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Negotiate exit plan for security chiefs before polls, CSOs tell Zimbabwe govt

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) More than 50 Zimbabwean civil society organisations on
Saturday called on the coalition government to urgently open negotiations
with the country’s security chiefs to ensure they do not interfere with
forthcoming referendum and elections set for 2011.

President Robert Mugabe has hinted on a possible “fast-tracking” of an
ongoing process to draft a new constitution which would be followed by a
referendum – possibly around March 2011 – on the new governance charter.

General elections would then follow around next July to choose a new
government to replace the coalition regime formed by Mugabe and former
opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara in 2009.

The CSOs, however, said on Saturday that political conditions in Zimbabwe
are not yet conducive to ensure the holding of free and fair polls and
demanded an amicable exit plan for the country’s security chiefs who have
vowed not to recognise any poll results in which Mugabe is defeated.

“Civic society organisations represented, therefore, demanded ... (that)
parties in the inclusive government look at the interests and fears of the
security chiefs and open negotiations with them with a view of making sure
that they do not interfere with the electoral process,” they said in a
statement.

Several top army generals and members of the police and intelligence
services have been fingered in the atrocities that accompanied Zimbabwe’s
chaotic decade-long land reform programme as well as political violence
during previous polls.

Zimbabwe witnessed some of the worst political violence in 2008 after a
parliamentary election that was won by Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) while the former opposition leader defeated Mugabe in a
parallel presidential election but with fewer votes to avoid a second round
poll.

In a bid to ensure Mugabe regained the upper hand in the second round vote,
militia allegedly aligned to his ZANU PF party and security agents unleashed
an orgy of violence and terror across the country, especially in rural areas
most of which became no-go zones for the opposition.

The MDC-T leader later withdrew because of the violence from the 27 June
2008 run-off poll which was won by Mugabe unopposed.

The CSOs demanded a “total end and denunciation of politically-related
violence” and urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to
ensure a non-violent, free and fair election that respects the will of the
people of Zimbabwe.

This follows a similar call by the MDC earlier this week for SADC to deploy
its election monitors at least six months before the polls.

JN/ad/APA
2010-10-30


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Battle over permitting sale of Zimbabwe diamonds turns nasty

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

GEOFFREY YORK
Johannesburg— From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 7:55PM EDT

The world’s attempt to control blood diamonds is teetering on the brink of
collapse as nations squabble over how to regulate the lucrative trade from
Zimbabwe’s violence-plagued diamond fields.

The sensational Zimbabwe diamond discovery – which could represent up to 25
per cent of the world’s supply of rough diamonds within two years – has
massive implications for the world’s diamond industry, in which Canada is
now one of the top producers.

Yet many experts consider that Zimbabwe’s gems are blood diamonds, the
product of brutal violence, since hundreds of people were killed or
assaulted when its military seized control of the diamond fields.

At a meeting in Jerusalem next week, diplomats and civil-society activists
will try to hammer out the conditions that Zimbabwe must accept if it wants
its diamonds to be certified as “conflict-free.” Representatives of Zimbabwe’s
autocratic president, Robert Mugabe, will fight for complete freedom to
export the diamonds, with support from countries such as India and China.

If no agreement is reached, it will further damage the credibility of the
Kimberley Process, the global certification scheme that aims to eliminate
blood diamonds. Canada was one of the main architects of the Kimberley
Process, and its diplomats and activists will be key players in the
Jerusalem meetings next week.

This could be a final chance for the seven-year-old Kimberley Process. If
its 75 member countries fail to settle the Zimbabwe question – and fail to
deal with the growing list of producers that smuggle diamonds to avoid the
certification scheme – the process could be doomed. Countries such as the
United States are already calling for a tougher new system, involving a
smaller core of nations with higher standards.

The Kimberley Process has banned Zimbabwe from exporting diamonds for most
of the past year, but it allowed the country to hold two auctions of its
diamonds in August and September. During the ban, Zimbabwe built up a
stockpile of 4.5 million carats of diamonds with an estimated value of
$1.7-billion – nearly equal to the government’s entire annual budget. More
than 1.2 million carats of diamonds were sold in the two auctions.

Now the question is whether Mr. Mugabe’s government will be permitted to
keep selling diamonds, despite widespread reports that its military has
killed more than 200 people since 2008 in the Marange diamond fields in
eastern Zimbabwe.

At the meetings in Jerusalem next week, the Mugabe government will be
strongly supported by India, where a diamond consortium has reportedly
signed a deal to purchase a guaranteed $100-million a month in rough
diamonds from Zimbabwe.

Activists and countries such as Canada will try to prevent the diamond
revenue from falling into the hands of Mr. Mugabe’s long-ruling political
party. Instead they have insisted that the money must flow into the national
treasury, where reformers in the coalition government have greater
influence. Yet it is widely known that millions of dollars worth of diamonds
have already been smuggled out of the Marange diamond fields, with none of
the money reaching the treasury.

Because of the smuggling and violence in Zimbabwe, some banks and diamond
traders have recently stopped dealing in diamonds from the Marange fields.
Those decisions have put further pressure on the Kimberley Process to take
action on Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe authorities also sparked controversy by arresting an activist,
Farai Maguwu, who was researching the diamond fields and providing
information to the Kimberley Process. He was charged with endangering
national security, but the charges were finally dropped last week.

The battle in Jerusalem over whether to permit Zimbabwe’s diamond sales will
be “very nasty,” said Alan Martin, research director at Partnership Africa
Canada, an Ottawa-based organization that has been campaigning against blood
diamonds.

Mr. Martin, who will be attending the Jerusalem meetings, noted that the
Kimberley Process is already under severe criticism for failing to prevent
the widespread smuggling of diamonds by Venezuela and several African
countries, along with rampant diamond-related violence in countries such as
Angola and Zimbabwe. If it fails to take action on these issues,
“potentially the whole system could collapse,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s allies insist that the Kimberley Process was set up to prevent
rebel armies from selling diamonds to finance their insurgencies, as
happened in Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia in the 1990s. Since the
Zimbabwe diamonds are not controlled by rebels, the country should be free
to export, they say.

But many countries such as Canada and the United States disagree, and
Zimbabwe was forced to allow the Kimberley Process to review and monitor its
diamond sector in exchange for the two auctions this year.

