CIO’s seize donated radios from villagers in Murehwa

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
29 October 2010

The old adage leopards never change their spots was highlighted in Murehwa
this week Tuesday when members of the Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) and police seized donated portable radios from villagers in the
Chitowa District.

When ZANU PF’s election defeat in March 2008 forced them into a power
sharing deal with the two MDC formations, many Zimbabweans believed it would
lead to the opening up of democratic space and tolerance for alternative
views.

But when civil society organisations this week distributed free portable
radios in Murehwa, to improve access to information for marginalised groups,
police and CIO’s acting on instructions from above swooped to seize them
from the villagers.

The excuse offered by Chief Superintendent Matsikasimbe, who is responsible
for the district, was that they wanted to establish the type of radios,
reasons for their distribution and whether they had been cleared by customs
officials.

Only last month heavily armed police details in Gweru raided the offices of
the Democratic Councils Forum in search of radios and so called subversive
documents. They arrested Cleopas Shiri who is the organisation’s training
coordinator and took with them 862 radios that were meant for distribution.
Under the dubious justification used by the police is a sustained war by
Mugabe’s regime to fight independent radio stations that broadcast on
shortwave and medium wave from outside the country.

When rural villagers receive donated radios it means greater access to
alternative sources of information.
Philip Pasirayi from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition told SW Radio Africa
on Friday that they were distributing radios while encouraging people to
form community listening clubs. This he said would help to widen the
audience listening to other broadcasts that are an alternative to the state
produced propaganda.

Despite licensing several daily and weekly independent newspapers, Mugabe’s
regime is only too aware their reach is limited in terms of the cost of
buying a paper and general circulation figures. They however remain
reluctant to licence independent radio stations because of their wider reach
especially in rural areas.

Hatcliffe residents take local government to court

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
29 October 2010

Several residents at the Hatcliffe Extension Settlement have taken the
Ministry of Local Government to court, over threats to evict them for
failing to pay lease renewal fees by a September deadline. The Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights, representing residents who have not paid the
renewal fees, said they went to court after the Local Government ministry
failed to respond to a letter offering to settle the matter out of court.

On Thursday the Minister for National Housing, Giles Mutsekwa, denied
allegations by the human rights watchdog, Amnesty International that the
government was threatening to evict the residents. Mutsekwa told SW Radio
Africa that there was never such a plan and that the Minister of Local
Government, Ignatius Chombo had also said he was ignorant of this plan. The
Housing minister added that he was “pro-poor” and would not evict anyone
without first making alternative arrangements for them.

But lawyer Rangu Nyamurundira confirmed on Friday that a notice had actually
been served to Hatcliffe residents by the Local Government ministry. He
explained that the initial notice did not specify how much the residents
needed to pay, which was necessary because of the dollarisation of the
economy. But there was no response when the residents wrote to the ministry
attempting to find out the exact amounts due.

Simeon Mawanza from Amnesty International said the group had a copy of this
notice and it did not specify the lease renewal fees, because the plots are
of different sizes. Amnesty International also said that Hatcliffe residents
had alleged that the ministry refused to accept payment in installments.

The case was due to be heard in the Harare magistrates’ court on Monday, but
Nyamurundira said it was referred to a different magistrate who deals with
cases involving the Local Government ministry. The lawyer believes the case
is likely to be heard next week.

The lawyer explained that there is an agreement between the Hatcliffe
residents and the Ministry of Local Government, which says that the
residents are entitled to live on the property, build homes and get titles
to their plots. The residents argue that the ministry is in breach of this.

Mugabe Hits At West Again

http://news.radiovop.com/

29/10/2010 10:08:00

Harare, October 29, 2010 - President Robert Mugabe on Thursday hit at
Britain and America again, calling them damn fools who were saying Zimbabwe
had not done much in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA).

According to the state-owned Herald Newspaper, Mugabe who was addressing
chiefs at their annual conference said: "Listen to the stupidity from
Bri-tain and America. They say we have not done much in the implementation
of the Global Political Agreement. Who are you damn fools?"

"Munei neGPA yedu?(What have you got to do with our GPA) Sevarungu (As
whites) they come to us and semafuza (as fools) tinomhanyira ikoko (we rush
to them)."

The paper quoted him saying "Westerners were free to come and invest in
Zimbabwe, but should never come here as masters.Vanokupai ma-ideas okuti
varambe vari mamasters." (They give you ideas that will make you remain
inferior to them).

"We are masters of our destiny. If the British want to be in business, they
are welcome not as masters anymore.

"The British sun never rises here. It is the Zimbabwean sun that rises and
sets here . . . I ask you chiefs to help us because some of your learned
children do not understand," the paper quoted him.

Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo was
quoted by the paper saying government had bought 28 vehicles for traditional
leaders.

All traditional leaders who got vehicles in 2004/2005 would from next year
receive twin-cab replacements.

The paper said the chiefs in turn declared their support for President
Mugabe’s principles and values, and declared he was the best person to lead
Zimbabwe now and in the future.

Prime Minister's Party Reproaches National Police For Partisanship

http://www.voanews.com/

Zimbabwean Co-Minister of Home Affairs Theresa Makone, a member of the
Tsvangirai MDC formation, also criticized the police, who fall under her
purview, saying they were acting 'inappropriately'

Sandra Nyaira & Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 28 October 2010

The Movement for Democratic change formation of Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai has taken issue with “elements in the security sector” who
it says keep obstructing Mr. Tsvangirai's meetings with supporters.

Police banned two of Mr. Tsvangirai’s so-called consultative meetings in
Harare last week and tried to block another one in Highfield this week,
letting it proceed only on orders from Police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri.

Mr. Tsvangirai had scheduled yet another meeting with supporters in
Budiriro, Harare, on Thursday evening.

Efforts to reach police Commissioner Chihuri for comment on the MDC
complaints were unsuccessful.

Tsvangirai MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Ntungamili Nkomo that his party strongly condemns the actions of the police.
Co-Minister of Home Affairs Theresa Makone, a member of the Tsvangirai MDC
formation, also criticized the police, who fall under her purview, saying
they were acting “inappropriately.”

Political analyst Effie Dlela-Ncube said police moves against the MDC
confirm the prime minister has little real power.

With elections in the air if not necessarily on the horizon, the role of the
police in politics is once again coming under scrutiny following the
cancellation of Mr Tsvangirai's meetings.

Doubts about the impartiality and effectiveness of the police were also
raised by the failure of the national force to maintain order in Harare
during September constitutional outreach sessions that were disrupted by
violence.

For a look at the role of police in the context of Harare's national unity
government and proposed 2011 elections, VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira
sought the views of analyst Charles Mangongera and MDC Senator Obert Gutu.

Mangongera said the handwriting is on the wall as to the role of the police
in the anticipated elections.

Zimbabwe’s Marange diamonds to top KP summit agenda

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s controversial Marange diamonds in eastern
Zimbabwe are set to top the agenda of next week’s Kimberley Process (KP)
plenary meeting to be held in Israel, APA learns here Friday.

The four-day plenary meeting, which commences on Saturday and runs until
November 4, will see KP monitor for Zimbabwe Abbey Chikane and Stephane
Chardon, chairman of the Brussels-based KP Working Group on Monitoring
presenting reports on the implementation of a Joint Work Programme (JWP)
agreed with Zimbabwe in Namibia last November.

