beneficiaries of the land
redistribution
programme. Where must they go now? Back to the poor sandy
soils of the
congested communal areas?
Are we to believe that the ministry
responsible for these cruel
evictions is incapable of forward planning? Why
did it not inform the
affected families that last planting season would be
their last on the
affected farms?
If these evictions are to
continue, it would lessen human suffering if
the affected peasants were
informed in advance of their planned evictions.
Is it too much to ask, for
example, that those who will be required to
vacate land they are now
occupying in the next rain season are informed now
that this is the last
planting season they will enjoy on the farms?
Zimbabwean MBA1 Gives Perspective on
His Homeland
Global Goings-On
By by David Salpeter, djs303
In the U.S. and Europe, Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe is widely
viewed as corrupt. He is regularly condemned by publications from the New York
Times to the Economist and is often blamed for the country's widespread poverty.
The case against Mugabe is well documented by Western publications and
institutions. However, Terence Mukupe, an MBA1 from Zimbabwe, disagrees with the
conventional wisdom of the West when it comes to Mugabe. In interviewing Terence
this week, I heard a stark contrast from anything else I'd ever read on
Zimbabwe.
Can you give us some historical context surrounding Zimbabwe's
drive for independence in 1980 and Robert Mugabe's ascension to the
presidency?
There was a situation whereby Zimbabwe had its own form of
apartheid. Blacks had been segregated and forced onto non-arable land and
limited in their careers and what they were allowed to do. Leading up to
independence, there was a split amongst the freedom fighters (fighting against
the white minority) along tribal lines. Mugabe came from the largest tribe, the
Shona, and thereby inherited the presidency. The other tribe, the Ndebele, was
led by [Joshua] Nkomo. Nkomo had a different style than Mugabe; he didn't have
the same sort of aggression, and was more of a fatherly figure. To this day,
people call him the father of the nation. He was to Zimbabwe what [Nelson]
Mandela is to South Africa.
Shortly after Zimbabwe gained its
independence, there was a civil war between the two tribes. Who and what started
the civil war?
The minority tribe, the Ndebele felt aggrieved and decided to
start the civil war, and the leader of their party, Nkomo, was exiled. They
certainly were aggrieved, but whether it was right for them to start a civil
war, I don't know. The Ndebele rebels were primarily formed by former members of
the freedom fighters who were left out of independent Zimbabwe's military. When
independence was won, one army had to be created. Because the Shonas were in
control, they also wanted to control the army, and it came down to a power game.
The rebel groups would use the civilians for logistical support; the government
would try to root the rebels out, and innocent people became the casualties. The
government came down hard on the Ndebele; later, the president apologized for
all of the events of the civil war and said it was a bad time for all. The main
complaint of the civilian minority population was that the government should
have done a better job protecting them. The rebels would tell civilians that if
they gave their identities to the government, then they would be killed. But
then the government killed civilians as well for not telling them where the
rebels were.'; paragraph[1] = 'What could have been done to avoid the civil
war?
In percentages, whites are about 7-8 percent of Zimbabwe's population,
Ndebele, the minority tribe, composes about 15-20 percent of the population, and
the Shona are about 60 percent. (I am a Shona.) Immediately after independence,
Mugabe included the Ndebele as part of his first government, and if they hadn't
started the war, maybe it would have been better. Either way, things were
divided along tribal lines so much that there would have eventually been a
problem.
How did the civil war conclude?
During the time when Mugabe
and Nkomo were freedom fighters, they used to be in the same political party;
Nkomo was Mugabe's leader. In 1987, they worked out their differences in the
civil war by merging their parties and forming a government of national unity
where Nkomo was vice president. They put in structures whereby if the president
is a Shona, the vice president must be Ndebele, and vice-versa. This ended the
tribal rivalries in politics in Zimbabwe. Political clashes in Africa are always
along tribal lines, and in Zimbabwe, we've become mature in that respect. I
chose to learn and go to university in an area that was predominantly Ndebele;
we can now do that.
Zimbabwe continued to be involved in regional wars
well after the end of the war for independence and its civil war. Do you believe
Zimbabwe's involvement in Mozambique and the Congo was justified?
From the
time that we got our independence, all of our oil came from Mozambique. So we
really had a vested interest in the outcome of the war; our participation was
not a matter of choice. Our involvement in the Congo was more a matter of
choice, but I believe it was the right thing to do.
You have to understand
that Mugabe is a freedom fighter and doesn't believe in colonization. The quick
history of the Congo conflict is that Congo's president upon independence was
highly outspoken, not liked by the West, and ultimately killed by the Belgians,
who then put in a puppet, corrupt government. A rebel group overthrew the puppet
government, but the country was then invaded by Uganda and Rwanda for their own
selfish interest in the mineral of the country. Because of Mugabe's freedom
fighter convictions, he believed he needed to maintain the sovereignty of the
Congo against being colonized by other African countries. Democratic
institutions were on the way in the Congo if it hadn't been for the invasion.';
paragraph[2] = 'In Zimbabwe's mind, we accomplished our mission in the Congo as
it was able to achieve democracy after the end of the war.
Do you believe
then that life has improved for the average black citizen of Zimbabwe since
independence?
Definitely, the black life has improved since independence, but
I would say that we've gone through cycles. The peak of our prosperity was in
1995-1996; those were the most prosperous years for our country.
Since
independence in 1980, Zimbabwe's GDP per capita has plunged from $950 to $600.
Corruption and mismanagement by Mugabe are generally attributed to be the
leading causes by Western governments and media institutions. Do you
agree?
How do you measure GDP? It is a measure of output, but, at
independence, all resources and output was catering to 100,000 white people.
When independence came about, free education, health care, and other such social
services were made free. This was a deliberate strategy that came at an economic
cost. But in terms of literacy, we have the highest literacy rate in
Africa.
What good is literacy if people still can't afford to
eat?
When you say that people can't eat, you're thinking of an urban
population. But when you talk about eating in Zimbabwe, you're talking about
maize, and 75 percent of the maize comes from communal farmers. So the structure
was such that when you're talking about GDP, you're talking about how well the
whites were living. The basics are providing people with education, and then
providing people with jobs. I don't believe that you can do that in the reverse
order.
The government's lack of respect for white property rights is
often blamed for the lack of foreign investment in the country and the fall in
Zimbabwe's agricultural output. Even if the government wanted to redistribute
the land, wouldn't it have been better to purchase the white land at market
prices?