“If the Kimberley Process softens its stand on Zimbabwe, it will have turned
its back on its founding mandate – to cut out human-rights abuses in
diamond-producing zones and the use of diamond proceeds to fund conflict,
both of which are the case in Zimbabwe,” Mr. Martin said.

“Canada has a lot to lose if the KP drops the ball on this. It would sully
the entire diamond trade and shake consumer confidence in a system which
people believe was set up to end the trade in blood diamonds.”

The Jerusalem meetings are crucial because it is the final session before
the Democratic Republic of Congo becomes chair of the Kimberley Process next
year, replacing Israel, he said. Zimbabwe could gain greater influence when
Congo holds the chair. “You’re going to see African solidarity trumping
decency,” Mr. Martin said.

Ian Smillie, an Ottawa-based researcher who was instrumental in helping
create the Kimberley Process, quit the process last year to protest against
its ineffectiveness. He says Zimbabwe is just one of many examples of the
weakness of the certification scheme. “This is a vehicle with at least three
flat tires, pretending that it is going somewhere,” he said.

“The thought of a return to the chaos and bloodshed of the 1990s is
inconceivable. What may be required is a full-bore consumer campaign that
targets the governments blocking progress: Zimbabwe; Venezuela; but more
importantly their supporters and others who block meaningful progress in the
Kimberley Process.”


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More chaos at Copac consultation meetings in Harare

Saturday, 30 October 2010

An MDC supporter, Jonsaya Manyere is battling for his life at the Avenues clinic after he was assaulted before being stabbed in the head by a group of Zanu PF hooligans at a COPAC consultative meeting in Harare South constituency whilst three MDC officials have been arrested and are currently detained at Waterfalls police Station.

The three, Eric Murai, the provincial youth Assembly vice Secretary, Diana Nyikadzino, the MDC Harare provincial Administrator, and the Harare provincial Driver, Phineas Nhatarikwa, who were arrested after they had given their contribution during the consultative meeting at St John’s retreat, are detained at Waterfalls police station under unclear charges.

The violence erupted after Ms Nyikadzino protested against a team leader, Wonder Chinamhora of the Mutambara faction, who was deliberately selecting Zanu PF supporters only to make contributions during the consultations.

Reports received are that two other, yet to be identified men were abducted soon after the Copac team left the venue. Details on these men are yet to be established.

Similar reports were received from Chitungwiza at Tadzikamidzi primary school where Zanu PF thugs chased away MDC supporters from the consultation venue.

What continues to baffle the mind is the continued tendency by Zanu PF to employ violence wherever they feel defeated.

Such tendencies are tantamount to declaring a war unto the citizens of this country.

The drafting of the constitution is a vital stage in creating a framework for the establishment of the nation’s supreme law, however, the kind of behavior exuded by Zanu PF only shows how determined they are to destroy the rule of law.

Only three weeks ago, the same meetings were disrupted by Zanu PF after they bussed their militia from the rural and communal areas, assaulting legitimate contributors and intimidating others. And today, they decided once again to show their violent selves.

Whilst it had been agreed that security would be beefed up during the consultative meetings, the police failed to control the rowdy Zanu PF youth, at some time being totally helpless. In film style, a number of youth militia who were allegedly dressed in police regalia were directing targeted MDC activist towards a Zanu PF ambush whilst blocking all other exit points at St John’s retreat in Harare South constituency.

 
Together, united, winning, ready for real change!!

--
MDC Information & Publicity Department
Harvest House
44 Nelson Mandela Ave
Harare
Zimbabwe
Tel: 00263 4 793 250


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High turnout at Copac meetings

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Guthrie Munyuki
Saturday, 30 October 2010 17:12

HARARE - Zanu PF supporters in Chitungwiza failed in their bid to disrupt
the constitutional outreach meetings which resumed in Harare and the
dormitory town on Saturday amidst a high turnout and a peaceful environment.

At Tadzika Midzi primary school, Zengeza 5, Zanu PF supporters chased away
MDC supporters in the morning and barred the meetings until members of
Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (Copac) arrived.

They chanted slogans and sung liberation songs before they were ordered off
by Copac officers  who, to their credit, made headway in having people who
had been turned away, participate in the gathering of views.

Later, there was a huge turnout, which might have scared off the Zanu PF
supporters who declared that the late spirit medium Chaminuka was the owner
of the constituency and therefore, their party should lead proceedings.

“Chaminuka did not have a Zanu PF card. He was a Zimbabwean who did not
belong to Zanu PF so you have no business making your silly demands, “came
the reply from the MDC supporters who had swollen just before the meetings
resumed.

The near fiasco in Zengeza  could have been an isolated incident as in some
areas such as Glen View, Highfield, Glen Norah, Hopley and Hatfield, huge
crowds turned out in full force to air their views which ranged from
Presidential term of office to electoral laws.

Copac co-chairman Paul Mangwana told the Daily News that the higher turnout
and peaceful environment was a sign that the political parties had hammered
home their instructions.

Said Mangwana: “We told the political leaders that we don’t want violence
and that the constitution is for all. There are no winners and lose in the
constitution-making process.

“Basically, the three parties have delivered the message to their supporters
and this is why today we are seeing people expressing their views freely.”

He said the previous aborted meetings were like a contest of the political
parties as seen by violence which rocked Mbare, Epworth and Chitungwiza.

“It is clear that today there is no contest.  The people have received the
message and unlike the regrettable incidents, we are yet to witness or
receive reports of violence. It’s a peaceful atmosphere because people have
realised it’s all about Zimbabwe not individuals or political parties,” said
Mangwana.

He dismissed allegations that some people were bused, especially in Harare
South, where an estimated 500 people attended the meeting in Hopley, once a
farming area donated to Zanu PF loyalists who divided it into housing stands
before the 2008 elections.

Copac held 36 meetings on Saturday and will conclude the outreach programme
with the final 20 slated for Sunday, including in Mbare where an MDC
supporter died from injuries sustained in disturbances that occurred at Mai
Musodzi Hall on September 19.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have repeatedly
said the country will hold elections in 2011 after the completion of the
constitution-making process.

A referendum  could be held in June  next year to pave way for a new
constitution which will set the tone of elections which have drawn mixed
signals from key institutions.