The meeting will also consider a report by Liberian Deputy Mines Minister,
Kpandel Fayia, who led a KP mission to the country in June to review
progress on the implementation of the JWP.

Adopted at Swakopmund in Namibia, the JWP seeks to bring Zimbabwe’s diamond
trade into full compliance with the minimum requirements of the KP.

The KP temporarily lifted a ban on diamond exports from Marange in July
after Chikane said Harare had met all conditions set by the world diamond
regulator.

Under a consensus agreement reached by the KP and Zimbabwe during the World
Diamond Council meeting in Russia three months ago, Harare was allowed to
conduct two supervised auctions of rough diamonds from the Marange diamond
fields.

The move saw about 1.5 million carats of stockpiled Marange diamonds going
under the hammer in August and September, prompting boycott calls from a
leading international network of buyers and suppliers, Rapaport Diamond
Trading Network.

Rapaport threatened to expel and blacklist any of its members who violate
the ban on trading in gems from the controversial area.

The KP had since last November banned exports of Marange diamonds, citing
human rights abuses by security forces guarding the mines.

JN/ad/APA
2010-10-29

Bennett Lawyers Protest Against Fresh Persecution

http://news.radiovop.com/

29/10/2010 10:04:00

Harare, Oct 29, 2010 - Lawyers representing Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) Treasurer and Deputy Agriculture Minister-Designate Roy Bennett have
described as mischievous reports alleging that their client supplied the
High Court with a false address.

A state run local daily recently reported that Bennett could face perjury
charges for allegedly giving a false address in his warned and cautioned
statement in his terrorism docket.

It alleged that because of the false address supplied by Bennett it had made
it difficult for the Deputy Sheriff to serve him with papers in a case in
which he is being sued by High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu for
defamation.

But Bennett’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa on Thursday dismissed the state media
report false and part of a sustained campaign to persecute the former
Chimanimani legislator.

“We have noted, with great concern, the spreading of demonstrable falsehoods
in the media where it is being alleged as fact that our client gave a
non-existent address in his criminal trial," read part of a letter to
Bhunu's lawyers of Chikumbirike and Associates.

"We are surprised at these falsehoods as the police in fact visited those
premises and were satisfied that our client was residing there at at the
time. It is therefore not only false, but mischievous to suggest that the
address does not exist. We believe that this part of the calculated and
orchestrated campaign by the state media, a certain political party and
those associated with it to persecute our client.”

Bhunu’s lawyer George Chikumbirike had been in a quandary after failing to
serve the summons on Bennett and had been contemplating sending them to
South Africa where is currently based or publishing them in newspapers.

Mtetwa also indicated that Bennett has now authorised her to accept service
of the summons.

The High Court Judge’s lawyers are suing Bennett for alleged defamation
arising from an interview he allegedly granted to a British online newspaper
before his acquittal.

Bhunu says the damages he is suing for resulted from wrongful and defamatory
words which were uttered by Bennett during an interview he allegedly granted
to a journalist from the Guardian newspaper of the United Kingdom, which he
granted on or around 9 May 2010, before Bhunu delivered his judgment
acquitting the former Chimanimani commercial farmer.

Justice Bhunu’s lawyers allege that the remarks were published on 24 May
2010 by an online newspaper, the Zimbabwe Guardian Newspaper, which they
claim enjoys wide distribution on account of being available on the internet
free of charge.

Bennett is alleged to have stated that; “To know that the people that are
doing it will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve their ends and that
there is a selective application of the rule of law, that the judiciary is
totally compromised, that the very judge that’s trying me is the owner of a
farm that he’s been given through political patronage, that all the
appointments have been done through the Ministry of Justice on a political
basis…basically I should expect no mercy and fear for the worst.”

Bhunu said Bennett’s alleged statement was wrongful and defamatory of the
Judge in that they were intended to convey and were understood by the
readers of the Guardian Newspaper to mean that the Judge was not a fit and
proper person to be Judge of the High Court and to preside over his trial.

The High Court Judge also claim that Bennett’s alleged statements showed
Bhunu as a conscious and willing tool, who was selected to preside over the
former legislator’s trial by persons that will stop at absolutely nothing to
achieve their ends by a selective application of the rule of law.

Bhunu claimed that Bennett’s remarks alleging that the Judge’s judicial
integrity had been compromised by the allocation of a farm through the land
reform programme were meant to mean that his appointment was not based on
merit but political patronage and connections.

Bennett, who is Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s pick for the portfolio of
deputy agriculture minister, which has not been filled since February 2009
when Tsvangirai and President Mugabe formed a coalition government, was
acquitted by the High Court in May after undergoing trial on terror related
charges.

However, the Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana has since appealed
against High Court Judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu’s decision to acquit him.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku recently reserved judgment after hearing
submissions from both the State and Bennett’s lawyers.

Bulawayo Zanu (PF) Youth Chairman Under Fire

http://news.radiovop.com/

29/10/2010 10:07:00

Bulawayo, October 29, 2010 - Zanu (PF) Bulawayo provincial youth league
executive members have demanded the suspension of their chairman Butho Gatsi
from the party saying he has turned into “dangerous thug”.

Gatsi was arrested on Wednesday for blocking President Robert Mugabe’s
motorcade and early this year he led a group of party youth to invade
buildings owned by white business people in Bulawayo.

In a petition in RadioVOP possession signed by 10 members of Zanu (PF)
Bulawayo provincial youth league executive and addressed to the party’s
national chairman, Simon Khaya-Moyo the members demanded for Gatsi’s
suspension from the party saying he was abusing his position and had turned
into a "dangerous thug".

“We demand that Gatsi be suspended from Zanu (PF) as he has turned into a
dangerous thug that also promotes corruption and using political powers to
bribe police and army officers.

“He has also caused a lot of harm in the party’s Bulawayo province as he
always create lies which result in senior party members fighting,” reads
part of the petition signed by Bernard Nhata provincial youth secretary for
Administration,Thabani Nkomo Secretary for Finance and Omi Nhova head of
Security.

The petition was also signed by among othersTatenda Godobo provincial youth
political commissar, Myra Ngozo Transport Secretary, Sizimisele Dube head of
Information and Publicity.

MDC-T leaving no stone unturned to ensure election is violence-free

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
29 October 2010

MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai has vowed he will leave “no stone
 unturned” in trying to ensure that next year’s elections are violence-free,
a top party official said on Friday.

“We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure there is no
violence and intimidation. This is going to be Tsvangirai’s and our party’s
mission to make sure every Zimbabwean is afforded an opportunity cast their
votes in an enabling environment,” MDC-T chairman for Harare province,
Morgan Femai said.

Two weeks after Robert Mugabe made pronouncements that the unity government
should be dissolved within the coming months, calling for elections next
year, Tsvangirai has declared that he would not commit to any election if it
is a declaration of war.

The MDC leader has been telling party supporters that measures have to be
taken to guarantee peace for the entire population in the country. The
former opposition party wants the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) and the African Union (AU) to send an election monitoring force to
guard against any form of trouble and violence six months before the poll.

Tsvangirai has also demanded a compliant voters’ roll and ordered the
removal of intelligence operatives whom he claims are working with the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), as a pre-condition for
his party to take part in next year’s elections.

Political violence still simmers across the country, following the bloody
2008 elections when Tsvangirai won the first round of the presidential race,
Mugabe’s first-ever defeat at the ballot box.