The first constitution signed after independence said that the
government was required to buy the land to do redistribution and the government
did not have the resources; it was enshrined that for 10 years, this piece of
the constitution couldn't be touched.'; paragraph[3] = 'The government tried to
talk to the white people to find some agreement where they would give up only
some of their land. Whites rightfully felt that they owned the land and needed
to be compensated. I understand their perspective, as it was their great-great
grandparents and not them who had confiscated the land; their sense of
belonging, having not confiscated the land themselves, was justified. The
government told the whites that there was no way that taxpayers could compensate
them for their land; if so, it would have meant that the black people would have
been using their own money to purchase back the land that rightfully belonged to
them.
But wouldn't Zimbabwe have fared better in the long run from an
economic standpoint if it had taken on credit to pay the white landowners fair
market value?
If you look at this from an economic standpoint, you'll always
get it wrong; it's a matter of principle. Donors were prepared to give the
government money to buy back the land, but only in the form of credit. Britain
and America promised Zimbabwe's government at independence to provide money for
land buyback, but their guarantees were not fully honored. Ultimately, Zimbabwe
has to service that credit, and that is at the cost of the black
taxpayer.
The issue was equity. There was no way blacks would be empowered as
long as the land question was not properly addressed. Dispossession of the land
was at the root of the drive for independence. You cannot go to a freedom
fighter and say to him, "Wait for the agricultural output that a white farmer is
going to produce so that you can see the economy is doing well." There had to be
a physical transfer of the land. You cannot have 10 percent of the population
controlling 85 percent of the land.
Having said all this, the government, in
as much as they had a genuine reason for wanting the land - their execution
strategy was too revolutionary. They could have had a better thought-out
strategy of repossessing the land without disrupting the agricultural output of
the country. But at the end of the day, it was something that had to be done.';
paragraph[4] = 'Why has Botswana succeeded in growing its economy while Zimbabwe
has failed?
Botswana on paper has fantastic economic figures, but if you go
there, it has no infrastructure comparable to Zimbabwe's. Does it have any
industry? No. All the money comes from diamonds, and if the diamonds run out,
what's going to happen to them? There's no farming, no industry. So tell me, are
they really better off?
One of the things that has strangled Zimbabwe's
economy is the long-time maintenance of a fixed exchange rate with a high black
market premium. This made dollars available cheaply to those connected with the
government but made exporting unprofitable. Why was this system
maintained?
Look at it this way. For 99 percent of emerging markets, imports
outstrip exports, so you need support for the balance of payments. With the land
redistribution, all of our external credit lines were cancelled, so there is a
serious shortage of foreign currency, leading to the black market and pressure
on the domestic currency.
Isn't the right answer to float the
currency?
The exchange rate might change, but it wouldn't have changed the
scarcity of hard currency. In absolute terms there would still be a shortage of
FX. Our problem is not about the exchange rate but availability of
FX.
Another source of the economic decline was the price controls imposed
by the government. Why did the government impose these controls?
What fueled
the black market in Zimbabwe was bank speculation. The thinking behind the bank
behavior was that the government was suppressing interest rates below the
inflation rate so that there were negative real interest rates. In order for
them to preserve their capital, they had to move their money into commodities,
leading to such speculation. As an example, one of the banks bought into the
largest brick company in the country and stopped a year's production in order to
speculate on prices. In a situation where you have monopolies controlling the
supplies of commodities, you can't talk about floating prices. So the price caps
were necessary as a temporary measure. Both the exchange rate and price caps
have since been removed. Now, only increases in prices basic commodities
(primary inputs) must be justified to the government.'; paragraph[5] = 'If you
believe that all these economic policies were ultimately the right choice, on
what do you blame Zimbabwe's poor economic performance?
The combination of
the arrogance of the president [Mugabe] and the arrogance of Tony Blair. These
two arrogant presidents are really headstrong, and because of their behavior,
ordinary people suffer. Tony Blair did more harm than good. He should have just
stayed out of it. Because of his actions, maybe Mugabe hit the panic
button.
Mugabe's 2002 election was widely reported to be rigged. Do you
disagree?
I don't believe that the 2002 election was rigged. Everyone who
wanted to vote had a chance to vote, and it was the largest turnout ever. The
question is, who is the international community? If the African Union and the
ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific States) declared the elections free and
fair, and, on the other hand, the European Union declared that they were not
free and fair, then you wonder, who is the international community that should
be valued the most?
Do you believe that Mugabe is corrupt, and, if not,
do you believe he can be an effective leader for Zimbabwe?
I don't believe
that he is corrupt, and I do believe that he can be an effective leader. Before
the land question came up, he was the darling of the west. Once that came in, it
took on a racial tip instead of looking at the facts on the ground. I don't
think you can become a bad leader overnight.
What do you think of
Zimbabwe's future?
I think it's on the right track, and, if only people could
leave us Zimbabweans to decide our destiny, we'd be fine. We don't need people
to tell us what to do, and if people could just see what's on the ground, they
might think differently. It's not as if whites are on one side and blacks are on
the other; that's what the Western media would want people to believe. We've
always been a peaceful country and I believe God is on our side.
GARY KEOGH, much loved husband of Tina, (Harare), adored father to
Richard
(20) and Cailin (12) (Johannesburg), and step-father to Natalie (15)
and
Chantelle (13); eldest son of Derrick and Charlene Keogh (Harare),
and
eldest brother to Neville, Darryl and Kathy, died tragically in a
plane
crash at Halifax in Canada in the early hours of 14th October
2004.
A Celebration of his life will be held at the Chisipite Senior
School
Chapel in Harare on Friday 22nd 2004 at 3.30 pm and afterwards at his
home
at No. 2 Yardley Road, Chisipite.
ALL WILL BE WELCOME
tigar@hms.co.zw
JAG DROPS A BALL AND APOLOGIES
****PLEASE NOTE THIS LIST APPEARED IN THE
HERALD ON FRIDAY 15TH OCTOBER. WE
APOLOGISE FOR THE LATE SENDING OUT OF
THIS. THIS WAS AN OVERSIGHT AS A
RESULT OF A REPEATING OF THE LOT NO OF THE
SECTION 7.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE LOT NUMBER, I.E. LOT
7 BUT IT IS A
NEW LIST OF PROPERTIES JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE URGENT LEGAL
COMMUNIQUÉ -
20th October 2004
e-mail: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
______________________________________________
NOTICE
OF APPLICATION FOR CONFIRMATION OF SECTION 8 ORDER IN TERMS OF
SECTION 7 (3)
OF THE LAND ACQUISITION ACT CHAPTER 20:10
TAKE NOTICE that an application
for the confirmation of the acquisition
order issued in respect of the
following farms has been filed in the
Administrative Court at Harare and that
the Respondent and any holder of
real rights over the said farm are required
to lodge their objections
within 5 days after the publication of this notice
failure to which the
matter shall be set down unopposed without any further
notice.