Civic society groups maintain that the political environment is poisoned
with violence and intimidation and does not bode well for strengthening
democratic institutions through the impending plebiscite.

The business community which was ravaged by the economic meltdown of 2008
and previous years fear an immediate election could drive away prospective
investors and negate the gains made so far by the inclusive government.

Both the World Bank and the IMF have predicted that Zimbabwe will record a
6% growth in 2011.

Sadc, in its last summit, urged the Zimbabwean leadership to complete the
constitution-making process and set timeline for elections.

The current constitution which has been amended 19 times in 31 years is
blamed for entrenching Mugabe’s rule which was unflappable before the
emergency of the MDC as a strong movement opposing his governance style.


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Ratepayers want Chombo’s powers clipped

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Gift Phiri
Saturday, 30 October 2010 12:34

HARARE – Ratepayers from Harare, Chitungwiza and Norton want Local
Government Minister Ignatius Chombo's wide-ranging powers clipped and more
authority given to elected councillors and residents, according to
Parliament’s portfolio committee on local government. (Pictured: Ignatius
Chombo)
Bikita East legislator Kenneth Matimba, who chairs the committee, said
residents told the committee during public hearings that the immense powers
granted Chombo under the Urban Councils Act were hampering effective
administration of cities and towns with the minister often disregarding the
wishes of residents or their elected representatives.
"Many residents lamented that the Urban Councils’ Act (UCA) was a draconian
piece of legislation which hampered effective and efficient development of
local authorities," Matimba told the House on Thursday. He added: "They
recommended the amendment of some sections of the Act, particularly those
that gave too much power to the Minister of Local Government and disregarded
council committees. It was alleged that Sections 88 and 122 indicated that
the Act had no regard for the residents associations.”
Matimba also told Parliament that inquiries by his committee revealed gross
incompetence and dereliction of duty in the three local authorities. He said
in his report to Parliament that there was, "total laxity and gross
negligence by the councils executive; voluntary disregard and disrespect of
the council by-laws by private developers who pursued  self-aggrandisement
at the expense of residents.”
The Zimbabwean on Sunday understands the MDC is mulling assigning one of its
legislators to table a private members bill proposing an overhaul of the UCA
to whittle down the local government minister’s powers and ensure local
authorities are answerable to ratepayers. The UCA empowers Chombo to fire
local councils for gross incompetence or misconduct and appoint commissions
in their place.
The provision has allowed Chombo to exercise near total control of Zimbabwe’s
urban councils including those run by MDC mayors. Chombo has not hesitated
to fire elected councils that are not aligned to his Zanu (PF) party and
replacing them with commissions packed by his allies.


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Rule of law still lacks in Zim: civil society

http://news.radiovop.com/

30/10/2010 09:02:00

Harare, October 29, 2010 – A group of civil society organizations which is
monitoring the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which
brought the unity government has said the government has failed to improve
the respect for the rule of law by police and the office of the Attorney
General.

In a 54 page report to outline compliance and non- compliance by the unity
government in the last 6 months, Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism (CISOMM)
said there have been no respect for the rule of law while draconian laws
like the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) are still in place.
The report accused President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF as being complicit in
failing to respect the rule of law while the army and state security
institutions have been used by the party to disrupt the constitutional
making process.
“There has been no improvement in respect for the rule of law. In fact, the
law is being used to persecute individuals on behalf of Zanu PF, through the
office of the Attorney General,” Cisomm said.
“Independence of the Bench remains a distant dream. Furthermore, there is a
failure on behalf of law enforcement agencies to correctly and impartially
implement judgments or law.”
“POSA is still being used by the police to curtail freedom of association,
expression and movement. Unlawful arrests and detentions of human rights
defenders have continued, with the intention of frightening people into
silence or to cease their activities,” Cisomm said.
Civil society organizations said ‘coercion’ by Zanu PF has mainly been
prevalent in rural areas where soldiers and war veterans teamed up to
intimidate people to not to contribute in the constitutional making process.
“Zanu PF sponsored coercion has escalated in the rural areas in a bid to
curtail the expression of opinions in the upcoming constitutional outreach.
The abuses are mainly being perpetrated by soldiers, youth militias, war
veterans and some village headmen,” Cisomm said.
“Political violence and intolerance resurged in advance of the
constitutional making outreach. Military and quasi-military agents were
deployed to threaten and intimidate citizens.”
The report said state media is still being used by Zanu PF to peddle lies
and hate language as well as to be partisan to the party.
Despite the government having a monitoring body called the Joint Monitoring
and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), Cisomm said they had to form a
parallel monitoring body as they anticipated the ‘compromises’ that will
befall JOMIC.
“CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) realized the compromises that can befall
this body, hence the decision to set up an independent monitoring
 mechanism,” Cisomm said.
JOMIC which is made up of 12 senior members of the three political parties
who are signatories to the GPA. The body has failed to ensure that
government implement all the reforms that were agreed in the GPA.
The unity government of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been
facing  in the last tensions weeks after the latter complained that Mugabe
unilaterally appointed ambassadors and provincial governors without
consulting him.
Mugabe has rubbished the accusations saying according to the constitution he
is entitled to make the appointments.
Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic (MDC) have been denied to hold
meetings by police several times in the past two weeks while Mugabe has been
having


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Tsvangirai says Matebeleland water project to be implemented

http://news.radiovop.com

30/10/2010 08:58:00

Bulawayo, October 29,2010—Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday said
the inclusive government will make sure the National Matabeleland Zambezi
Water Project (NMZWP) which has been on the cards for decades get full
implemented as soon as possible.