The response from ZANU PF was a nationwide campaign of political violence
that left over 200 MDC supporters’ dead, prompting Tsvangirai to pull out of
the run-off.

Under intense regional pressure, Mugabe and Tsvangirai entered a pact that
was required both men to share power, but left the ZANU PF leader in control
of security forces, who helped him retain power using force and violence.

This week, Tsvangirai flew to Lusaka, Zambia where he met the current SADC
chairman Rupiah Banda to brief him of the latest crisis bedevilling the
inclusive government.

“At the same time the Prime Minister used the opportunity to request SADC to
help Zimbabwe hold peaceful, transparent, credible, and well-managed
elections that reflect the will of the people in line with the SADC
Principles and Guidelines on elections,” another MDC-T official told SW
Radio Africa.

Party insiders said Tsvangirai is believed to be making progress in trying
to convince regional leaders that only a peaceful election atmosphere, in
which supporters of different parties conduct their activities unhindered,
is the best way of resolving the Zimbabwe crisis once and for all.

Group says violence, abuses to escalate

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Edward Jones     Friday 29 October 2010

HARARE -- Political violence and rights abuses mainly against MDC members by
supporters of President Robert Mugabe have continued unchecked as the
fragile unity government fails to end political tensions in the country, a
local rights group said, adding violations could escalate as the country
gears towards elections.

The formation of a coalition administration between Mugabe and long time foe
Morgan Tsvangirai, now Prime Minister and a splinter MDC faction led by
Arthur

Mutambara in February 2009 had raised hopes that political hostilities in
the troubled southern African country would end.

But the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), a local group that monitors and
documents rights violations said Tsvangirai’s MDC supporters have continued
to bear the brunt of persecution by ZANU-PF members, with an increase in
cases during the constitutional outreach period.

“A clear analysis of the victims by affiliation has shown that MDC-T
supporters had their rights violated more than their counterparts from the
other two political parties in the inclusive government that is ZANU-PF and
the MDC-M,” ZPP said.

The group said Tsvangirai’s supporters who had their rights violated
represented 73 percent of the victims compared to ZANU-PF’s 8 percent.

The MDC has failed to push Mugabe, 86 and in power since independence from
Britain in 1980, to reform the country’s state security apparatus, whose top
brass is staunchly loyal to the veteran leader.

Critics say Mugabe has continued to use state security, especially the
police and army to crush opposition dissent.

Western governments have partly imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his ZANU-PF
officials over rights violations.

“The country’s inclusive government has failed to reform state security
institutions to prevent human rights abuses against the people at large and
human rights defenders. Instead of addressing the problem, the harassment
and politically motivated prosecutions of human rights defenders have
continued over the last two years,” said ZPP.

“It is now evidently clear that human rights defenders in Zimbabwe are
systematically targeted and subjected to arbitrary arrests, detention,
disappearance and torture.”

Political analysts fear that calls by Mugabe and Tsvangirai for elections
next year could further heighten tensions and plunge the country into
political violence that gripped the country before the June 2008
presidential run-off.

The analysts say Mugabe may fancy an election in 2011 hoping to capitalise
on the residual fear among voters of the political violence in 2008 that the
MDC says left more than 200 of its supporters dead.

Tsvangirai, whom analysts had tipped to win the run-off poll after defeating
Mugabe in the first round vote, withdrew from the race citing
state-sponsored attacks against his supporters.

But the veteran President’s blood-soaked victory was rejected by the
international community including some of his African allies forcing him to
agree to form a power-sharing government with Tsvangirai and Mutambara.

The power-sharing government was tasked to stabilise the economy, easy
political tensions and write a new and democratic constitution that would
ensure future elections are free and fair.

The coalition government has scored well on the economy but has struggled on
the political front with constitutional reforms marred by reports of
violence and intimidation, while security forces have continued to threaten
the rule of law and human rights.

The ZPP said: “The Zimbabwean human rights situation has remained volatile
with an ever increasing number of reports coming up of violations that are
directly linked to the actions of state security agents having been recorded
during the month of September,” said the ZPP report.

“There is a lot of political intolerance among the country’s main political
parties that is ZANU PF and the MDC-T.”  -- ZimOnline.

MDC Criticizes Mugabe's ZANU-PF for Urging "Yes" Constitution Vote

http://www.voanews.com

An MDC statement said such utterances before the draft of a revised
constitution has been completed could amount to an attempt to exert “undue
influence” as to the outcome of an eventual referendum

Patience Rusere and Brenda Moyo | Washington DC 28 October 2010

The Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has criticized the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe for
urging its supporters to vote “Yes” on a new constitution that has yet to be
drafted. In a statement issued Wednesday, the MDC described as “reckless and
irresponsible” comments made by Vice President Joice Mujuru last weekend to
supporters urging an affirmative vote.

An MDC statement said such utterances before the draft of a revised
constitution has been completed could amount to an attempt to exert “undue
influence” as to the outcome of an eventual referendum.

MDC spokesperson Tabitha Khumalo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere
that despite many irregularities seen in the constitutional revision
process, the party will decide whether to call for a "Yes” or “No” vote when
it is done.

But political analyst George Mkhwanazi said the MDC should make up its mind
about the constitution.

Elsewhere, the Law Society of Zimbabwe said it will present a model
constitution to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional
Revision on Friday. The draft constitution takes into account previous
versions including one proposed by the National Constitutional Assembly, a
civic group, the Kariba Draft favored by ZANU-PF and the Lancaster House
constitution formulated in the runup to Zimbabwean independence, still in
use though much amended.

Law Society President Josephat Tshuma told reporter Brenda Moyo views were
gathered from lawyers and members of the public across the country based on
the same thematic points used in the official outreach process.

Murambatsvina Contributed To Homlessness In Zimbabwe

http://news.radiovop.com

29/10/2010 10:06:00

Harare, October 29, 2010 - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday
the disastrous clean up exercise in 2005 dubbed Operation Murambatsvina
contributed to the long list of home seekers on waiting lists in towns and
cities around the country.

Speaking at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Willowvale Flats Project,
Phase II, in Highfileds Township in Harare, Tsvangirai said Mugabe’s regime
erred by increasing the number of homeless urban dwellers through the
operation which was condemned worldwide.

The Robert Mugabe regime justified the operation as necessary, saying it was
in line with bylaws to stop all forms of alleged “illegal activities in
areas such as vending, illegal structures, illegal cultivation” among others
in its cities.

“The effects of Operation Murambatsvina are still being felt even until
now," said Tsvangirai. "I do not think it is good to destroy people’s homes
until they have alternative accommodation no matter how poor those houses
are.”

A report by a United Nations Special Envoy on Human Settlements Issues, Anna
Kajumulo Tibaijuka, estimated that some 700 000 people in cities across the
country lost either their homes, their source of livelihood or both.

Indirectly, a further 2.4 million people had been affected in varying
degrees. Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children were made
homeless, without access to food, water and sanitation, or health care.

Speaking in Shona, Tsvangirai said provision of housing for all was a
challenge with Harare alone having a housing backlog of over 500 000.

Tsvangirai said that housing was one of the critical areas given high
priority by the unity government which had provided US$25 million in 2010.

The housing programme was however, being affected by a shortage of building
materials and lack of basic infrastructure services among others.