A copy of the application is available for collection at
Applicant's
undersigned legal practitioner of record's address between Monday
to Friday
from 8am to 4pm.
J L NKOMO
Minister of Special Affairs in
the Office
of the President and Cabinet in Charge of Lands,
Land Reform
and Resettlement.
c/o CIVIL DIVISION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S
OFFICE
Applicant's Legal Practitioners
2nd Floor, Block "A"
New Govt.
Complex
Cnr Samora Machel AVe/Fourth
St.
HARARE
_______________________________________________
LOT 7
SECTION 7 15TH OCTOBER 2004
Bikita
1. 5707/92. Sabi Star Enterprises
P/L: Bikita: Angus Ranch: 15 784,7999
ha: LA 4475/04
Bindura
2.
6684/84. Roger Topping P/L: Bindura: Gashforth: 894,2048ha:
LA
4360/04.
3. 59/55. Victor Vaillie: Bindura: Foothills: 703,2013 ha:
LA 4480/04
Charter
4. 5718/82. Campbell's Holdings (Private)
Limited: Charter: Inyatzitzi:
1 285,00 ha: LA 4508/04.
5. 2107/78. Johan
Christiaan Adriaan Smit: Charter: Markdale South: 1
777,5162ha: LA
4237/04
6. 5718/82. Campbell's Holdings (Private) Limited: Charter:
Chipisa:
642,4656 ha: LA 4234/04
7. 4399/54. James Thomas Wheeler:
Charter: R/E of Wildebeestlaagte: 1
000,14 morgen: LA 1321/02
8. 5/59.
James Thomas Wheeler: Charter: Fairview of Hartebeestlaagte: 1
500,14 morgen:
LA 1323/02
9. 14/90. Chigara Estates P/L: Charter: Delport Wish: 1 182,3090
ha: LA
3113/02
10. 11132/99. Freitas Investments: Charter: Vasalt of
Knockholt: 1
027,82 ha: LA 3073/02
11. 2161/82. Cornelius Johannes Nel:
Charter: Doorn-Kastel: 1 284,7842
ha: LA 469/01
Chilimanzi
12.
7788/89. The Jovner Family Trist: Chilimanzi: Widgeon: 5 333,8734
ha: LA
4465/04
13. 2830/76. Jacobus Johannes Petrus La Grange: Chilimanzi:
Nuwejaar: 2
851,0558 ha: LA 4468/04
14. 2595/71. Johan Christian Kriek:
Chilimanzi: Lot 1 of Beema:
274,0391 ha: LA 4235/04
15. 6499/80. Phillip
Rudolph Kruger: Chilimanzi: Middeldeel: 2 510,7960
ha: LA 4522/04
16.
1755/80. Johannes Michiel Jacobs: Chilimanzi: Grassland A; 1
372,7937 ha: LA
4342/04
17. 1032/58. Maria Elizabeth Kriek MOCP to
Johan Christiaan
Kriek: Chilimanzi: Lot 2 of Beema: 159,9707 morgen: LA
4459/04
18.
122/63. Jacobus Marthinus Erasmus: Chilimanzi: Floradale: 1
502,7218 acres:
LA 4439/04
19. 2516/91. Berry Springs Holdings (Private) Limited:
Chilimanzi:
Berry Springs: 1 339,0989 ha: LA 4295/04
20. 1639/81. John
Christian Kriek: Chilimanzi: Osemrowend Estate
comprising Lot 3 of Beema,
Asemrowend: 722,0545 ha: LA 4400/04
21. 4290/91. Nyororo Farm (Private)
Limited: Chilimanzi: Nyororo
Estate: 2 412,7464 ha: LA 4517/04
22.
4796/75. Jacob De Klerk Jovner: Chilimanzi: Northdale: 2 831,4770
ha: LA
4262/01
23. 218/96. Fefetera Investments P/L: Chilimanzi: Southdale: 2
381,0122
ha: LA 4363/04
24. 5701/80. Malcom Kenneth Mackintosh:
Chilimanzi: S/D fo Grasslands:
854,1655 ha: LA 4325/04
25. 4287/77.
Malcom Kenneth Mackintosh: Chilimanzi: The Remainder of
Daviot of Shasha
Fountains: 1 157,1911 ha: LA 4496/04
26. 1658/91. Indibreed P/L:
Chilimanzi: Nyombi Estate: 1 243,2046 ha;
LA 4283/04
27. 3465/80.
Johannes Jacobus Smit: Chilimanzi: Endama Ranche: 1
386,6228 ha: LA
4442/04.
28. 3143/66. Jacobus Marthinus Erasmus: Chilimanzi: Kombisa:
2
450,99180 acres: LA 2942/02
29. 598/97. Sarco Farm (Pvt) Ltd:
Chilimanzi: Llandebie: 966,15 ha: LA
2945/02
Chipinga
30.
7158/97. Grassflats Farm P/L: Chipinga: Ypres 1A: 891,4524 ha:
LA
4329/04.
31. 490/86. Jacob Salomon Kotze: Chipinga: Remainder of
Hartebeest Nek:
858,5751 ha: LA 4394/04
Darwin
32. 693/96.
Pepperidge Farm (1991) P/L: Darwin: Lot 2 of Kwarate:
565,9000 ha: LA
4398/04
Gatooma
33. 4452/2000. Inspan Investments (Private) Limited:
Gatooma: Coryton:
1 294 4500 HA: la 4241/04
34. 6760/72. Alfred John
Read: Gatooma: Pamene: 1 253,9424 ha: LA
4408/04
35. 4300/85. Peter
Haritatos: Gatooma: Remainder of Farm 1 of Umsweswi
River Block: 712,1259 ha:
LA 4406/04
36. 4085/76. Molina Ranch (Private) Limited: Gatooma: Molina:
6
965,0194 ha: LA 4403/04
Goromonzi
37. 10838/89. Dunclare
Enterprises (Private) Limtied: Goromonzi:
Fordyce of Melfort Estate: 1
279,1654 ha: LA 3290/03
38. 9148/87. Northfield Farm P/L: Goromonzi:
Northfield: 676,6492 ha:
LA 3288/02
Gutu
39. 5081/84. Jacobus
Gerhardus Jorner: Gutu: The Remainder of Geluk:
856,9306 ha: LA
4252/04
40. 705/80. Thomas Johannes Nel: Gutu: Minjn Rust: 763,2604 ha:
LA
4454/04
41. 2195/79. Jakob Johannes Jackson: Gutu: Chomfuli: 1
011,2816 ha: LA
4458/04
42. 3465/80. Johannes Jacobus Smit: Gutu:
Woodlands: 1 323,3918 ha; LA
4469/04
43. 2115/65. Thomas Johannes Nel:
Gutu: Goie Hoop: 1 886,0428 acres: LA
4246/04
44. 9766/90. Wheatlands
Holdings P/L: Gutu: Wheatlands: 1 444,5634 ha:
LA 4523/04
45. 5209/84.