Bulawayo, October 29,2010—Prime Minister  Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday said
the inclusive government will make sure the  National  Matabeleland  Zambezi
Water Project (NMZWP)  which has been on the  cards  for decades  get  full
implemented  as soon as possible.
NMZWP is a project seeks to end the perennial water shortages bedeviling
Bulawayo by constructing a 500km pipe line to bring water from the mighty
Zambezi River to the city. The  project  was   mooted  in 1912  by the
colonial  government  but  it  has  been failing to take  off   due
unavailability  of  funds.
Addressing delegates at NMZWP stakeholders’ conference organized by
Ministry of Water Resources in Bulawayo on Friday, Tsvangirai said the
inclusive government has already put all necessary measures  for the full
implementation of the project.
“We have now moved from theory  to practice, the inclusive government which
I lead will  make sure NMZWP get full implemented as soon as possible .This
project  doesn’t  belong to any  political party  but  its  for  the  people
of Matabeleland  and  should  benefit  the region.
“It  is  the duty  of  the  government  to  implement  the  project  and
bring water   to  Bulawayo  and  Matebeleland, ”said Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai also said  some political  leaders  have been  trying to seek
support   from  people  in  Matebeleland  using  the  NMZWP project.
In January this year the Minister of Water and Infrastructure Development,
Samuel Sipepa- Nkomo announced the  inclusive government’s takeover of the
Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, which has been renamed National
Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP).
Nkomo said he was merely implementing a 1 December 2009 cabinet decision to
wrestle the project from Matebeleland Zambezi Water Trust to speed up its
completion.


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Zanu hawks plot to jail Biti

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Saturday, 30 October 2010 12:21

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s security forces are cooking up criminal charges –
possibly of a financial nature – against Finance Minister Tendai Biti as
part of a campaign to distract Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T
ahead of polls set for next year, a leading London-based political
think-tank has warned. (Pictured: Tendai Biti – The plan is to bring charges
of financial embezzlement or misappropriation against him)
Biti is the MDC-T’s secretary general and widely seen as one of the former
opposition party’s chief strategists. The combative finance minister is also
among MDC-T cadres seen a potential leaders of the party should Tsvangirai
one day step down from his position as president.
Africa Confidential said last week that the dreaded Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) and the police were baying for Biti’s blood as part of an
elaborate plan by Zanu (PF) hawks to discredit and sidestep the MDC-T and
distract the former opposition party during campaigning for elections
tentatively set for 2011.
“There are already rumours that the security forces’ dirty tricks
departments are beavering away to bring criminal charges – possibly of a
financial nature – against him,” the think-tank said in its latest report.
The plan is to bring charges of financial embezzlement or misappropriation
against Biti and incarcerate the MDC-T’s virtual second-in-command without
trial for a long time and then release him towards the elections.
“As Tsvangirai’s treason trial showed, the charges do not have to be
believable; their mere existence distracts attention and detracts from the
political effectiveness of the accused,” observed Africa Confidential.
Tsvangirai was cleared of an attempt to assassinate President Robert Mugabe
by High Court judge Paddington Garwe in 2006 following a sensational
three-year-long treason trial that attracted world attention.
In his judgement, Garwe ruled that the State had failed to prove its case
beyond reasonable doubt the allegations against Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai, on
trial for his life for high treason, had always rejected a conspiracy to
assassinate Mugabe or stage a putsch. The prosecution had based its case on
evidence from a grainy videotape of a meeting between Tsvangirai and
Canadian political consultant Ari Ben Menashe, who became the state's key
witness.
Tsvangirai’s lawyers dismissed the videotape, saying it was inaudible and
that the state had failed to produce the original.
With elections expected in less than a year, the Zanu (PF) machinery is
working at full throttle to position the former ruling party for a comeback
after the sensational defeat at the hands of the MDC-T in the last polls
held in 2008.
It is alleged that intelligence officers have been assigned to monitor the
activities of the MDC-T top brass, particularly Biti and Tsvangirai. The
ultimate goal is to ensure that targets are destroyed as a credible
political force.


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Manicaland Chiefs Accusse Mutasa Of Frustrating ZANU(PF) Members

http://news.radiovop.com/

30/10/2010 16:25:00

MUTARE, October 30, 2010 – Presidential Affairs Minister and one of ZANU(PF)
political heavyweights Didymus Mutasa has incurred the wrath of traditional
chiefs in Manicaland accussing him of destroying the party in the province.

Traditional leaders who spoke during a meeting with heads of security at an
army barrack in Mutare said Mutasa was responsible for ZANU(PF),s downfall
in Manicaland Province. Mutasa one of President Robert Mugabe,s trusted
right hand men was present during the meeting held at Three Brigade last
week.
The chiefs told the meeting that Mutasa,s leadership style was responsible
for the party,s declining fortunes and has contributed to its bad
performance in previous elections.The meeting was called to map out
strategies for elections likely to
be held next year.
The traditional leaders said the MDC-T swept all the seats in the province
during the last poll largely because of Mutasa’s poor leadership style.
“I think we are all aware that ZANU(PF) used to be very strong in Manicaland
but look at what is happening now,” said Headman Chingosho, from Chief
Chipunza’s area in Rusape.

“The leadership of the party is contributing towards its demise. Among the
contributors is Mutasa.This politician has a habit of handpicking candidates
which has demoralized the electorate,” said the chief.  The angry
traditional leaders also accussed Mutasa of misleading the President about
the situation in the province.

“ Our President’s name has been abused by people who want to further their
political ambitions and this should come to an end,” added Headman
Chingosho.
Another traditional leader, Acting Chief Musikavanhu echoed similar
sentiments.He said there were some people who behaved as if they owned the
party.That kind of attitude has frustrated many party faithfulls.
Chief Chiduku also took a swipe at Mugabe,s trusted disciple in Manicaland
saying the powerful politician had usurped their powers and was throwing his
weight all over.
The commander of 3 Brigade, Brigadier- General Douglas Nyikayaramba who was
present at the meeting said the issues raised by traditional leaders should
be taken seriously.Also present were representatives from the secret
service, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).


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Covering up corruption at schools

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Tapiwa Zivira
Saturday, 30 October 2010 13:13

Outspoken teachers transferred: PTUZ

All it took was a letter from the ministry of education one afternoon in
December last year, for life for Ethel Tami, a former teacher at Sanyati
government primary school, to turn into - to use her own words - total
chaos. (Pictured: A teacher with his class)
The letter was an instruction ordering Tami and five of her colleagues at
Sanyati to vacate the school within four weeks because it was overstaffed,
and relocate to another school in Kadoma town, more than 100 km away. Being
transferred from a school in a rural area to one in an urban area is an
opportunity most teachers would, as the cliché goes, grab with both hands.
However for Tami and her colleagues the suddenness of the move from a place
they had called home for so many years, the struggle to find new
accommodation in Kadoma and schools for their children turned what would
have been a dream transfer into a nightmarish eviction whose legality they
are now challenging with assistance from the Progressive Teacher’s Union for
Zimbabwe (PTUZ).