The Willowvale flat project will involve the construction of 15 blocks of
flats with a total of 240 self-contained units each with a kitchen, lounge
and two bedrooms.

Mugabe Backed by Security Chiefs in Push for Elections Next Year

http://www.voanews.com/

During the turbulent 2008 election period the Joint Operations Command took
charge of Mr. Mugabe's interests in the run-off phase in which violence
against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was widespread

Blessing Zulu | Washington 29 October 2010

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, backed by the Joint Operations Command
of security service chiefs, is pushing hard for elections next year, but
sources say most senior members of the politiburo of his former ruling
ZANU-PF party have been cautioning him against rushing into such a ballot.

Party sources say however that the politiburo has little influence on Mr
Mugabe, who has openly blamed it for failing to campaign effectively for him
in the 2008 first-round presidential election, which he lost to
then-opposition leader and current Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, before
securing re-election unopposed in a contested run-off ballot.

During the turbulent 2008 election period the Joint Operations Command took
charge of Mr. Mugabe's interests in the run-off phase in which violence was
widespread. ZANU-PF has yet to reach a consensus on elections, but insiders
say the "securocrats" have already deployed military elements and war
veterans on a “reconnaissance mission.”

The Joint Operations Command (which was supposed to have been dismantled
under the terms of the Global Political Agreement for power sharing) is said
to have deployed Brigadier Douglas Nyikaramba in Manicaland province, war
veteran leader Jabulani Sibanda has been active in Masvingo province in
recent months, and youth militia are becoming more active in Mashonaland
Central province with a base established in Muzarabani.

A chain of command is said to have been established from the JOC to senior
officers in various parts of the country, with local ZANU-PF politicians and
war veterans, and youth militia acting as a proxy military force.

Mr. Tsvangirai charged this week that ZANU-PF is now dependent on police,
the army and operatives of the Central Intelligence Organization as it no
longer has enough party activists on the ground prepared to mobilize.

ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that
the politiburo is still seeking a consensus and has not taken up the
question of 2011 elections. Political analyst Earnest Mudzengi said ZANU-PF
will have to resort to the repressive state security apparatus to be
competitive in a new election.

Traditional Chiefs Endorse Mugabe Presidential Re-Election Bid

http://www.voanews.com

Reverting to his trademark anti-Western rhetoric, Mr. Mugabe took a swipe at
Britain and the United States which he called 'damn fools,' accusing the two
countries ofd meddling in Zimbabwe’s political affairs

Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 29 October 2010

Traditional chiefs in Zimbabwe this week endorsed President Robert Mugabe to
stand for re-election to the presidency in elections he has proposed for
2011, joining the ZANU-PF Women’s League which recently gave him the nod.

Though the 2008 Global Political Agreement underpinning Harare's national
unity government prohibits traditional leaders from taking sides
politically, the chiefs told President Mugabe on Thursday at a conference in
northern Kariba that they were pleased with his leadership and wanted him to
continue as commander-in-chief.

Chiefs Council President Fortune Charumbira was quoted in the
state-controlled, pro-ZANU-PF Herald newspaper as telling Mugabe, “We will
be happy if you continue at the helm.” VOA could not reach Charumbira for
comment.

President Mugabe told the chiefs to actively participate in politics, saying
there is nothing wrong with this.

Reverting to his trademark anti-Western rhetoric, Mr. Mugabe took a swipe at
Britain and the United States which he called “damn fools,” saying the two
countries were meddling in Zimbabwe’s political affairs. "They say we have
not done much in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement. Who
are you damn fools?" he snapped.

Gwanda North lawmaker Thandeko Zinti Mkandla of the Movement for Democratic
Change formation of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara told VOA Studio 7
reporter Ntungamili Nkomo the chiefs should stay out of politics. "The
chiefs got overexcited and overzealous in their comments. Chiefs should be
very much apolitical," he said.

His sentiments were echoed by former Nkayi lawmaker Abednico Bhebhe, who
added that traditional leaders should abide by the terms of the Global
Political Agreement, which has quasi-constitutional force.

Chiefs must stay away from Zanu PF and out of Partisan Politics

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

MDC Statement
Friday, 29 October 2010

The MDC notes the disturbing development in the country where chiefs and
kraal heads are being coerced to impose Zanu PF wishes on the majority of
the people in the countryside of Zimbabwe.Statements by the President of the
Council of Chiefs, Fortune Charumbira, at a chief’s conference in Kariba
yesterday, indicating that chiefs should be political commissars and
organisers of Zanu PF in the villages and communal areas should be dismissed
with the contempt they deserves.

The statements and conduct of some chiefs are not only a violation of the
constitution of Zimbabwe which prescribes the involvement of traditional
institutions in partisan politics but also wanton abuse of tax payer’s money
since all chiefs are being paid from the state coffers. Historically and
traditionally, chiefs have been reduced to being a political football In
Zimbabwe, being used by unpopular regimes to turn against the people and to
oppress them.

During the liberation struggle, the Rhodesian settler regime used and even
created some chiefs who were used as weapons against the citizens. The Zanu
PF regime has simply learnt nothing and forgotten nothing from Smith’s
Rhodesian template of repression.

For more than a century, several generations of chiefs and traditional
leaders have suffered under the hands of successive colonial authorities and
subsequently the Zanu PF government. Given their role as custodians of
Zimbabwe’s tradition, culture, national symbols and heritage, chiefs
attracted the interest of successive regimes as politicians sought to
undermine the people and confine them to a state of perpetual subjugation
and bondage.

It is common cause that Zanu PF is responsible for the chaos and mayhem that
dominated politics in post-colonial Zimbabwe for the past 30 years. In an
effort to cleanse themselves, they have now seen it fit to point their
poisoned arrows at innocent chiefs in an effort to demobilise the people.

Our advice to the chiefs is that they should resist being dragged to the
side of losers and risk the embarrassment of rejection by the people. As
MDC, we would appreciate the existence of our chiefs as custodians and
sacred calabashes of our tradition and culture as opposed to treating them
as political opponents. However, in the event that chiefs and traditional
leaders choose the path of politics, we shall happily treat them as
political competitors with all the impending consequences.

Nonetheless, the MDC firmly stands for the total restoration of the
integrity and dignity of traditional institutions. The party strongly
believes that deep down in their hearts, Zimbabwean chiefs would rather be
left alone to help all the people they survey, in their political, religious
and ancestral diversity in a climate of freedom, equality and tolerance.

As such, the MDC calls upon the chiefs to ignore Zanu PF’s evil intentions
to separate them from the people through political partisanship. In a new
Zimbabwe, the place of a chief shall be guaranteed for the invaluable role
it plays in securing societal stability and cultural forbearance. As a
party, the MDC is determined to uphold this invariable principle for we are
together and united to deliver real change.

Together, united, winning, ready for real change

Blindness doesn't stop Zimbabwe sports commentator

Associated Press

(AP) – 5 hours ago

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — When the ball hits the bat, the radio announcer
exclaims that it's sailing far. Dean Du Plessis' acute sense of hearing and
his eavesdropping on other commentators helps him overcome the fact that he
is blind, producing a delivery so polished that most listeners are unaware
that he can't see.

Du Plessis hears the power and direction of the hit. He listens to the speed
and spin of the ball, along with the players' exertions and their cries of
elation or frustration. He senses the excitement — or otherwise — of the
play on the cricket field and collates the scores with a computer-like
memory.