Hendrik Stephanus Veldman: Gutu: Lauder: 741,7446 ha: LA
4485/04
46.
5081/84. Jacob Gerhardus Jovner: Gutu: The Remainder of Welwart: 1
402,3613
ha: LA 4245/04
47. 5051/82. Thomas Johannes Bezuidenhout: Gutu: Ripley:
543,0324 ha:
LA 4491/04
48. 1170/76. Dirk Cornelius Odendaal, Gert
Hacobus,
Adrian Odendaal, Thomas Joahnnes
Bezuidenhout, Johan
Christian Kriek
Bezuidenhout, Cecilia Jacomina Maris: Gutu: Denholm:
493,4186 ha: LA
4457/04
49. 10488/91. Vosloo Investment (Private)
Limited: Gutu: Donnachaid:
606,2749 ha: LA 4444/04
50. 10489/99. Sepbell
Investments P/L: Gutu: Good Luck: 1 320,9935 ha:
LA 4450/04
51. 6765/85.
Cornelius Johannes Odendaal: Gutu: Willand: 1 245,1417 ha:
LA
4238/04
52. 6764/85. Dirk Cornelius Odendaal: Gutu: Edgar Ridge: 1 486,0588
ha:
LA 4242/04
53. 560/62. Thomas Johannes Nel: Gutu: Neoldale: 3
970,5719 acres: LA
4267/04
54. 208/63. Dirk Cornelius Odendaal: Gutu:
Blyth: 1 540,7476 acres: LA
4426/04
55. 2660/85. Benjimin James Layard
Bezuidenhout: Gutu: Haig: 625,5951
ha: LA 4337/04
56. 4899/85. Cornelius
Johannes Odendaal: Gutu: Lorn: 1 978,4610 ha: LA
4349/04
57. 2330/77.
Jacobus Daniel Nel: Gutu: Muirlands: 961,9135 ha: LA
4435/04
58.
5118/99. Hendrik Stephanus Veldman: Gutu: Eyrie: 800,8444 ha:
LA
4420/04
59. 893/47. William Charles Rhodes Nel: Gutu: Chibakwi: 1
777,5980
morgen: LA 4489/04
60. 3414/78. Esajas Fillipus Petrus Vosloo:
Gutu: Irvine: 1 280,7115
ha: LA 4323/04
61. 3602/81. Dirk Cornelius
Odendaal: Gutu: Condor A: 2 015,6249 ha: LA
4324/04
Gwelo
62.
509/97. C M Zartmann (Pvt) Ltd: Gwelo: Belgrave: 1 761,39 ha:
LA
2079/02
63. 3083/96. Nursells Farming P/L: Gwelo: Mt. Pleasant
Portion of Lot
Number 60 Portion of Umsungwe Block: 145,7085 ha: LA
1671/02
Hartley
64. 5138/94. Mafuti Estates (Private) Limited:
Hartley: Donore:
653,0522 ha: LA 4437/04
65. 303/82. Zimbo Junction Farm
(Private) Limited: Hartley: Rosedale of
Lot 1 of Zimbo Junction: 485,6257 ha:
LA 4415/04
66. 4897/85. Johannes Jacobus Joubert: Hartley: Lot 1 of
Mopani:
885,2304 ha: LA 4269/04
67. 0432/91. Ryange Farming (Private)
Limited: Hartley: Homedale:
566,9507 ha: LA 4448/04
68. 7315/95.
Burnbank Estates (Private) Limited: Hartley: Lot 6 of
Cxrown Ranch: 727,0774
ha: LA 4447/04
69. 11104/98. Milanwood Enterprises (Private) Limited:
Hartley:
Milanwood: 798,8823 ha: LA 4312/04
70. 6769/85. James Crichton
Lamb: Hartley: The Remaining Extent of
Lambourne of Railway Farm 16:
591,7045ha: LA 4464/04
71. 5733/94. B Barry: Hartley: Nugget: 274,3356 ha:
LA 4466/04
72. 5305/72. W J Henry: Hartley: Torphin: 647,9131 ha: LA
4236/04
73. 3376/75. Kenneth Selous Sherrifs: Hartley: Tilford: 856,5180
ha: LA
4453/04
74. 2584/78. Helden Estate (Private) Limited: Hartley:
Sivundazi:
780,2879 ha: LA 3171/04
75. 612/97. Sezlin Investments
(Private) Limited: Hartley: The
Remaining Extent of Preston Estate: 419,2812
ha: LA 4467/04
76. 1761/91. Danlyn Estates (Private) Limited: Hartley:
Childerly of
Makwiro Source: 445,1076 ha: LA 4368/04
77. 10302/99. Mike
Campbell (Private) Limited: Hartley: The Remaining
Extent of Railway Farm 19:
1 132,8408 ha: LA 4428/04
78. 2508A/86. Ronald Herbert Speight: Hartley:
Remainder of Farm
Lowood: 883,1816 ha LA 4350/04
79. 4587/89. Ronald
Herbert Speight: Hartley: Esintabeni: 4 305,5291
ha: LA 4429/04
80.
11800/99. J T Management Consultancy (Private) Limited: Hartley:
Zimbo Drift:
996,1305 ha: LA 4477/04
81. 7058/80. Hopeful Farm (Privte) Limited:
Hartley: Faun of Rederma:
984,2277 ha: LA 42132/04
82. 1715/63. Merton
Park (Private) Limited: Hartley: Lot 3 of
Knockmalloch Estate of Austria:
1788,6987 acres: LA 4258/04
83. 5682/74. Brunswik Farm (Private) Limited:
Hartley: Remainder of
Brunswick of Railway Farm 13: 514,1667 ha: LA
4331/04
84. 012/91. G D R Investment Holdings (Private) Limited: Hartley:
The
Remainder of Cornucopia: 823,8123 ha: LA 4318/04
85. 1168/83.
Balclutha (Private) Limited: Hartley: Remaining Extent of
Good Hope: 513,0380
ha: LA 4478/04
Marandellas
86. 39/95. Mark Jeremy Freer:
Marandellas: Remainder of Farm 5 of
Holton Estate: 514,4222 ha: LA
3222/02
Mangwendi
87. 604/85. Thomas Negri Da Oleggio: Mangwendi:
Farm Mignon: 1 213,2493
ha: LA 355/00
Mrewa
88. 884/90.