Corrupt headmaster
But the case of Tami and her colleagues with allegedly corrupt headmasters
using their powers to recommend teachers for transfer to cause such teachers
to be virtually expelled from schools without proper procedures being
followed and for the flimsiest of reasons.
For example the PTUZ told The Zimbabwean on Sunday that its Harare office
alone has over the past six months handled more than 10 cases per month of
‘arbitrary and unprocedural transfers’. The militant union said the chief
cause of the rise in the cases of arbitrary teacher transfers are some
corrupt headmasters of abusing their right to recommend teacher transfers by
punishing any teachers who attempt to expose corrupt activities.
The union said allowances paid by parents as an extra incentive for teachers
were a chief cause of transfer disputes at schools. School authorities
administer the allowances and many headmasters have been accused of abusing
money raised through the allowances. Many of those accused of mismanaging or
stealing the allowance money have responded by recommending to the ministry
of education the removal from the schools of teachers seen as too outspoken
over administration of the funds. “It is those teachers who attempt to
expose this corruption that face immediate transfers initiated by
headmasters who want to keep the corrupt activities under the lid,” said
PTUZ national coordinator Oswald Madziva.
According to the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture regulations
governing transfers, a teacher must be given 90 days notice before he/she is
moved from one school to another. The government is also expected to meet
the costs of transfer in cases like that of Tumi and her colleagues where
the ministry initiates the transfer. But Madziva said teachers have in many
cases been given as little as a month or less to leave a school for another.

Negative impact
The cash-strapped government has also not paid transfer costs, resulting in
teachers having to either sell their property or fork out from their paltry
salaries to cover the costs of moving to a new school they are posted to –
and leaving the PTUZ to fight to force the education ministry to live up to
its obligations.
“The Ministry has not been meeting any of the expenses of the relocating
teachers and the issue speaks of the high levels of insecurity within the
teaching fraternity as teachers are now living in fear of being abused by
their superiors and being transferred at the end of it all” said Madziva.
“You can imagine the teacher having to struggle to finance her transfer on
their paltry salary. Relocating has a lot of implications, schoolchildren
have to move and life has to take a completely new twist and this needs
proper preparation,” he added.
Madziva said the negative impact of an immediate transfer did not affect the
individual teacher only, but also his/her classes. “You can imagine a
teacher being moved midterm, before finishing a syllabus with his/ her
class, that obviously affects the flow of lessons,” he said. Contacted for
comment on the matter, Education Minister David Coltart said his ministry
was not aware of such cases of forced or unprocedural transfer of teachers.
He said: “We have not received any formal report but speaking of the
transfers, they are done through the permanent secretary’s office and it is
of course subject to positions being available and general policy
considerations.”


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Zimbabwe Gold Ranking Declines

http://news.radiovop.com/

30/10/2010 14:58:00

HARARE, October 30,2010 –Zimbabwe,s gold mining industry, once the third
biggest in Africa in the late 90s has dropped in its rankings, according to
a secret report by world famous Fraser and Fraser International from Canada.

The report was released last week to local and international investors.The
revelation comes at a time when the gold producer price has reached an all
time high of a staggering USD$1 800 a tonne of gold.
"Zimbabwe is now ranked number 69 out of 72 countries studied," the report
revealed. "It ranks above Afghanistan and Tobago."
Zimbabwe will this year only produce a paltry one tonne of gold from a
record 27 tonnes in 1997, the report added.
The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CMZ) has confirmed this revelation.
"This is the worst performance since the economic meltdown began in about
2007," the report said. "Gold production in Zimbabwe has reached alarmingly
low levels and will suffer especially now that mines were closed for
business."
The Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Tapiwa Mashakada
described the poor showing as "very tragic indeeed".

"This is very poor and we need to go up the ladder again as happened in the
1990s," he said in Harare.
"Gold production must improve if we are to become an economic powerhouse
again in Africa."
The secret report was compiled in Canada by Fraser and Fraser International
Limited which is among the top media houses analysing economies worldwide.
It will be made available to local and international mining investors.
The gold mining industry in the country was on the verge of total collapse
before the formation of the inclusive government in 2008.


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Tsholotsho swine flu nightmare

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Saturday, 30 October 2010 12:44

HARARE – More than 2 000 suspected cases of the Influenza A (H1N1) or swine
flu virus have been reported in Tsholotsho district but officials have to
contend with more than just a deadly outbreak – they face the difficult task
of breaking deep-seated superstitions and overcoming administrative hurdles.
At least one person has died since the outbreak, which has affected mostly
children, was first detected last month. Health workers fighting the
outbreak are however meeting unusual resistance from villagers who believe
the virus is caused by
witchcraft and are refusing to get treatment.
The outbreak has even affected the conduct of the 2010 final school
examinations. Education officials in the area have been forced to introduce
“quarantined exam classes” for infected school children. In one school, more
than 95 percent of the children are believed to be infected by the H1N1
virus. A previous swine flu outbreak claimed more than 40 lives in 2009 and
affected more than 300 people.
The flu that alarmed the world when the first cases were detected in Mexico
in April 2009 before quickly spreading to other parts of the world has
claimed hundreds of lives to date. Zimbabwe recorded its first confirmed
cases of swine flu August 2009 at a school in east of the country.
Quick action by the then newly formed unity government of President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the University of Zimbabwe and
the World Health Organisation (WHO) helped prevent a major epidemic in
country.


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Magistrate to make a ruling on Mwonzora case

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Sidney Saize
Saturday, 30 October 2010 17:33

MUTARE - Lawyers representing Nyanga North Member of Parliament, Douglas
Mwonzora on Friday made an application to have his case referred and be
heard at the Supreme Court on whether his constitutional right to freedom of
expression is not being violated.

Mwonzora stands accused of insulting and undermining the authority of
President Robert Mugabe while at a political rally at Ruwangwe in March
2008, when he said referred to him as a “goblin”.

The legislator faces another count of undermining the authority of the
police.

Mutare provincial magistrate, Lucy-Anne Mungwari is expected to make a
ruling on November 15 on the merits of the application from Mwonzora’s
lawyers.

Johannes Zviuya and Blessing Nyamaropa who represented the MP argued that
prosecuting Mwonzora under Section 33 of the constitution for allegedly
insulting president Mugabe was infringing on his right to freedom of
expression and political right.