In the media area at Harare's Country Club sports field, other journalists
see the ball soar skyward after a sharp crack on the bat.

"That's a big one. It's gone for six," said the 33-year-old Du Plessis, his
opaque eyes gazing into the distance.

It has, flying way out of the field.

Team members and spectators murmur applause as the often sedate game of
cricket that originated in Britain goes on. In a fast-moving sport like
basketball, De Plessis' feat would likely be impossible. He asks a friend to
confirm the score on the board and feeds the latest to state radio.

"I have to ensure I am totally accurate," he told The Associated Press. "I'm
generally spot on or very close. I think I have a pretty big hard drive in
my head."

On this day, in a friendly match against New Zealand visitors in Harare, he
doesn't have the advantage of mini cameras and microphones placed in the
stumps, three upright sticks at each end of the pitch, that are routinely
placed on the field at top international games. Used as a "television
umpire" and to assist in television coverage, they help Du Plessis "watch"
the game.

"When they are there, the mikes are very important," he said.

In commentating at international games in Bangladesh and South Africa, he
said he listens to fellow sighted commentators and also asks questions of
scorekeepers and players alike.

Former Australian star Test cricket player Shayne Warne has body movements
and verbal grunts that are easy to discern, according to Du Plessis. Other
world sportsmen have an audible "signature" too.

A former England cricket team captain talks to a struck ball, willing it to
roll further to the four-run boundary line, said Du Plessis.

The Zimbabwe-born commentator was born with tumors in both eyes and his
parents were told he wouldn't live beyond infancy. They sent him to a school
for the blind in neighboring South Africa at age six in the absence of a
similar facility at home.

It was there that his passion for sports was born as he listened to radio
commentaries. Above the sound of firecrackers and the "cacophony" of tens of
thousands of cricket-mad Asian supporters, he easily followed an Indian
cricket series by "tuning in" to all the sound effects.

Zimbabwe beat South Africa in the 1992 cricket World Cup and soon after beat
top Test cricket nation England in Harare.

"I was already hooked," said Du Plessis.

A former telephone operator, he now works as a media editor at the national
cricket governing body's headquarters in Harare. He reads braille but says
audio programs on mobile phones and computers have made punched braille
manuscripts almost obsolete. He follows martial arts competitions in
Zimbabwe and belongs to motorcycle club that meets Sundays, enjoying riding
on the back of fast bikes.

"He is not inhibited nearly as much as you would expect," said veteran
award-winning Zimbabwe sports writer John Kelley. "His memory for the scores
and his match summaries are absolutely astonishing."

A policeman at a roadblock recognized Du Plessis immediately from his radio
voice when he said good morning and let him proceed.

Du Plessis said he dreams of working full time for a major international
sports channel, "but as soon as people learn I'm blind they back off."

Still, he has shared commentary boxes with the world's best in South Africa
and Asia, and earned many colleagues' respect.

"He's unique. On air, you can't tell he's blind. Only a circle of cricket
followers know he is," said Dave Emberton, a Zimbabwe broadcast news reader.

The Gono-Grace story: Mduduzi Mathuthu on Behind the Headlines

http://www.swradioafrica.com

 

Interview broadcast 28 October 2010

The country erupted into frenzied speculation when the South African Sunday Times newspaper ran a story over the weekend claiming the Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono was having an affair with Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace. On Behind the Headlines SW Radio Africa journalist Lance Guma speaks to New Zimbabwe.com editor Mduduzi Mathuthu who explains why the story has too many holes to be credible. Was it ethical for his website to publish the death certificate of Mugabe’s bodyguard Cain Chademana to discredit the story?

Lance Guma: Good evening Zimbabwe and welcome to Behind the Headlines. My guest this week is no stranger to the station, he’s the New Zimbabwe.com editor Mr Mduduzi Mathuthu. Mr Mathuthu thank you for joining us.

Mduduzi Mathuthu: Thank you for having me.

Guma: Now the country erupted into frenzied speculation when the South African Sunday Times newspaper ran a story over the weekend claiming the Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono had been bedding Robert Mugabe’s wife over a five year period.

According to this story the two allegedly met as often as three times a month at Grace’s Gushungo Dairy Estate, at expensive hotels in South Africa and on foreign trips to Asia. Now we’ve got Mr Mathuthu from New Zimbabwe.com because their publication has done a very thorough story dissecting why this Sunday Times story has a lot of loopholes. Mr Mathuthu thank you for your time.

Mathuthu: Thank you.

Guma: OK first things first - why in your estimation is this story not having strong enough legs?

Mathuthu: Well I think I must to be very careful here on how you answer this sort of thing. I think from the onset I think there were only two individuals here who can really tell us whether this thing happened, whether this and that’s only Gideon Gono and Grace Mugabe.

It’s always very difficult to put yourself in a position of having to sort of deny that something of this sort happened, especially when you don’t live with those people on a day-to-day basis and you are not always with them and quite clearly I hope that sooner or later one of them will come out and tell us exactly what has been happening, deny it or tell us why this particular rumour has surfaced.

Guma: OK but I suppose all we can do as journalists of course is to piece together details of the story and see if it makes sense, which is what you did on your web site.

Mathuthu: Absolutely. I think for such a story, it’s a very big story with a lot of consequences for a lot of people who are involved in it and we were just like any other media organisation, very keen to find out what else we needed to know about this affair and the more you look at it from the details that we have, from the report that we have from the Sunday Times newspaper, the more you are really left with no other choice but to take it with a whole bunch of salt.

Guma: OK you talk about timelines in your story and why these timelines make this story hard to believe. Can we go into this and explain this to our listeners? What is it about the timeframes that doesn’t stick?

Mathuthu: Right, the Sunday Times says that President Robert Mugabe’s sister Sabina Mugabe was dying in hospital on, or received the president on the 26th of July and we are told that the president was in the company of his most trusted bodyguard, a fellow called Cain Chademana.

They say that the meeting took place between 6 and 7pm at which time the president’s sister told him that his wife had been unfaithful to him and, yes, and basically the bodyguard because he had overheard this, the Sunday Times goes on to tell us that as a consequence of that he was killed through some undetectable poison.

Of course we now know from what we have been told and what we checked and found to be true that the president on that day was actually in Uganda attending an African Union summit and according to the president before he left for Uganda on the 24th of July his sister was in a very bad shape which means basically she was in a coma and they didn’t exchange any words.

The only thing that the president was sure of was that at least she could recognise him. So quite clearly for the Sunday Times to nail itself to the mast and say this meeting happened on the 26th of July between 6 and 7pm and then we discover later, I mean any reporter who, I mean any competent journalist would have probably checked with their, after learning from a source that they say the meeting happened at that time they would have checked to have found out exactly where the president was.

And this reporter would have discovered that the president was in Uganda and therefore avoided, or perhaps cast a lot of doubt on the authenticity of the information that he was given and received and probably this story would not have made it into the paper.

Guma: Now in the Sunday Times story it was alleged that Mugabe’s bodyguard Cain Chademana was poisoned because he had admitted to the president that he knew about the affair. Now you’ve since run a story where you’ve published a copy of Chademana’s death certificate. Can you tell us more about this?