Peigeonswood Farm (Private) Limited: Mrewa: Remainder of
Devauden: 996,7070
ha: LA 3368/03
89. 6954/94 Landsley Farm (Private) Limited: Mrewa: Lot 1 of
Leylands:
809,3726 ha: LA 3357/03
Wedza
90. 4105/84. Douglas John
Stanley:0 Wedza: Lot 1 of Subdivision A of
Fair Adventure of Hopleys Block:
607,0104 ha: LA
3274/03
____________________________________________
THE JAG
TEAM
JAG Hotlines:
(091) 261 862 If you are in trouble or need
advice,
(011) 205 374
(011) 863 354 please don't hesitate to contact us
-
(011) 431 068
we're here to help!
263
4 799 410 Office Lines
****PLEASE NOTE THIS LIST APPEARED IN THE HERALD ON FRIDAY 15TH OCTOBER.
WE
APOLOGISE FOR THE LATE SENDING OUT OF THIS. JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE
URGENT
LEGAL COMMUNIQUÉ - 20th October 2004
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:www.justiceforagriculture.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please
find listed below the Section 5 listings from the Herald on Friday
15th
October, 2004.
LAND ACQUISITION ACT (CHAPTER 20:10)
Preliminary
Notice to Compulsorily Acquire Land
NOTICE is hereby given, in terms of
subsection (1) of section 5 of the Land
Acquisition Act (Chapter 20:10), that
the President intends to acquire
compulsorily the land described in the
Schedule for resettlement purposes.
A plan of the land is available for
inspection at the following offices of
the Ministry of Special Affairs in the
Office of the President and Cabinet
in Charge of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
from Monday to Friday other than on a
public holiday on or before 15th
November 2004.
(a) Block 2, Makombe
Complex Cnr Harare Street and Herbert Chitepo Avenue,
Harare; (b) Ministry of
Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, CF 119,
Government Composite Block,
Robert Mugabe Way, Mutare; (c) Ministry of
Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, 4thFloor, Block H Office, 146,
Mhlahlandlela Government
Complex, Bulawayo; (d) Ministry of Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement, M
& W Building, Corner Park/Link Street, Chinoyi;
(e) Ministry of Lands,
Land Reform and Resettlement, 1st Floor, Founders
House, The Green,
Marondera; (f) Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, 19 Hellet
Street, Masvingo; (g) Ministry of Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement,
Exchange Building, Main Street, Gweru; (h)
Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Mtshabezi Building, First
Floor, Office No. F20, Gwanda; (i)
Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Ndodahondo Building,
Bindura.
Any owner or occupier or any other person who has an interest
and right in
the said land, and who wishes to object to the proposed
compulsory
acquisition, may lodge the same, in writing, with the Minister of
Special
Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet In Charge of
Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement, Private Bag 7779, Causeway, Harare on or
before
15th November 2004.
J L NKOMO, Minister of Special Affairs in
the
President's Office in Charge of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement.
__________________________________________
LOT 156 SECTION 5
15TH OCTOBER 2004
Belingwe
1. 3436/90. Liebigs Zimbabwe Limited:
Bellingwe: Lot 2 of Wedza Block:
7 805,1675 ha
2. 2233/90. Kenneth David
Drummond: Bellingwe: Lot 3 of Wedza Block: 9
886/3341 ha
3. 1139/90.
Ranching Company (Private) Limited: Bellingwe: Lot 4 of
Wedza Block: 13
345,5157 ha
4. 1250/90. E R York and Company (Private) Limited: Bellingwe:
Lot 5 of
Wedza Block: 16 547,9644 ha
5. 1193/90. Barberton (Private)
Limited: Bellingwe: Lot 6 of Wedza
Block: 10 675,5869 ha
6. 1190/90.
Lynwood Ranching Company (Private) Limited: Bellingwe: Lot
7 of Wedza Block:
17 268,6700 ha
Darwin
7. 5818/80. Dunbarton Estate (Private)
Limited: Darwin: Lot 1 of Vuka:
1 223,1987 ha
Lomagundi
8.
3779/2000. Derdrop (Private) Limited: Lomagundi: Homefield:
614,999
ha
Mazoe
9. 636/96. Longevity Investments (Private)
Limited: Mazoe: Subdivision
B of Caledon: 908,4345 ha
10. 7972/98.
Elgrey Management (Private) Limited: Mazoe: The Remaining
Extent of Ndiri of
Moores Grant: 282,1486 ha
11. 6686/2000. Samuel Edward Miller: Mazoe: Lot 6
of Mbebi Jersey:
86,0629 ha
12. 6688/2000. Schaldo Farm (Private)
Limited: Mazoe: Lot 2 of Mbebi
Jersey Farm: 311,8603 ha
13. 6687/2000.
Getthrough Investment (Private) Limited: Mazoe: Lot 3 of
Mbebi Jersey Farm:
126,5410 ha
14. 6685/2000. Titular Investments (Private) Limited: Mazoe:
Lot 5 of
Mbebi Jersey Farm: 79,1842 ha
15. 931/92. Fantail Farms
(Private) Limited: Mazoe: Lot 1 of
Springvale: 738,2173 ha
16. 4338/75.
R A Beatie & Sons (Private) Limited: Mazoe: The Remaining
Extent of
Barwick Estate: 1067,0583 ha
Ndanga
17. 6809/88. Peter Southerton
Hingeston: Ndanga: Lot 1A of Triangle
Ranch: 211,5373
ha
Shamva
18. 118/2001. Nimbindale Farm (Private) Limited: Shamva:
Lot 2 of
Wolley Estate: 141,7788 ha
19. 1345/78. P & M Enterprises
(Private) Limited: Shamva: Palmgrove
Annexe of Ceres: 155,0298
ha
Sipolilo
20. 10724/89. Deborah Jane Laing, Hayley-Joy Laing,
Charlene Dale
Laing, Paula Jane Laing: Sipolilo: Gurungwe Estates:
2047,6641 ha
21. 5546/80. Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (Private)
Limited:
Sipolilo: Matimba: 1 301,9994 ha
22. 38/67. Nicholas Floyer
Botwell Leared: Sipolilo: Flame Lily:
845,4819
ha
______________________________________________
THE JAG
TEAM
JAG Hotlines:
(011) 261 862 If you are in trouble or need
advice,
(011) 205 374
(011) 863 354 please don't hesitate to contact us
-
(011) 431 068
we're here to help!