Zviuya said the section of the law was meant to deny political opponents
from criticizing political opponents and in this case President Mugabe and
his Zanu PF party.

He said they wanted the Supreme Court sitting as a Constitutional Court to
decide whether or not Mwonzora’s rights were not being violated.

“Mugabe being the First Secretary of Zanu PF was being criticized as such
and not as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” argued Zviuya.

He said Mugabe has the penchant of ridiculing other political opponents at
his rallies and the same should go for him.

“It was not uncommon for Mugabe to criticize and insult other political
opponents at Zanu PF rallies as well in a bid to woo supporters, he has done
that on many occasions and political leaders have to live with criticism,”
said Zviuya in his submission of the application.

But state prosecutor Mike Tembo argued that the application was frivolous
and vexatious in that the particular statement did not amount to criticism,
but “an unnecessary insult to the person of the President of the Republic of
Zimbabwe.”

“The section is not vague, wide or broad. It is clear and meant to stop
ridiculing, insulting on the person of the President and his office. In no
way are votes won by insulting others and neither are his rights advanced by
the utterance,” said Tembo.

He said the utterances did not amount to an opinion or idea but, “only
amounted to hitting a person below the belt”.

Tembo argued that while an individual is entitled to his rights, such rights
should not infringe on the other person’s rights as well and in this regard
the dignity and authority of the incumbent President.

It is alleged that on the first count Mwonzora said:"President Mugabe
Chikwambo uye achamhanya…Ndaona Mugabe achigeza, tauro muchiuno, sipo
muhapwa,uye ndebvu hwapepe. Pamberi neMDC; Pasi nechihurumende chembavha
chinosunga vanhu vasina mhosva chichitora zvinhu zvavo.”

Literally, it means “President Mugabe is a goblin and will run…I saw Mugabe
bathing, towel on his waist, soap under his armpit and big beard. Forward
with MDC and down with a bad government of thieves which arrests innocent
people taking away their property.

Mwonzora, who is also COPAC’s select committee chairperson in September
refused to be served with summon papers instructing him to appear in court
on September 6, to answer allegations he insulted Mugabe on March 21 last
year at an MDC-T rally.

After turning away the police detective, a second warrant of arrest being
served on his but was later cancelled after the intervention of his lawyers.

He is alleged to have on 22 August turned away detective assistant Felix
Collen Mawonedze, from Nyanga police station, who had been assigned to serve
him with notice papers.

Mwonzora is alleged to have told Mawonedze that he was busy with the COPAC
outreach programme and therefore, would not be bothered to attend to the
matter.

Mawonedze’s affidavit papers at the Mutare Magistrates’ court state that he
approached Mwonzora at Nyamhuka business centre in Nyanga while the accused
was in his vehicle.

Mawonedze alleges that he advised Mwonzora of his intention to serve him
with court papers instructing him to appear in court on September 6, 2010.

“In response Mwonzora said I could not serve him for the given date because
he would be performing the COPAC duties and that there was nothing to hurry
about as the case is not criminal and instead it is a political one,” reads
part of the affidavit written by Mawonedze.

In addition Mawonedze, in his affidavit says of Mwonzora; “He went on to say
that the court date could be set in the month of December 2010 and he was
going to phone the chief law officer Michael Mugabe to air his suggestion.”

On the second count of undermining the police authority, Mwonzora is alleged
to have said, “Down with a government of thieves and forward with the MDC."
He is also alleged to have accused the police of being used by Zanu PF to
intimidate and harass people in rural areas to force them to vote for Zanu
PF.

He is alleged to have stated that he is not afraid of police constables
trained at the Border Gezi training institute. Mwonzora also referred to the
Border Gezi trained police officers as recent recruits who are now
benefitting from the largesse of Zanu PF and can afford to buy basic goods
like beef for their families. He is alleged to have said the police officers
don’t know that Morgan Tsvangirai got R1million from South Africa for them.

For the two charges against Mwonzora, the state alleges utterances by the
legislator were unlawful, false and had the risk and possibility of causing
hostility towards or cause hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President in
person of the President’s office.

The state further says on the second count Mwonzora intended engendering
feelings of hostility towards the member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police to
contempt, ridicule or disesteem.


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Chinamasa charges at Gutu over Mawere issue

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

29 October, 2010 11:33:00    OWEN GAGARE | HARARE

A seething Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa allegedly charged at his
shocked deputy Obert Gutu at their government offices in Harare on Friday in
a heated verbal altercation over the Mutumwa Mawere saga.

Chinamasa summoned Gutu to his office and, according to sources who
witnessed the incident, only fell short of slapping him in the face, in an
incident that is said to have attracted a little crowd in the New Government
Complex corridors on Friday morning.

Chinamasa allegedly gave Gutu what observers said was an unministerial
tongue-lashing as he menacingly advanced towards the bemused lawyer, who
reportedly managed to keep his cool.

The incident temporarily brought business at the offices to a halt.

Chinamasa was reportedly angry that Gutu had attacked him in the media over
a press statement he released last weekend which poured cold water on Mawere’s
bid to reclaim his vast business empire, SMM Holdings.

Gutu distanced himself from the statement and said it did not represent the
ministry’s position.

He was also reportedly angry that Gutu had spoken to Afaras Gwaradzimba, the
administrator of Mawere’s SMM Holdings.

Chinamasa, sources said, interpreted Gutu’s actions as tantamount to
investigating him.

“Chinamasa was boiling with anger; he was seething, frothing at the mouth.

He was shouting at the top of his voice, like a man possessed, while
advancing at Gutu, who appeared shell-shocked.

He kept asking Gutu what his motive was and what he was trying to achieve,”
said a source.

“He later ordered him out of the office without giving him a chance to
respond.”

Gutu refused to comment over the matter on Friday while more than a dozen
attempts to call Chinamasa were fruitless as the minister’s mobile went
unanswered.

Gutu said: “I cannot comment on the matter. I have no comment.”

Gwaradzimba confirmed speaking to Gutu over the SMM saga but refused to say
what the discussion was about.

Chinamasa has received scathing criticism for his failure to follow the
trail of misrepresentations which led to his reportedly ill-advised and
unconstitutional decision to place SMM under reconstruction.