Mathuthu: Well we basically quite out of interest because the Sunday Times report said the cause of death was mysterious and so forth, I think they used the word mysterious and of course there was a suggestion of poison and so forth and I think that we obviously got a very keen interest to find out what the official version of events was and the official version of events is obviously found in a death certificate and someone’s medical history and we have contacted the hospital and they’ve provided us with some basic information about what they believe, sorry what they know that this gentleman was suffering from.

I mean they’ve obviously provided some statements signed by the medical director there which basically says that this fellow had been treated for problems like meningitis and anaemia while the death certificate says that he died of cardiac arrest, disseminated tuberculosis, pneumonia and retroviral infection which is basically a medical euphemism for HIV.

Guma: Now you do admit in your own article that you’ve received unprecedented cooperation from Zimbabwean authorities who have released these documents to you. Why do you think this has happened?

Mathuthu: Well quite clearly I, you have to believe that there’s a lot of activity in government, the Reserve Bank and everywhere, people trying to put out their version of events to try and counter the Sunday Times story and obviously when it suits them I think they can be very effective in terms of timely release of information but I guess under other circumstances trying to get this information would have been impossible.

Guma: Obviously the publication of the death certificate Mr Mathuthu raises a few other ethical issues and I’m sure even on your forums a few people have been raising this whether it was right of you to disclose somebody’s death certificate and what killed them, essentially their private medical history. How would you respond to critics who are saying you should not have done that?

Mathuthu: I do believe that there are occasions when something is of a major national importance that some information that may otherwise be withheld can be released for the benefit of the public.

If there’s an accusation that the Reserve Bank governor of the country is having an affair with the wife of the president, that’s a very serious matter and I believe that sometimes some normal routines that the media would go through can be obviously put aside for, to get the story out because we believe that it’s in the benefit, it’s in the public interest.

I do actually happen to know that the same thing happened in America when Michael Jackson died and there was a lot of interest in trying to find out what really killed Michael Jackson because the family was saying that he had been murdered.

There were a lot of Americans, people around the world, his fans, who really wanted to know what happened to Michael Jackson and the Michael Jackson death certificate is widely available on the internet so I don’t think we are the first to do this sort of thing.

It’s of course, it is very hard, you agonise over this because it’s someone’s personal information but as well it’s a major significant story I think that demands some irregular conduct on our, on the part of our reporters.

Guma: OK just to move on to one other argument that you had put in your article because was the Sunday Times had claimed former soldier Robert Mhlanga was implicated or is accused of having organised some of the meetings between Gono and the first lady.

In your article you do say if this had been the case Mhlanga would not have been rewarded with diamond mining concessions in Marange but there is some suggestion that that argument doesn’t entirely hold water because perhaps Mhlanga had already been given these concessions, so this could have happened after those concessions had been given to him.

Mathuthu: Well me and you know that with Robert Mugabe, ZANU PF, with ZANU PF you can be given one thing today and wake up without it tomorrow and I don’t think that Mr Robert Mhlanga has woken up without his diamond concessions. So the fact that he still has those interests I think quite clearly shows that there’s no movement on the side of the government to try and punish him.

So if Mr Mugabe is so violent or so angry about this that he can kill what the Sunday Times tells us is his most trusted bodyguard, what about some retired air force official who obviously is also there for the killing? So I don’t accept that the argument you presented, I don’t accept that.

Guma: So what has been happening this week in terms of the information that you are getting? There were some suggestion that there were meetings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – what’s been happening in terms of their response to this?

Mathuthu: We do know that the president had lunch with Gideon Gono on Monday. We of course don’t know what was discussed there but we do get the impression as well that the president is calm on the issue most probably because he knows that the said conversation with his sister didn’t take place.

But to some in ZANU PF that we’ve spoken to are saying whereas he’s unconcerned about the claims because he believes that they are false, he is also curious like everyone else. Some people close to him are very curious to find out what would give rise to these sorts of allegations and there’s certainly a suggestion, a very strong suggestion that the Reserve Bank governor was quite very close to the first lady and that closeness some believe has given rise to this thing.

And by the way we should also remember that when you are going to create a rumour sometimes for the sake of, to make it believable you obviously put some believable characters in the cast and we do know that there was no love lost between Sabina Mugabe and Grace Mugabe.

They never really saw eye to eye because Sabina Mugabe never believed that she was suited for her brother following the death of his first wife Sally Mugabe. So we also know for instance that on the 3rd of October when a memorial service was held for Sabina Mugabe, Grace Mugabe was actually absent.

She was opening some games at some disability school so that just shows you that there were personal family problems between Grace Mugabe and Robert Mugabe’s family.

Guma: OK now obviously I know it’s speculation in everything but in your estimation how do you think this story found the legs to walk into a newsroom and get published?

Mathuthu: Well quite intriguing. I guess this, I’m sure others will pick over it over many months and perhaps the Sunday Times will shed some more light on this story in the coming weeks but it’s very difficult to, it’s very hard to resist the thinking that this is part of internal dynamics in ZANU PF where people fight and they can use information leaks whether true or false to try and damage the other party and of course Gideon Gono is a major player within the ZANU PF power dynamics and perhaps someone is, he is one man who is not short of enemies so…

Guma: But has he aligned himself to any of the factions within ZANU PF and then you have one faction gunning for him because he’s belonging to this other faction?

Mathuthu: We know for sure he is aligned to Mr Mugabe and I think that is a common thread in all the ZANU PF factions, they are all aligned to the president and Gideon Gono has apparently has his own presidential ambitions and so he is aligned to himself and with the president. Same with Mujuru, he is aligned with himself and the president. Same with Mnangagwa, he is aligned with himself and the president. So they all would rather have Mugabe there than any one of them be there so…

Guma: But I’m sure they’ll obviously build alliances because we do know there’s the Emerson Mnangagwa and the Solomon Mujuru factions so people would want to know really whether Gono is aligned to any of those or if he has his own faction.

Mathuthu: Well my understanding is that the man he thinks that he is competent enough to be president and he has his own ambitions of being president so I don’t think that if you have ambitions of being president you can align yourself with someone else who has got ambitions of being president so it’s a rat race of who’s going to get there first and you should expect that the more we have, uncertainty over Mr Mugabe’s health and related issues arise the more that this is going to get dirty and possibly very violent.

Guma: And finally Mr Mathuthu interesting developments, reports suggesting the Central Intelligence Organisation sent all senior officers to meet separately with editors from the privately owned newspapers. What is said to have happened in these meetings?

Mathuthu: Well basically, the Central Intelligence there’s a suspicion that the midweek papers, I believe the Newsday specifically or the Independent which comes out on Friday were going to write, well they were going to repeat the allegations contained in the Sunday Times story and of course we know that none of the Zimbabwean newspapers have covered this story.

But I guess the only people in Zimbabwe have probably read it from internet news sites and heard it from SW Radio yourselves and maybe from satellite from South African TV stations. So the CIO is very keen to protect this information from being widely available in the country and we understand that they called editors from the, those two newspapers and basically advised them that if they did run that information they should be prepared for the consequences and the consequences of that they were told quite clearly that you could be killed.

Guma: So it’s safe to assume none of the local papers are going to cover this story any time soon?

Mathuthu: No we can be very sure unless if someone has got a death wish. I don’t know but I guess that if the editors in Zimbabwe have a very simple choice - to be dead heroes or living cowards and I’ve a pretty good idea that most of them would rather be living cowards. And in any case the story itself as presented by the Sunday Times in the last week leaves so much doubt that it’s not a risk worth taking for the editors.