263
4 799 410 Office Lines
President Tsvangirai analyses the electoral framework ahead of March 2005
See the attachments Census 2002 figures and October 2004 Voters' Roll Summary
Highlights:
-- urban constituencies lose voters, could lose
constituencies: Harare (46
780), Bulawayo (22 689), Mutare Central (1 285),
Gweru Urban (1 741), Mkoba
(1 382), Masvingo Central (622) ... the list goes
on!
-- rural constituencies gain large numbers of voters, could gain new
constituencies. Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (13 993), Seke (10 000), Kadoma West
(15 000), Makonde (11 000), Bikita West (6 000), Insiza (6 000), Manicaland
(106 757), Masvingo (82 908)... check out the figures for
yourself!
-- Zengeza, Insiza, Bikita West gain new voters (There were
by-elections in
these constituencies after 2000. The MDC complained of
ballot robbery ...)
-- Matabeleland North & South, Harare, Bulawayo,
according to the latest
(published this month, October 2004) Voters Roll,
show a massive decrease in
the number of voters.
-- But Census 2002
figures depict a different demographic pattern.
-- Also, see an October
2003 report on the age distribution of Zimbabwe's
population by Ms F
Matarise of the Statistics Department of the University
of Zimbabwe for an
independent demographic analysis.
Have a good day.
20
October 2004
ZIMBABWE'S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION 2000, THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2002 AND
THE PENDING DELIMITATION COMMISSION'S REPORT
ON THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION
IN MARCH 2005.
By Morgan
Tsvangirai, President of the Movement for Democratic Change,
Harare,
Zimbabwe.
There are only five months to go before another
Parliamentary General
Election is due in Zimbabwe. However, although
preparations are being made
for this election, it is presumptuous and
premature to proceed with it
before the outcomes of the Parliamentary
Elections held in June 2000 and the
Presidential Elections held in March
2002 have been determined.
It is abundantly clear to any
objective observer that these two previous
elections were deeply flawed. On
both occasions, there was widespread
violence inflicted on the people of
this country, especially in the rural
areas, and yet this is where ZANU (PF)
claims to have their main support.
On both occasions, the voters' rolls were
in a shambles and contained
numerous irregularities which were used by ZANU
(PF) and its President, Mr
Mugabe, to subvert the electoral
process.
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION -- JUNE 2000
Shortly after the
hotly disputed parliamentary election held in June 2000,
which were narrowly
"won" by ZANU (PF), my Party, the MDC, filed with the
Courts a total of 39
Elections Petitions challenging the outcome of the
elections in 39
constituencies. Since then, we have been successful in 7 of
those
challenges in the High Court. However, in each case, the opposing
ZANU (PF)
candidate has appealed and none of these appeals have been
determined.
In another 11 cases, the MDC candidates were
unsuccessful in their election
petitions to the High Court. In 8 of those
cases the MDC candidates have
appealed but their appeals have not yet been
determined. In a further 5
election petitions filed by the MDC candidates,
the cases have still not yet
been determined by the High Court. In most of
the remaining cases, the main
reason why the MDC candidates did not proceed
with their Elections Petitions
was because of gross intimidation and
violence inflicted on them and their
supporters.
The effect
of all this is that despite the lapse of 4 years and 4 months
since the
Parliamentary General Elections in June 2000 were held the
composition of
Parliament remains unaltered as a result of our election
challenges filed
with the courts. The will of the people, which was so
clearly manifested at
the time of the elections has been thwarted.
PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION -- MARCH 2002
In April 2002, I filed with the High Court an election
petition challenging
the outcome of the Presidential Election held in March
2002. Election
petitions are supposed to be dealt with urgently by the
courts. However, it
was only in November 2003, that is some 19 months
later, that the initial
stage of the hearing was held.
This
initial hearing dealt with numerous and various powerful legal
arguments
which my legal team raised, especially the blatantly unfair,
illegal and
unconstitutional amendments made by Robert Mugabe to the
Electoral Act which
greatly benefited him in the run up to the election. In
addition it was
pointed out that the failure by the State to conduct the
election throughout
Zimbabwe on the 3rd day of the election in itself
nullified the
election.
Judgment was only given in my Presidential Election
Petition on this initial
hearing in June 2004 and even then it was simply a
one page order. This
judgment was only handed down after considerable
pressure had been placed on
the Judge to deliver his judgment. It should be
stressed that in writing his
judgment the Judge only had to consider a day
and a half of legal argument
as no evidence had been presented to the Court
at this stage.
To date, and despite the lapse of nearly a year
since the initial hearing,
no reasons for judgment have been given. My
lawyers have requested on
numerous occasions that his reasons be handed down
so that an appeal against
them can be considered. I should also stress that
the Electoral Act itself
compels the Courts to handle all electoral
petitions urgently. Given that
two and half years have now elapsed since I
instituted these proceedings it
is blatantly clear that the provisions of
the Electoral Act are not being
complied with.
It is
unacceptable that the presiding Judge has been so dilatory in handing
down
full reasons for his judgment. I call upon the Chief Justice to order
the
High Court Judge in question to immediately hand down his full reasons
for
declining so that this matter can proceed further without any more
delays.
In order to determine whether or not the electoral
process used in the
Presidential Election was free and fair it is essential
for the
Registrar-General of Elections to bring the used ballot papers and
voters
rolls to Harare and allow them to be inspected. However, to date, and
despite persistent attempts by my legal team, and despite various High Court
orders, which they have obtained, this has been denied to me. In fact, up to
this date, I have never been allowed to examine the main and supplementary
voters' rolls and the ballots papers used in the Presidential
election.
It is abundantly clear that in order to comply with the
Electoral Act, the
Registrar-General has an obligation "as soon as may
after polling day" to
arrange to be brought to Harare all the ballot boxes
and voters' rolls used
in all the various constituencies during the
Presidential Election held in
March 2002. However, to date, despite the
lapse of 2 years and 7 months
since then, the Registrar-General has
persistently and unlawfully refused to
comply with his legal obligation to
do so. In fact, in doing so, the
Registrar-General has acted in open
defiance of the laws of this country and
the orders of the courts of this
country.
Re-enforced by the provisions of the SADC Principles
and Guidelines
Governing Democratic Elections recently adopted in Mauritius,
I issue this
day a challenge to Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar-General of
Elections, to
immediately make available to my lawyers in Harare the ballot
papers and
voters' rolls which were used in the Presidential Election held
in March
2002.