The reconstruction order was issued in terms of Section 4 of the
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Reconstruction of the
state-indebted and solvent companies regulation.

The two acts under which Mawere was being charged, the Prevention of
Corruption Act and the Reconstruction Act were now under the jurisdiction of
the Home Affairs ministry and Ministry of Finance respectively.

The clash followed revelations in NewsDay last week that the judgment used
to grab Mawere’s empire could have been fraudulently obtained due to
misrepresentation of facts as SMM Holdings’ liabilities at the time did not
qualify as state loans to the company. - News Day


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COSATU urges fight against Zim tyranny

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by Christian Ncube
Saturday, 30 October 2010 12:59

JOHANNESBURG – Top South African labour leader Zwelinzima Vavi has urged
civil society groups in Africa to mobilise forces to fight tyranny on the
continent including in Zimbabwe.
Vavi, the secretary general of the powerful Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU), told a meeting of civil society organisations in
Johannesburg last Thursday that Africa could never triumph over poverty and
underdevelopment as long as dictators continued to have free rein on the
continent. He said: “We need to address the massive challenges of
underdevelopment in the continent. Africa cannot succeed in developing its
economies and transforming the lives of our people while it is still ravaged
by poverty.
“Let us defeat the tyrants in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Sudan and elsewhere whose
refusal to vacate their positions and allow democracy means that can be no
hope of Africa ever rising to ensure a coordinated effort to defeat under
development.”
COSATU has led criticism against President Robert Mugabe’s controversial
rule and in one of several actions against the Zimbabwean leader in 2008
blocked a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe from offloading its
cargo at a South African port saying Mugabe could use the arms against
opponents.
The union, which is part of South Africa’s ruling tripartite that is led by
the ANC and includes the South African Communist Party, has regularly
criticized the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for its kid
gloves approach towards Mugabe.


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Cambridge University Press Donates 100,000 Books to Schools in sub-Saharan Africa

http://news.yahoo.com/

PRWeb

– Fri Oct 29, 8:00 pm ET

Cambridge University Press is sending thousands of primary school books to
12 African countries in partnership with Book Aid International, to provide
school books to some of the world’s most deprived areas.

(PRWEB) October 29, 2010

School libraries in Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia,
Somalia (Puntland, Somaliland), Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
will each receive 50-100 copies of each book donated, ensuring that whole
classrooms of school children will be able to learn from them.

The books are unused and in perfect condition, but are not currently part of
the UK curriculum.

Clive Nettleton, Director of Book Aid International, said: “We are
absolutely delighted with this donation from Cambridge. At Book Aid
International, we partner with local organisations and schools to promote
learning, the creation of literate environments and community development.
We focus on sub-Saharan Africa, because it is the poorest region in the
world, where only a very small minority can afford to buy books, and
libraries are for most people the only place they can gain access to good
quality information. This generous donation is going to help improve access
to educational materials for literally thousands of children all over
Africa.”

Andrew Gilfillan, Managing Director of Europe, Middle East, and Africa at
Cambridge University Press, said: “Our mission as an organisation is to
advance learning, knowledge and research all over the world. We know that
education changes lives and we believe that part of our mission is to make
sure that everyone, no matter where they are from in the world, has the
chance to access educational materials of the highest quality.”

Book Aid International supports some of the most unusual and accessible
library services in the world, from traditional bricks and mortar libraries
right through to mobile services on bicycles, motorcycles, lorries, donkeys
and even camels! They send a total of around half a million books to
sub-Saharan Africa and the Occupied Palestinian Territories every year, and
have provided 30 million books to the developing world since they began.

Cambridge University Press has supported Book Aid International for a number
of years, but this is the largest single donation to date. The first
consignment is going out this week and will be sent in 3-tonne weekly
shipments.


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Retention of EU targeted sanctions - a very progressive move


By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London

It would be uncharitable not to applaud the European Union (EU) for deciding
to retain the visa and financial sanctions against Robert Mugabe and his 200
listed cronies. Without sanctions, it could be a blood bath in Zimbabwe.
Considering the fact that Zanu-pf had mobilised and co-ordinated a major
international offensive against the travel bans spearheaded by Mugabe’s
admirer and comrade in arms, Jacob Zuma leader of the African National
Congress of South Africa, it was a great relief to learn that the EU had
decided to keep the restrictions in place.

Suggestions by some writers that there is treachery or a conspiracy in
calling for targeted sanctions only betrays their limited grasp of the
sanctity of democratic values which are daily trampled upon by Robert Mugabe
as victims of politically-motivated violence are arrested while the
perpetrators are given police protection. It might not be their fault that
they don’t view good political governance with an uncontaminated perspective
because they have been brainwashed by jingles and Zanu-pf’s  redundant
anti-colonialism rhetoric. To some people, political murders and
disappearances like that of the Gokwe7 don’t seem to matter as long as they
have or are related to someone with a seized farm where nothing of value is
taking place except weekend braais and congratulating each other over looted
property while the country is staring famine in the face.

The European Union’s and various western countries have democratic and
social values as well as fundamental rights which inspire those opposed to
Mugabe’s dictatorship. These can be summed-up as political values and rights
such as equality and non-discrimination based on colour, beliefs, religion,
sexuality and gender. Peaceful democratic change of government and
constitutionalism, the rule of law, free speech, free press, justice and the
separation of powers are some of the values. Respect for human rights such
the right to life, to education, to negotiate and conclude collective
bargaining agreements and so on are also enshrined. Of course there is no
paradise on earth, but the EU and indeed Western countries continue to
support Zimbabweans by giving humanitarian assistance through
non-governmental organisations a move which irks Mugabe.

The decision by the EU not to be swayed by Jacob Zuma and Zanu-pf’s
lobbyists is laudable and politically significant given Mugabe’s high hopes
which were based on false premises of redundant colonial rhetoric. It is
ironic that some SADC leaders invested so much faith in one of theirs who is
adversely affecting their countries with an influx of refugees but would
like him to be rewarded with visas to conduct yet more ‘voyages of discovery’
like Vasco da Gama.

Mugabe’s fear of regime change which is a euphemism for general elections is
understandable but indefensible. It is understandable because he has amassed
a lot of wealth from his farms and diamonds and has young children. He has
not known of any job other than politics since he left teaching in Ghana in
the 1960s. Mugabe has been a prime minister and a president enjoying free
food, accommodation, air travel and transport for the past 30 years. Few
people would do without such luxury. As a result the rule of law has been
replaced by Zanu-pf law which puts his regime at a collision course with the
EU. However Mugabe’s fear of regime change is indefensible, because the
country’s constitution provides for change of government, although he has
ensured that does not happen peacefully in his lifetime. Again, his and the
EU’s paths cross on the issues of stolen elections, violence and rights
abuses.

Contrary to claims by his sympathisers that the “smart sanctions are not
smart enough” the EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell Ariccia clarified that
“if the measures are not hurting the people on the list, there would have
been less campaigns for their removal” (Zimonline, 28/10/10). Precisely.

What Mugabe does not want the people to know is that targeted sanctions are
not aimed at ordinary people like the chiefs and headmen who this week fell
victim to his anti-western rhetoric. The sanctions include a ban on weapon
sales to the southern African country, something beyond a rural chief’s
sphere of influence. Also Mugabe does not want people to know that other
countries are being well run and progressing while Zimbabwe stalls or goes
down the drain because of corruption, repression and paranoia about white
farmers.

In order to ensure the “masses” do not get alternative news and information,
the Central Intelligence Organisation and police are reportedly seizing
donated portable radio sets from villagers in Murehwa’s Chitowa District a
move that was started in Gweru where 862 radios were confiscated. Earlier
on, there was Operation Dzikisai Madhishi (Bring down satellite dishes).

As long as people are abducted, raped, abused, harassed, terrorised,
tortured or  murdered for their political beliefs, targeted sanctions remain
justified and deserve support of any right thinking Zimbabwean. In fact, the
list of individuals banned from travel to the West should be updated as new
farm invaders and torturers may have been omitted in the current 200.
Furthermore if the Joint Operations Command or securocrats do not relent on
violence, the travel ban should be tightened further.

Mugabe and his allies know very well the Shona saying that “kurumwa
nechokuchera” (if you dig a hole, you get bitten e.g. by a snake). Its good
that smart sanctions are really biting despite Zanu-pf propaganda. They must
embrace and implement core democratic values of good political governance in
Zimbabwe without hesitation, sooner rather than later.

Politically blackmailing opponents will only make the sanctions bite harder,
fortunately. There is nothing illegal about targeted sanctions as touted by
Jonathan Moyo because banning unwelcome visitors to your country is the
sovereign right of any government including the UK, USA, Australia, Canada
and the EU not forgetting Zimbabwe but only after democratic, free and fair,
UN supervised elections of course!
Until there is real progress in Zimbabwe, targeted sanctions must stay.
According to Harold Wilson, “The only human institution which rejects
progress is the cemetery” (Quotegarden, 29/10/10)


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Cracks and crevices and holes in the ground



Dear Family and Friends,

The first real rain of the season arrived in the last week of October.
It emerged from low purple clouds highlighted by vivid streaks of
white, crackling, lightning. After six dry months, we sat below,
expectant, panting, longing! It was a typically African storm, the
rain pounding down so hard that in minutes everything was afloat.
Sheets of brown water covered the ground in a few minutes and when
they started to run, they carried away the detritus of half a year:
soil, leaves, sticks, pods and everything not physically attached. You
couldn’t hear yourself think over the noise of the rain banging in
the gutters and hammering on the roof. The choking dust of months was
washed off trees, walls and windows and in half an hour it was all
over.

Thirty millimetres of rain (just over an inch) had fallen and from the
cracks and crevices and holes in the ground, life emerged. The voices
of a myriad frogs rang out from every direction: some sweet and
melodious, others shrill and urgent and then there were the deep,
guttural croaks of the big boys. Shiny black C/hongololos
/(millipedes) came from unknown places and were soon everywhere, their
millions of red legs moving in a strange undulating wave. All sorts of
creeping, crawling, running and flying insects appeared. Some welcome
ones like sausage flies and flying ants; some strange ones like rhino
beetles and some terrifying ones like huge rain spiders and other
furry coated, long legged beasties.

So life returned to Zimbabwe and for the residents of my home town
this first rain brought a unanimous, almost audible sigh of relief as
we ran outside with buckets, bowls and baths. For five days the whole
town had been without water. Dry taps, empty geysers, hollow cisterns
and echoing tanks. Not a drop of water in the entire town; not for
schools or hospitals, industry or residential areas. This water crisis
had been months, years in the making. Corroded pipes, collapsing pumps
and the main town dam visibly polluted with running sewage. We’ve
been limping on, getting water for two or three hours a day if we are
lucky; water that is always discoloured, often greasy and smelly and
water that you never, never, drink before boiling and filtering. The
local Municipality chose not to warn residents that we were about to
have a major crisis and then not to tell us what was going on or how
long it may be before we got water again. The Municipality sent out
the monthly accounts, delivered by hand, door to door but didn’t
bother to even attach a note explaining the water crisis or advising
us what to do. And so we all did our own thing.

Outside gates around the town huge lines of people gathered with
bottles, buckets and containers – these were the houses where owners
had boreholes and were prepared to share. School children each had to
take a 5 litre bottle of water to school every day. The roads in the
mornings were filled with children carrying satchels and suitcases and
parents and relations following behind carrying their water rations.
The main bakery in the town drew water into bowsers from a private
borehole in order to keep producing bread. In vleis and open areas
wells were dug by desperate residents of the town. Shallow holes with
unprotected walls and uncovered surfaces. Morning, noon and night
women with buckets and 20 litre containers trekked backwards and
forwards to these open pools to draw water

With no water for toilets people were defecating in the bush, the same
bush were wells were being opened up; the same bush where people have
been dumping litter because the Municipality have stopped collecting
it again. As the days passed people began doing their laundry
alongside, or even in, the open wells. Some residents complained to
selfish women that they were soiling the water for everyone else,
telling them to carry water away and wash clothes at home. The
complaints were met with the same absurd rhetoric of life in Zimbabwe:
critics were accused of being MDC supporters.

How we didn’t get an outbreak of cholera or another major water
borne disease is a miracle. I pray that I am not speaking too soon as
our water crisis continues and our uncollected waste and filth festers
and rots and runs down into those open wells. Until next week, thanks
for reading, love cathy. 30 October 2010

Copyright � Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com

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