Guma: Dead heroes or living cowards – parting words there from the New Zimbabwe.com editor Mduduzi Mathuthu who joined us on Behind the Headlines. Mr Mathuthu thank you so much for your time.

Mathuthu: Thank you Mr Guma.

You can listen to the programme here: http://swradioafrica.streamuk.com/swradioafrica_archive/bth281010.wma

Feedback can be sent to lance@swradioafrica.com or http://twitter.com/lanceguma

SW Radio Africa is Zimbabwe’s Independent Voice and broadcasts on Short Wave 4880 KHz in the 60m band.

 

OPINION -- MDC: The beginning of the end

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Psychology Maziwisa     Friday 29 October 2010

OPINION:  If there is one line of engagement that requires originality,
momentum and avoidance of stupidity it is politics. The authenticity of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) project has always been an open
question and so a handicap in its own right. However, events of the last
three weeks alone might yet herald the beginning of the end of that project.

Doubtless, apart from providing Zimbabweans with a breather, the primary
function of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was to give Zanu (PF) a new
lease of life- and it has.

It has also given them time to rediscover, re-group and re-energise. Nor can
the effect of the Chiadzwa diamonds be under-estimated. For the rest of the
country, however, the GPA has flattered to deceive and been a grievous
mistake. But the GPA alone will not destroy the MDC- there are other
elements at play.

First, the question of sanctions has revealed a rather treacherous and
malevolent side to the MDC not least because they have dismally failed to
provide a satisfactory rebuttal to accusations that the sanctions were
imposed at their instigation.

Miliband’s declaration

Indeed David Miliband’s declaration that the British government would be
guided by the MDC on the subject of sanctions might well have given it all
away.

When history is written, when the moment of truth-telling dawns upon us,
this will be counted among the most inexcusable and most unforgivable of the
MDC’s actions. Indeed it will count in no small measure among the reasons
for the downfall of the MDC.

Second, Tsvangirai’s position on the sanctions as a party to the GPA has
been anything but clear. He has called them different things at different
times. Nor has he been clear about their effect let alone removal.

For instance, a highly respected figure in Zimbabwean political circles
wrote to me in confidence on the subject of sanctions and lamented:
‘Maziwisa, It’s unfortunate that Tsvangirai continues to vacillate on the
sanctions issue. I have serious doubts about his capacity to run this
country effectively given his flip flopping on important issues’.

And it is not just among Zimbabweans that the MDC has lost important support
through the question of sanctions. Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa,
whose assessment of things many in the West have no choice but to consider
as plausible, has constantly and unmistakably called for the removal of
sanctions on Zimbabwe.

This has been a huge blow to the MDC who have had no option but to join the
gallery and also call for their removal although, by the look of things,
they would have preferred it if Zuma said otherwise.

And it never rains for the MDC. A few weeks ago President Robert Mugabe’s
long-time critic and Tsvangirai’s known ally, Ian Khama of Botswana, added
insult to injury by joining the already growing number of African leaders in
calling for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe.

A resounding negative

That the sanctions have yet to be lifted is neither here nor there. Suffice
it to say that the European Union has since expressed a desire to
‘reconsider’ its position on sanctions.

Nor can the damage occasioned by the GPA be overlooked. Quite the contrary,
it has been devastating to the MDC as a party. Two weeks ago, President
Robert Mugabe acted in what many, including this writer, perceived as a
disturbing pattern of unacceptable unilateralism.  No question about it,
President Mugabe was wrong for reasons that are not the subject of this
piece.

But while being so wrong, Tsvangirai’s rather ‘stupid’ reaction was even
more so -- the culmination of which has since seen Zanu (PF)’s approval
ratings rise by a considerable margin while the MDC’s plummet substantially.
It was a moment of madness. It was a schoolboy mistake from an important
politician.

Make no mistake the MDC’s impulsive but characteristic decision to seek the
intervention of western and foreign governments in a matter purely domestic
and purely Zimbabwean met with widespread domestic and regional
condemnation- a sure plus for Zanu (PF) and a resounding negative for the
MDC.

Empirically put, 99, 9% of those I have spoken to regarding the matter
believe Tsvangirai’s move gave credence to accusations that his party is
foreign founded, foreign funded and foreign interested.

They believe it served to confirm allegations that theirs is an outpost of
foreign interests. The fact of the matter is that Tsvangirai’s statements
and actions make it horrendously difficult for anyone to imagine otherwise.

One sided battle

And the decision has backfired big time. For example, the United Nations has
bluntly dishonoured Tsvangirai’s plea. It was always going to take a lot of
persuading for Jacob Zuma to even read Tsvangirai’s letter.

And, apart from classifying it is as ‘a matter of concern’, the European
Union has yet to heed Tsvangirai’s request. Moreover, Zanu (PF) has made it
clear that it would reciprocate any gesture of goodwill from the EU.

Back home President Mugabe has since used Tsvangirai’s mistake to announce
the imminent end of the GPA, pleading with his party for an ‘acceleration of
pace’ in preparation for elections at the same time.

Meanwhile, Arthur Mutambara has endorsed President Mugabe’s appointments.
Oppah Muchinguri is doing everything in her power to maintain the momentum.
Roy Bennett has fled the country and, in the clearest sign of desperation
ever, Morgan Tsvangirai has hinted that he will not leave the GPA.

In politics, as in many things in life, one ought to play with one’s cards
close to one’s chest. But, then, Tsvangirai has a known propensity to
inadvertently disclose party secrets and strategies.

All things considered, the political battle in Zimbabwe has become
disappointingly one-sided. It has exposed MDC weaknesses and confirmed Zanu
(PF) strengths. All told, the MDC is in big political trouble and needs to
fix its mistakes.

They have not done much in the GPA. Sadly they have secured higher praise in
certain quarters than their record in government justifies. To survive, they
need visionaries able to see beyond the comfort of the GPA.

**Psychology Maziwisa is a member of the Union for Sustainable Democracy.

Bribes are a part of the Zimbabwe driving curriculum

http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=3995

I was telling somebody that I want to have a driver’s license. It’s about
time now. You will not believe what he said or maybe you will. He said in
order for me to get a license I would have to go with an extra US$80 or so
for me to get the license. That’s not all. He continued to tell me that
after the provisional license I must be prepared to have another US$80 to
pass the road test. But that is not the end of my story. I went and spoke to
another gentleman and said to him; can you believe it, to get a license you
need to be prepared to pay extra bribe money of about US$160. I can’t pay
that. I vented to him that I am a Christian and I do not promote bribing and
such lawless acts. Above all no wonder we have lots of car accidents and
unnecessary deaths on the road. We have people that buy their way into the
driver’s seat. You know what the second gentleman said to me. He said I
should not view this extra US$160 as a bribe but as part of the Zimbabwe
driving curriculum. In other words we should have it in black and white, a
statement saying in terms of section 1.1 of the new drivers act, all
excluding the ones related to driving inspectors, shall be required to pay
an extra amount for the acquiring of a driver’s license. Failure to do this
will result in you writing the driver’s license exam until you pay the
required bribe. I was going to be afraid to write this piece in fear of not
passing my driver’s test when I go next month. But I don’t want to be a part
of this “bribe me” mentality that has infected our country. Rest assured I
will read for the exam and hopefully start a new breed of people that want
to do things differently.