I strongly suspect that the Registrar-General
is in fact unable to take up
this challenge because his officials in the
various constituencies have
destroyed all these election materials. I say
this because, although the
Registrar-General originally stored the ballot
papers and voters' rolls in
the ballot boxes which he used in the
Presidential Election, I strongly
suspect that he later removed them from
the ballot boxes. He then used the
same ballot boxes in the District Council
Elections at the end of September
of the same year. By acting in this
manner, if in fact he did, the
Registrar-General acted in breach of the
Electoral Act and contrary to
Orders of the High Court.
If
the Registrar-General of Elections has nothing to hide, then there is no
reason why he cannot do as I challenge him to do. We can then thoroughly
examine the ballot papers and voters' rolls and determine who really won the
last Presidential election. Only then can we move on to the next
Parliamentary General elections.
Finally, I also want to
express my deep concern regarding our preliminary
findings following our
analysis of the new voters' rolls finally provided to
us two weeks ago by
the Registrar General's office. I should stress that
these have been
provided to us after a long delay and the rolls do not
relate in any way to
the existing court challenges but concern the
forthcoming Parliamentary
election and in particular the work of the
Delimitation
Commission.
As can be seen from the attached summary Harare,
Bulawayo, Matabeleland
South and North Provinces have suffered a huge
reduction in the number of
registered voters (over 60,000) since the last
time we had access to a
national voters' roll in March 2002. During the same
period some other rural
provinces have enjoyed an increase in the number of
registered voters.
In the context of the African continental wide
phenomenon of urban drift,
the huge numbers of voters (well over 100,000)
who were denied the
opportunity to vote in Harare in particular in 2002
(resulting in the State
itself agreeing to a 3rd day of voting), and the
obvious growth of both
Harare and Bulawayo in the last 3 years it is hard to
believe that there
could be possibly be a decline in the number of urban
voters. If anything
there should have been a substantial increase in the
number of voters.
Furthermore the National Census conducted on
the 17th August 2002, six
months after we last received a copy of the
national voters' roll, shows
that Harare in particular has experienced a
population growth of more than
three times that of any other Province. In
the period 1992 to 2002 Harare's
population grew by some 424 670 compared to
Manicaland's growth of just 29
213. It is self evident that Harare's growth
in the last 2 years has
continued at a similar rate. And yet now, if the
Registrar General's figures
are to be believed Harare has suffered a loss of
46 780 voters and in the
same period Manicaland has enjoyed an increase of
16 736 voters!
The figures show, for example, that the voter
population of Uzumba Maramba
Pfungwe constituency has increased from 44 077
in the year 2000 to massive
58 070 in October 2004. This particular
constituency has recorded an
unbelievable voter population growth in four
years. In March 2002, during
the Presidential election, it had 56 734
registered voters, up by more than
12 000 voters from 2000. This could mean
that voters are migrating from the
capital city, Harare, to a seemingly more
attractive location, Uzumba
Maramba Pfungwe. Another interesting
observation: Insiza, Zengeza, Lupane
and Bikita West - constituencies which
according to the 2000 Parliamentary
election results were MDC strongholds -
recorded significant increases in
their voter population while all the
constituencies in Harare and Bulawayo
lost their voters to rural
constituencies.
We are well aware that despite the phenomenon of
urban drift during the last
delimitation exercise Harare lost one seat (with
the amalgamation of
Chitungwiza East and West into one constituency) and
Bulawayo likewise lost
one seat (Luveve). It is clear to us that the voter
registration process
and, consequentially, the voters' roll itself, have
been manipulated to
secure even further reductions in urban seats and
possibly in addition
Matabeleland rural seats (areas where the MDC is known
to have overwhelming
support).
In the circumstances I demand
that there be an immediate independent audit
of the voters' roll to rectify
these grave anomalies prior to the
Delimitation Commission concluding its
work. I have also instructed our
legal team to consider legal action to
protect the interests of hundreds of
thousands of Zimbabweans who will
effectively be disenfranchised through the
scandalous conduct of the
Registrar General's office.
Morgan
Tsvangirai
President.
Zim Observer
Moyo attacked in Parliament
by STAFF EDITORS
(10/21/2004)
Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo was
yesterday attacked in
Parliament by opposition legislators over his alleged
ambition to control
the country's media for personal gains. During the
debate, in which Zanu PF
MPs remained silent, the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
lawmakers said Moyo's proposed changes to the Access
to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act were driven more by his
personal
ambitions than by national interest.
Gabriel Chaibva, the MP
for Harare South said: "Since 1988, it is publicly
documented that Professor
Moyo is a man who cherished a free press, but he
has now made a dramatic
somersault.
The man has gone on to trample on views that he previously
held. There can
only be one reason why a man wants to hear his own voice.
There can only be
one reason why he wants to dance to his own
music.
He is a dangerous man. If you support him, you will have
facilitated the
reincarnation of the devil himself." Job Sikhala said: "We
have seen the
Vice-President of this country, the only Vice-President we
have, being
castigated. We have seen a few individuals being put in the
limelight while
others, who are taken to be a threat to the man's ambitions,
being stampeded
upon. So it is an ambitious amendment to further the
ambitions of the man.
"The amendments by the Honourable Minister are
criminal, criminal in that no
one, including Members of the other side, will
be spared from the crescendo
of the minister's ambitions. He is giving
himself supernatural powers to
dictate whatever he wants to the
House."
Innocent Gonese, the MDC chief whip and Mutare Central
legislator, said the
minister should not be vested with powers to appoint
members of the Media
and Information Commission.
Paul Themba Nyathi, the
MDC spokesperson, said: "It is the process that has
been put in place which
is threatening the security of the jobs of
journalists and cause them to
sing for their lunch.
For that reason, we have ended up with what would
easily be some of the
professional men and women being turned into clowns of
those that handle
them. Unfortunately, those that handle them are not
themselves intelligent."
The MPs said the fact that not only the Daily
News and Daily News on Sunday,
but also The Tribune, owned by ruling party
legislator for Makonde, Kindness
Paradza, were banned, showed that no one
would be spared by the repressive
media law.
Moyo then asked for the
debate to be adjourned, saying he needed time to
look into concerns
raised.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Edna Madzongwe booted Gonese and
Renson Gasela,
the MP for Gweru Rural, out of the august House for not being
attentive.
Source: Daily Mirror By Clemence Manyukwe
The Herald
Jingle seeks to build public awareness: Moyo
Herald
Reporter
THE Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the Office of
the
President and Cabinet, Professor Jonathan Moyo, has said the jingle on
the
success of the rural electrification programme seeks to draw attention
to
the major strides power utility Zesa Holdings has made in building
infrastructure for the provision of electricity in rural areas and support
for the irrigation drive.
He was responding to a question in
Parliament by Kambuzuma Member of
Parliament Mr Willias Madzimure (MDC), who
wanted to know the justification
behind flighting jingles on the success of
the electrification programme on
national television and radio when the
country was experiencing shortages in
electricity supplies.
Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Cde Patrick Chinamasa read
Prof
Moyo's response on his behalf.
"Additionally, the campaign sought to
mobilise communities against vandalism
of energy infrastructure which has
not only disrupted power supplies, but
has also led to numerous deaths
through electrocution.
"The jingle sought to build public awareness on
enterprises to emerge from
the unbundling process of the old Zesa," said
Prof Moyo.
He said such matters were imperative and noble and his
department was happy
to have been associated with that campaign.
Prof
Moyo said the department has also sought to use the medium of music to
rally
the nation around its over-arching objectives and pursuits, or simply
celebrate its natural endowments and beauty.
Some songs and jingles,
said Prof Moyo, were developed to mobilise the
nation for agrarian reforms
and the attendant challenges of raising
agricultural productivity for food
security.
"Songs like Chave Chimurenga, Dai Kuri Kwedu Machembere,
Sevenza Nhamo
Ichauya, Rambai Makashinga and Sendekera Mwana Wevhu, from
which promotional
jingles were developed, were efforts in that direction,"
he said.
He said foreign programming in the country had created a
management outlook
that was hostile to local talent and material, in
preference to that which
was foreign and deemed superior.
Prof Moyo
said with the passing of the Broadcasting Services Act by
Parliament in
2001, the 75 percent local content stipulated in the law
decolonised the
country's airwaves which, from the start of broadcasting in
Zimbabwe, were
filled and monopolised by foreign, colonial and Eurocentric
material, which
treated Africans with disdain, racial prejudice and
contempt.
"With
this law, enjoining broadcasters to fill our airwaves with words,
sounds and
images that are truly indigenous and African, it was anticipated
that our
finite frequency spectrum, itself a national property, would be
instrumental
in upholding our national collective dignity, in exploring and
expressing
our national identity; in defining and defending our national
interest,
projecting our national viewpoint and, of course, in celebrating
our
national cohesion, values, achievements and sovereignty," said Prof
Moyo.
Mr Madzimure further asked whether the department could
consider flighting a
jingle informing people about HIV/Aids that has become
a national disaster
instead.
Prof Moyo said the issue was a grave
matter that that deserves the nation's
undivided attention.
He said
the national media has been instrumental in building awareness of
the menace
and the commitment to building awareness cannot be doubted.
The
department, said Prof Moyo, has encouraged Government ministries to
include
in their 2005 budget estimates, monies for sustained public
awareness
campaigns in order to build awareness in such matters.
"I hope Honourable
Madzimure's sense of an HIV and Aids awareness campaign
does not include
adding offensive 'Zvakwana' messages on condoms, or using
the HIV and Aids
pandemic to disguise covert, foreign-funded anti-Zimbabwe
campaign messages
meant to shore up his party," he said.
Mr Madzimure also sought to know
where the funds being used to organise
galas were coming from.
Prof
Moyo said the funding of galas, which have been held in different
provinces
and recently in Chimoio, Mozambique, has largely come from
Government
through the Department of Information and Publicity in the Office
of the
President and Cabinet and its various public companies, principally
the
national broadcaster.
"Some resources, albeit very modest, have come from
the corporate world
through direct donations or the purchase of airtime for
advertising on the
national broadcaster.
"Some modest revenue has
come from the catering industry, which has sought
to take advantage of the
huge public gatherings at these galas to do
business," said Prof
Moyo.
He said a total of $538,4 million was paid as artistes' fees for
the Hwange
Independence Gala, Umdala Wethu Gala in Gweru, Heroesplush in
Marondera,
MzeeBira in Masvingo and the Chimoio Solidarity Bash in
Mozambique.
He said for those galas, there was a total of $2,765 billion
expenditure
against income of $909,9 million.
"Clearly, the galas
have not been able to recoup the monies involved in
organising them, let
alone, make a profit," he said.
Prof Moyo said it was, however, important
to remember that the objectives of
these galas were largely social and that
while important, financial
measurements were for now not a decisive
consideration.
He said the department has tried to minimise the costs of
organising the
galas and it was in the process of setting up a public
company, National
Productions, which would take over the galas and manage
them in the
direction of financial self-sustainability.
The galas, he
said, provided huge opportunities for those in the catering
industry, which
was a multi-billion dollar industry in any economy, and
although these galas
were not that developed in the country's economy, they
would, in time, nudge
the industry to full growth.
"Of course, galas are an important plank for
promoting tourism, both
internal and foreign tourism.
"Let it not
also be forgotten that the galas are an important platform for
marketing our
artistes beyond our borders. We are confident that the
entertainment
industry will grow to be a significant foreign currency earner
for the
economy in the future. It needs careful nurturing," said Prof
Moyo.
Revenue realised from the galas, he said, has gone into the
Consolidated
Revenue Fund except in cases where Treasury has advised or
authorised a
rolling-over of revenue to fund the next gala as happened
between the
MzeeBira and the Chimoio gala.
He said no money had gone
to the families of the country's heroes in the
case of commemorative galas
because that would be inappropriate, apart from
the impracticalities of the
suggestion which seems calculated to give the
galas a bad name.
Prof
Moyo said it was not possible to pay the little money realised from the
galas to the countless heroes who were massacred by the Rhodesians during
the liberation struggle.
"Among other objectives, they (galas) are
meant to remember and celebrate
our dear departed and their families are
given a pride of place at such
galas," he said.
He said the galas
have been very well patronised, a clear indication that
the people value
them and appreciate efforts at making them both sustainable
and
accessible.
Mr Madzimure also sought to know who were PaxAfro and their
relationship
with the Department of Information and Publicity and how the
production of
music by Prof Moyo helps meet the department's
objectives.
Prof Moyo said in respect of the musical projects that the
department has
supported, the proceeds have gone to the artistes involved
and not to
Government, because the idea was to help such artistes who have
been
struggling for so long.
"We will continue to help them as and
when we can. The PaxAfro project has
been funded the same way," he
said.
He said the group's sales to date have gone towards meeting a small
fraction
of the costs of producing promotional videos, as well as in meeting
costs
for an inaugural concert set for October 29.
"Although I happen
to have composed all the songs on the project, I collect
no fees I am
entitled to as an individual composer. This is entitlement I
have decided to
forego, wishing instead to develop the artistes and the
industry."
He
said the same also applied to Minister Without Portfolio Cde Elliot
Manyika
for compiling the rendition of "Nora", which has proved so powerful
and
irresistible.