This entry was posted on October 29th, 2010 at 3:21 pm by Zanele Manhenga

Press Statement for United Democratic Alliance

UDA Vision-For a New Zimbabwe

The Society that we seek to create;

Though we are many, we are one. United we stand and divided we fall. We are
a people endowed with great potential for greatness. We only need to look up
to the sun light heavens with belief. Though the challenge is grave, we are
ready to arise with strength and conviction to rebuild all the pillars of
our great nation and take the people to the Sunderland plains of Justice,
Peace and Democracy.
We believe that despite our multicultural, tribal and ethnic diversity, We
must cherish our diversity as a nation of individuals from many different
backgrounds and have equal respect for human life regardless of social
status.
We believe that charity begins at home but should not end there. We need to
educate our children to respect their own as much as they respect people
from other nations, for if one cannot respect their own then it follows that
they have no respect for themselves; Dada nerudzi rwako, chimiro chako
nedzinza rako, pembedza rurimi pwere dzigoyemura; Ziqhenge ngosendu lwakho,
nangesimo sakho, nangesintu sakini, zigqaje ngolimi lwakho, ingane
zihawukele.
We believe that instead of according respect to the rich without due regard
to the source of their riches, we must accord great respect to those who
have given and stood in harms way in service to others.
We believe that ‘I am, because we are’. My success as an individual is
mostly tied to the success of my community or my Country. Firstly, I am born
into a community with shared infrastructure and security system. My
happiness is dependent on the maintenance and continued development of these
shared resources. Better road networks result in higher life expectancy and
better security result in more productive and happier safer citizens. The
people must develop a strong national interest to build and defend a strong
and effective government and protect national infrastructure.
Our philosophy of governance is that of respectful, loyal, faithful and
hardworking people who are serving the public fairly for a specified period
according to the constitution of the land. People, who want to make money or
status, must work for private sector. Civil servants must also be
hardworking, respectful and should work for any government of the day.
We believe that the nation should now go through an Industrial revolution.
We must build national infrastructure and add value to our God given natural
resources through a revamped manufacturing industry, before putting them on
the International market. We must rebuild the tourism sector, restore
stability and productivity to the commercial farms and make significant
investment in the services and Banking Industry.
We believe that every child should have access to affordable quality primary
and secondary education across the country. Clinics and Hospitals should
also be equipped to provide affordable health care including essential
vaccinations and medicines. Education is the sure path to a more civilised
nation and productive citizens.
We believe in the impartial application of the rule of law. The Army, Police
and all security agents should work for the state providing security to all
Zimbabweans and work with any government of the day.
The United Democratic Alliance is founded on the principles of individual
responsibility, private enterprise, strong families and reward for
individual effort. It is also founded on the principles of equal
citizenship, equal opportunity, compact government and caring communities.
These principles are the only sure path to a society of personal freedom and
rising standards of living for all.
We value honesty and fairness, hard work, respect for achievement and
integrity. These virtues underpin successful societies by reconciling the
dynamism of free enterprise and the freedom of expression we value in a
modern society, with the need for compassion, a sense of fair play and our
need to ensure safe communities for our children to grow up in.
We need to reinvigorate and transform our society if we are to create the
sort of country that will be attractive to our children and grandchildren, a
society that will allow them to meet their aspirations in Zimbabwe.
UDA ERA- Progressive and Productive Politics (New Politics)
•    Responsible & Accountable Servant Leadership
•    Tribal, Ethnic & Racial Harmony
•    Promote and Uphold a People Driven Constitution
•    Industrial Revolution with sound economic policies
•    Rule of law with an Independent Judiciary System
•    Restore Commercial Farming for a Productive Agricultural Sector
•    Non Partisan Civil Servants and Security Forces
•    Promote and Uphold freedom of the press and association
Submitted by W Chimbetete – UDA Interim Leader (http://udazimbabwe.com)

A letter from the diaspora

Friday October 29th 2010

In last week’s Letter from the diaspora I observed that Zanu PF was living
in the past. The National Chairman of Zanu PF, Simon Khaya Moyo, echoed that
view in his remark that “Zanu PF is a revolutionary party and will never
hand over to a non-revolutionary party.” And we all know that means the MDC.
Thirty years after Independence with the MDC snapping at his heels, Robert
Mugabe makes a unilateral declaration that elections will be held in 2011
following a Referendum on the new constitution, even though the consultative
process has been shambolic and is as yet incomplete.

Apart from the fact that Mugabe had not consulted with his MDC partners in
the Inclusive Government, he had not even told his own politburo. Confusion
all round as voices are raised within the former ruling party that the
country is not ready for elections, structures are not in place they argue.
Up steps Didymus Mutasa with the following reminder, “People forget that
when we came from the bush in 1980 we had no structures but we still won the
elections.” It seems to have escaped Mutasa’s notice that thirty years have
elapsed; times have changed and Zanu PF is no longer the ruling party.
Mutasa admits that the party has not met to discuss the issue of elections
“but” he adds, “if the president says we are going for elections next year,
so be it. Personally I am ready and will win anytime.” Such arrogant
self-belief is hardly justified by the disarray within the former ruling
party but it was Solomon Mujuru’s comment that more accurately reflects the
disillusion in the country at large with Zanu PF and Mugabe in particular.
“I think old age is catching up with the old man. Surely, how under the sun
can he call for elections he knows he will lose. It’s madness…if he loses he
will dump all of us and even destroy the party”

It is this last comment of Mujuru’s that best illustrates what has become
increasingly obvious about Robert Mugabe’s character over the years. It is
not the best interests of the country that motivates him; it is not the
welfare of the people of Zimbabwe that he cares about, it is not even the
survival of his party that most concerns Mugabe. He is motivated by one
over-riding concern and that is self-interest. He will use every tool he can
find to promote his own personal survival. If we are to believe reports in
the media, his CIO agents have told him categorically that he cannot win an
election, then why, as Mujuru asks, does he call for elections next year?
Perhaps, like all dictators, he has come to believe the myth perpetrated by
his followers that he is appointed by God to rule Zimbabwe for ever. The
fact that real power is no longer in Mugabe’s hands but in the hands of the
military as Roy Bennett pointed out last week, seems not to bother Mugabe at
all. On the contrary, he can use the army to maintain him in office until he
dies, just as they can use him to conceal the reality that Zimbabwe is being
run by a military junta. With their help, Zanu PF will fight an election
campaign marked by all the tricks we have come to associate with them:
bribery in the form of food for work programmes, traditional leaders
instructed not to support the opposition on pain of death, church leaders
flattered and bribed to support the former ruling party, youth organizations
trained in so-called ‘patriotism and loyalty’and above all through
widespread fear in the rural communities of what will happen to them if they
vote ‘the wrong way.’

The political environment is “poisoned with violence’ says Morgan Tsvangirai
as he calls for free, fair and credible elections, the removal of CIOs and
an updated electoral roll. With just eight month to go before possible
elections, there is very little chance those conditions can be met without
outside intervention. The SADC monitors will need to be in the country early
in the New Year if the election is to be fairly monitored and supervised. As
Karen Allen reported in a BBC piece on the situation in Zimbabwe, it is ‘a
gathering storm’ and in the middle of it an old man clings desperately to
power and fights to the last against the elements, intent on surviving while
all around him are lashed by the storm.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson.