The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

13/09/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

CHARLES Ray, the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, met President Robert
Mugabe for an hour on Tuesday – but they did not discuss leaked embassy
cables which have ignited a political firestorm in Zimbabwe, the envoy said.

Ambassador Ray said Mugabe was “mentally alert and engaging” during the
meeting at the end of which he wished him a "good trip" to the 66th United
Nations General Assembly summit of world leaders starting on September 20.

In a message posted on his Facebook profile, the ambassador said: “Just
finished a pleasant one-hour chat with President Mugabe. Wished him a good
trip to New York, and briefed him on embassy programmes.”

The United States imposed travel sanctions on Mugabe and more than a 100
other officials accused of human rights abuses, but these do not apply to UN
meetings.

Asked by Mufudzi Shirichena Shumba if they had discussed the release of
thousands of US diplomatic dispatches by the whistleblower website,
WikiLeaks, Ambassador Ray said: “Nothing on WikiLeaks... It was a pleasant
meeting, no WikiLeaks, no rants.”

In a statement, a US embassy spokesman said Ray had “stressed that the
United States would like to move the relationship with Zimbabwe forward in a
positive manner" and to "engage in those areas in which cooperation and
partnership will benefit the people of Zimbabwe”.

“The Ambassador concluded by expressing his appreciation for the meeting and
emphasising the need to turn a new page in relations with the U.S. through
more regular and direct interactions to restore mutual understanding and
advance our common objectives,” the statement added.

It was not immediately clear who had requested the meeting, but Ray
confirmed he had met with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai “briefly” last
Friday before attending a cocktail party for his MDC-T party which
celebrated 12 years last weekend.
“I meet with him [Tsvangirai] fairly frequently,” Ambassador Ray said.

Leaked US embassy cables have revealed how Zanu PF and MDC-T officials held
unauthorised meetings with American diplomats, often criticising their
leaders.

In the cables, Mugabe is revealed as severely afflicted by cancer which
could kill him within five years, while Tsvangirai is described as weak,
indecisive and likely to “do what the last person tells him to do”.

Minister: Zimbabwe to pull licence of media that "denigrate" Mugabe

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Sep 13, 2011, 12:06 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe will cancel the licences of newspapers and radio stations
that 'denigrate' 87-year-old President Robert Mugabe, the information
minister said Tuesday.

'We are not against criticism but no vilification. They are forcing us to
take measures and they must stand warned,' Webster Shamu of Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party said.

The minister, who was quoted in Tuesday's official Herald newspaper, said
media houses and 'pirate radio stations' - a reference to stations beaming
into Zimbabwe with reporters based in London, the US and the Netherlands -
had 'intensified their vitriolic attacks and the use of hate language on the
person of His Excellency the President.'

Mugabe's side of a shaky two-and-a-half-year-old coalition government has
been angered by reports coming from leaked US cables in the last 10 days on
the president's state of health, which has long been a closely guarded
secret.

In words calculated to shock, the independent Newsday headlined an article a
week ago: 'Mugabe dead by 2013' in reference to reports alleging the
87-year-old had prostate cancer and had been given just three to five years
to live back in 2008.

Zimbabwe's stifling press laws, introduced in 2002, make the southern
African country one of the most repressive for reporters. Foreign
journalists are not allowed to work here permanently and all newspapers must
be registered with a state-appointed media commission.

But Shamu said Britain and the US were hypocritical in their criticism of
Zimbabwe's press laws. 'These two countries have got some of the most
draconian media laws on earth,' he claimed.

Zim Information Minister Under Fire

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, September 13, 2011 - The Minister of Media, Information and
Publicity Webster Shamu has come under fire from media watch-dogs for
allegedly threatening to withdraw licences of foreign and private media
organisations perceived to be denigrating and vilifying President Robert
Mugabe, his family and his leadership of Zanu (PF).

Shamu accused the foreign and private media of denigrating President Mugabe
and the First Family for unjustifiable reasons premised on falsehoods.

He said the country would use its laws to deal with the foreign and private
media.

He said Britain has more than 50 media laws that gagged the media but nobody
made a fuss about it.

“Of late, these media houses and pirate radio stations have intensified
their vitriolic attacks and the use of hate language on the person of His
Excellency, the President and the party (Zanu PF) in a well calculated move
aimed at influencing the results of the forthcoming elections.

“In other words, the execution of the regime change agenda has been
intensified. We cannot allow the denigration of the highest office in the
land, “he told the state media.

But the Media Institute of Southern Africa –Zimbabwe, said on Tuesday while
it did not condone irresponsible and unethical journalism, Shamu’s threats
were of great concern as they came on the backdrop of similar warnings
against foreign newspapers by Godfrey Majonga, the chairperson of the
statutory Zimbabwe Media Commission.

Majonga said foreign newspapers circulating in Zimbabwe risked being banned
if they fail to register with the ZMC in terms of the draconian Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). South African newspapers,
the Mail and Guardian and Sunday Times are among some of the foreign
newspapers circulating in Zimbabwe.

“These recent developments smack of machinations to intimidate or silence
the private media from shining the spotlight on the conduct of public
figures which goes against the dictates of transparency and accountability
as should be the case in an open and free society,” said MISA-Zimbabwe in a
statement to the media.

The media watch-dog said claims by Shamu that the United Kingdom had a
plethora of media laws designed to gag the press did not justify the
existence or resort to similar draconian laws in a free and independent
Zimbabwe.

“The minister’s threats make a strong case on the urgent need for
constitutional provisions that explicitly guarantee media freedom and
citizens’ right to access to information. Such provisions will render
draconian media laws such as AIPPA and the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act, among others, unconstitutional.
While journalists should at all times strive for balance, fairness and
respect for citizens’ right to privacy, MISA-Zimbabwe also expects the
Minister to forcefully defend media freedom by condemning and demanding the
arrest of the culprits who recently assaulted journalists working for the
private media at Parliament Building in Harare,” it added.

Victory For Maguwu As Spies Ordered To Return Property

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, September 13, 2011 - High Court Judge, Justice Samuel Kudya, on
Monday ordered State security agents to return all the property they
unlawfully seized from prominent diamond rights campaigner, Farai Maguwu,
and stop harassing him by restricting his movement.

Justice Kudya, who heard an Urgent Chamber Application filed by Maguwu’s
lawyer, Denford Halimani in his chambers on Monday, granted an order sought
by the lawyer compelling State security agents to immediately return the
diamond rights researcher’s property which they seized at the Harare
International Airport on Saturday.

The property includes an Hp 625 laptop, power pack, wallet, Olympus digital
camera, US$2 000, business cards and bank cards, personal notebooks, airline
boarding passes, travel insurance, accommodation bookings, laptop bag and
all its contents.

The High Court Judge also ordered the State security agents to desist and
stop interfering with Maguwu’s freedom of movement, association, right to
property and protection of the law.

The order was granted against the Minister of State Security in the
President’s Office, which oversees the operations of State security agents,
the co-Ministers of Home Affairs, the Chief Immigration Officer, the
Minister of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development, who
were all represented by Mr Dodo of the Attorney’s General’s Civil Division.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe was represented by lawyers from
Chirimuuta and Partners Legal Practitioners.

Prior to granting the order, Justice Kudya dismissed a request by Dodo who
sought a postponement of the hearing on the basis that officials from the
President’s Office wanted to check on the identities of the State security
agents involved.

The High Court order came after Halimani of Wintertons Legal Practitioners,
who is a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, filed an Urgent
Chamber Application on Sunday seeking an order compelling the State security
agents to return the items seized from Maguwu.

The State security agents harassed and prevented Maguwu from attending an
international conference in Ireland focusing on rights violations which runs
from 14 to 16 September 2011.

EU dismisses Zimbabwe sanctions challenge

Associated Press

Sep 13, 11:45 AM EDT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- The European Union says it imposed economic
restrictions on Zimbabwe's president and his party leaders in agreement with
member states based on European laws.

Nick Westcott, the EU's visiting chief delegate for Africa, told reporters
Tuesday that Zimbabwe has the right to challenge the sanctions in the
European courts. He said that the "legal process" would be allowed to run
its course to challenge Europe's unanimity on the measures protesting years
of violations of human and democratic rights in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's chief law officer, Attorney General Johannes Tomana, has said he
is asking the European Court of Justice to strike down the measures he says
were imposed illegally in Europe.

Mugabe and some 200 loyalist individuals and businesses face travel and
banking bans in Europe and the United States.

Robert Mugabe roasts EU

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sapa-dpa | 13 September, 2011 00:38

Europe should not "give lectures to Zimbabwe about democracy and elections",
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe told a visiting EU envoy yesterday.

Managing director of Africa for the European External Action Service
Nicholas Westcott told Mugabe during a meeting in Harare that the bloc would
lift sanctions against him only if free and fair elections were held in
Zimbabwe.

Mugabe responded by asking why the EU was "keen on dictating what
Zimbabweans should do".

The EU imposed sanctions against him and his inner circle in 2002 as
punishment for human rights abuses and vote rigging.

It has renewed the sanctions, which include asset freezes, an arms embargo
and travel restrictions on Mugabe and more than 160 allies, every year since
then, including since the formation of a coalition government between Mugabe
and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in 2009.

Westcott said: "It would be fair to say that if the people of Zimbabwe and
the parties here achieve full implementation of the [coalition deal] and
there are elections held that are free, fair, transparent, peaceful, then I
can see no reason why sanctions should continue."

RBZ urged to rethink ‘compulsory loan’ order

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
13 September 2011

The central bank is being urged to rethink a new currency control order, the
details of which have been made available this week, which requires
Zimbabwean property sellers to hand over a compulsory loan to the bank.

The Reserve Bank made the order available on Monday, saying it will be
enforcing new currency controls to stop money leaving the shattered economy.
The Bank said that property sellers will receive only the first $50,000 of
their selling price, while the rest will be held in a Reserve Bank account
for a year. It is understood that sellers will receive the balance of the
total price in four payments over the year, with 10% interest.

The Bank has said that the order, described as an ‘involuntary loan’ order,
“enhances liquidity in the market,” arguing that money sent out of the
country as a result of property sales since 2009 has ‘weakened’ Zimbabwe’s
economy. The Bank has also said that the order will not affect foreign
property investors and sellers, as long as they can prove that the
properties were bought with hard currency brought into the country
originally.

In 2009, the newly formed unity government canceled previous strict currency
controls imposed by the Reserve Bank, which led to an economic meltdown and
record inflation in the local currency. The local currency was then dropped
that year in favour of the US dollar. The central bank meanwhile has also
lost the trust of a nation after years of mismanagement and looting, with
few people willing to have their money dealt with through the Bank.

Economic analyst Masimba Kuchera told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that this
order has “clearly not been thought out.” He explained that people have not
forgotten that the Reserve Bank was responsible for large scale looting of
bank accounts, adding that “an involuntary loan from property sellers is
really not the best way to harness resources to improve liquidity.”

Kuchera also added that the timing of the order is a worry, in light of
threats by the ZANU PF controlled Empowerment Ministry to take over foreign
owned firms under the Indigenisation Act. He explained that it “doesn’t bode
well for the future.”
“The RBZ should shelve these ideas for now, sort through the Indigenisation
issues and find other ways to liquidate itself so that it can be the lender
of last resort,” Kuchera said, adding: “If this order is implemented people
will simply hold onto their properties, which will defeat the Bank’s
purpose.”

Zimbabwean real estate firms meanwhile have expressed concern that the new
controls, which they say were designed without consultation with the
property sector, will drive property sales further down. According to an
article by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper, real estate firms have
said that sellers think the new controls are unfair and “daylight robbery.”

Zimbabwe, Zimplats to develop revised ownership plan

http://af.reuters.com

Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:36am GMT

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe and Zimplats, the local unit of the world's
second-largest platinum producer Impala Platinum, said on Tuesday they had
agreed to produce a revised plan for a law requiring mining firms to turn
over a 51 percent stake to local blacks.

Zimbabwe rejected Zimplat's initial share transfer plan. As a result, the
empowerment minister asked the mining ministry to cancel the unit's
operating licence, Zimplats said last week.

"The parties met on September 12 and agreed on a process that will result in
the production of a revised indigenisation implementation plan for Zimplats
in line with, and reflective of the country's indigenisation legislation,"
the company and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a joint
statement.

The revised plan will be submitted to the government by November 15 and
implemented immediately thereafter, the statement said.

"In the meantime, Zimplats and the ministry will immediately proceed to
implement a community share ownership trust," the statement said.

Analysts see the Zimbabwe law as a way to squeeze more funds out of
companies trying to build operations in the country with the world's second
biggest platinum reserves after South Africa.

There likely is not enough money in the impoverished state to buy
controlling stakes in foreign mining firms. Zimbabwe neither has the money
or expertise to run mines, where production will almost certainly dwindle
under forced local ownership.

Implats' Chief Executive David Brown said despite Zimbabwe's equity policy
the company was keen to proceed with a planned $460 million expansion
project there, which would bring its total investment to close to $1
billion, the single largest investment in the politically troubled nation.

"We're still moving ahead with the phase 2 of the plan. Obviously we will be
consulting with the authorities on that," he told Reuters on the side lines
of a news conference.

The expansion is meant to lift Zimplats' annual output of refined platinum
by 90,000 ounces to 270,000 ounces. The Zimbabwe unit contributes about 10
percent of Implats' output.

"Zimplats is a very important asset for us, we will do all we can to support
their activities," Kasukuwere told Reuters.

Implats's shares were down 4.48 percent at 154.81 rand by 0836 GMT, compared
with a 1.27 percent drop in the JSE Top-40 blue-chip index.

MDC activists attacked, hospitalised

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

by Own Correspondent Tuesday 13 September 2011

HARARE – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party says two of its
members are in hospital in Harare after they were attacked by suspected
supporters of President Robert Mugabe in a new wave of political violence in
the capital.

The MDC said the two victims were abducted by a group of militants youths
from Mugabe’s ZANU (PF) and taken to secret hideouts where they were
severely assaulted, sustaining serious injures before being released.

Their suspected attackers, who are well known to the police and members of
the public, have not yet been arrested or questioned.

In a statement, the MDC said one of the victims, Mary Pamire, was traveling
to Kuwadzana suburb, west of Harare city centre, when, upon disembarking
from a public commuter bus she was traveling in, she was seized by three men
who bundled her into a car and drove away with her.

“They drove her to a secluded place where she was severely assaulted the
whole night. She was released the following day and sought treatment at a
local hospital where she is still admitted,” the party said.

Another MDC activist, Johannes Dehwe, was last Saturday kidnapped from Mbare
township and severely assaulted. He was also in hospital, the MDC said.

Political violence has returned in the last few weeks between supporters of
Mugabe and Tsvangirai, two long time rivals who were forced to share power
in a coalition government after disputed elections in 2008.

Mugabe and his ZANU (PF) -- who had wanted elections this year -- are now
pressing for fresh elections by early next year, saying the unity government
that has stabilised the economy and rekindled investor confidence in the
devastated country has run its course.

The veteran President last week vowed to call polls in March 2012, and
appeared to suggest he would do so even if his coalition partners were not
in agreement.

The MDC as well as civil society groups say any polls that are not preceded
by comprehensive electoral reforms, including a new constitution, will lead
to bloodshed and another disputed outcome.

Tsvangirai, whom, in terms of the power-sharing agreement, Mugabe must
consult before calling elections, told his supporters at the weekend that he
would oppose holding of new polls unless all outstanding electoral reforms
have been completed.

The former opposition leader also wants the regional Southern African
Development Community (SADC) bloc, the African Union and the United Nations
to monitor the polls to ensure they are free and fair.

Zimbabwe’s previous elections have been marked by violence since
independence in 1980 and the security service has been accused of helping
ZANU (PF) supporters, war veterans and youth militia in a violent campaign
against Mugabe’s opponents, especially the MDC.
ZANU-PF denies the charge, instead the former ruling party says this is
propaganda peddled by MDC to gain international sympathy and justify its
losses at the ballot box. – ZimOnline

Mutare teacher ‘arrested’ for distributing MDC-T fliers

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
13 September 2011

A primary school teacher from Dangamvura in Mutare got the shock of her life
on Monday when two police officers marched her out of her classroom under
arrest for allegedly ‘distributing MDC-T fliers.’

The incident, which has infuriated the MDC-T leadership in Manicaland
province happened in full view of 46 year-old Eusebia Chikonyora’s Grade 7
pupils. The teacher was led away to Dangamvura police station were she was
charged with ‘engaging in opposition politics.’

MDC-T spokesman for Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya confirmed the incident and
told SW Radio Africa that Chikonyora was dragged out of her classroom in the
middle of a lesson. She was led away by police sergeants Sithole and Moyo.

“I’m told the police action left the pupils distressed. If they had an issue
with her, they should have simply asked her to go to the Headmaster’s office
or invite her to visit the police station and not drag her out of class in
full view of the school ,” Muchauraya said.

He continued: “What is shocking us is that the police had the audacity to
charge her with taking part in opposition politics when she is a civil
servant. But how many civil servants are ZANU PF card carrying members
today, especially here in Mutare and Manicaland as a province.”

“For the record we know that Anxious Mzilikazi a ward 22 ZANU PF councilor
is a teacher at Mzilikazi primary school in Buhera, Seenza Sithole, the
district administrator in Bikita was a councilor in Chipinge, Gurai Simango,
an education officer in Chipinge is a former ZANU PF councilor,”

“Also, there is a Magodo, the current ward 7 chairperson for ZANU PF in
Chipinge but is Headmaster at Mafumise secondary school. There is another
Headmaster, Timon Tandi who is a ZANU PF ward 12 councilor in Makoni. The
list is long so you wonder why the police have targeted Chikonyora, just
because she happens to sympathize with the MDC,” the MP added.

The Makoni South MP told us the teacher was kept at Dangamvura police from
9am up until two o’clock in the afternoon. She was not physically harmed but
was interrogated for hours.

Police told her they had information she was observed distributing MDC-T
fliers prior to a political rally the party held on 21st August in Mutare.
In the end, the MP said, Chikonyora was asked to choose between politics and
teaching.

“It’s not up to the police to run her life. The problem we have now is that
the police have become overzealous and are now more ZANU PF itself than
Robert Mugabe,” Muchauraya said.

It has become routine for teachers to be targeted by ZANU PF and the
partisan armed on allegations that they are sympathetic to the MDC.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe recently raised concerns that
teachers are once again increasingly becoming the main targets of ZANU PF
sponsored violence and intimidation as the country limps towards another
poll.

Battered MDC-T youth to sue Chipangano

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Irene Madongo
13 September 2011

MDC-T activists who were seriously beaten by the notorious Chipangano gang
will be suing the known members of the group, the MDC-T youth leader has
said.

In the past few days three MDC-T supporters have been attacked by Chipangano
members, according to the party. On Sunday Edwin Machokoto was accosted by
Chipangano youth allegedly for putting up MDC-T posters. He was beaten and
sustained serious injuries on his face and all over the body.

Two other members, Mary Pamire and Johannes Dehwe, were also hospitalised
after they were abducted and assaulted by ZANU PF supporters in Kuwadzana
and Mbare.

The MDC-T Youth Assembly says Chipangano is made up of ZANU PF youths, who
have unleashed a reign of terror in Mbare and elsewhere around the capital,
Harare. Civic organisations have also complained about Chipangano’s tactics.
ZANU PF youth leader Jim Kunaka has not responded to a request to comment on
the allegations.

On Tuesday, Solomon Madzore, the MDC-T Youth Assembly chairperson, said they
knew who the Chipangano members were and would take legal action as a
deterrent measure against more attacks. MDC-T activists complain that the
police do not take action against their attackers. They hope taking the
matter directly to the courts will serve better justice.

“They are seeking compensation from ZANU PF youth league, especially from
Chipangano. They are suing Chipangano directly because those are known
people,” Madzore explained, “Jeremiah Bhamu, who happens to be our secretary
for legal affairs in the MDC national executive, is the one who is going to
pursue the issue and give me the update.”

“It is a big group and they are all known with the exception of one or two,
who might be hired thugs from outside Harare,” he said.

Madzore added that their three members were still in pain and had been left
traumatised by the attacks.

“They are still in pain, but most importantly, it’s not the kind of physical
pain that we should be looking at. It’s the trauma that they are looking at.
The fact that they were left for dead is actually even more painful than the
physical beatings themselves. And just the fact that a fellow Zimbabwean
could actually do that to a brother or sister who is also Zimbabwean is very
excruciating,” Madzore explained.

MDC-T, ZANU PF to clash over Diaspora vote

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

by Irene Madongo
13 September 2011

The MDC-T says it wants to publicly challenge proposals to exclude people
living outside the country from voting in elections. The government has
scheduled public hearings on the Electoral Amendment Bill, where various
issues surrounding voting will be raised.

The MDC-T says when the meetings kick off it wants to raise the Diaspora
issue, which remains a hot potato. Under the current Electoral Act,
government employees at diplomatic missions stationed outside Zimbabwe can
use the postal vote system. But millions of ordinary Zimbabweans outside the
country are barred from doing so.

The Electoral Amendment Bill does not make provision for voting by people in
the Diaspora. Co-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on
Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Douglas
Mwonzora says this is why the meetings are being held, to tackle this issue
amongst others. Mwonzora is also the MDC-T spokesman. He told SW Radio
Africa on Tuesday that ZANU PF wants the Bill to sail through unopposed in
parliament, which the MDC-T is against.

“We want to subject the Bill to a public hearing. We are hoping members of
the public will raise this issue, as well as the MDC will raise this,” he
said. He added that he understood that the Zimbabwe Electoral Support
Network (ZESN) has already raised this issue.

“Our belief as a party is that a Zimbabwean living in South Africa is the
same as a Zimbabwean living in Bulawayo. They have the same right, so they
must be allowed to vote,” he explained.

ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo told SW Radio Africa that his party is still
opposed to the idea of allowing the Diaspora vote. ZANU PF says if the vote
is allowed, the party stands at a disadvantage because its key officials
cannot travel abroad to lobby for votes because of targeted ‘sanctions’
against the Mugabe regime. The EU and US have both implemented the
restrictive measures on Robert Mugabe and his inner circle because of human
rights abuses.

Gumbo also said ZANU PF is opposed to the vote because appropriate
‘mechanisms’ have not yet been worked out

“How will we know if they are genuine Zimbabweans?” he said.

However the MDC-T dismisses ZANU PF’s stance, saying that Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora were unable to vote even before the issue of sanctions existed.

Meanwhile there is also concern that the planned public hearings on the
Amendment Bill have been postponed again, meaning important issues such as
the Diaspora vote and others surrounding elections will not be discussed as
scheduled.

On Tuesday Mwonzora explained that this is the second time the discussions
have been moved and are now likely to be held around 26 September.

“They were supposed to take part at the end of July. They were affected by
the prorogation of parliament, which was done by the president. They were
then postponed to start yesterday, but they would not happen before the
committee met,” he explained.

He said the meeting had not taken place because ZANU PF requested more time.

“ZANU PF requested that they be given up to Thursday to advise whether they
are going to participate in the public hearings,” he explained, adding that
the meetings would go ahead with or without ZANU PF.

He also said there were other logistical reasons, including the need to
advertise the meetings.

SADC should strengthen JOMIC -Minister Mzila

http://zicora.com/

Posted by Own Staff Tuesday, 13 September 2011 18:29

SADC should immediately co-opt three officials to strengthen the Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to give the toothless body
the muscle to tackle Zanu PF’s violence and reluctance to fully implement
the GPA.

MDC’s representative in the GPA talks, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu said SADC
officials to be seconded to JOMIC were likely to plug Zanu PF’s abuse of the
police, CIO and soldiers to punish its political rivals. He said pressure
from local parties to stop Zanu PF violence has not yielded results and the
appointment of the SADC team could help in the fight against human rights
abuses by soldiers and intelligence officers loyal to President Robert
Mugabe.

SADC resolved at the extraordinary summit in Johannesburg, South Africa to
appoint three officials to work with JOMIC but three months on, nothing has
been done. JOMIC has been described as a toothless dog due to its
ineffectiveness to measure party compliance and implementation with the GPA.

Mzila-Ndlovu said although ground has been covered on the election road map,
the co-option of the SADC officials to JOMIC was taking long and must be
expedited to deal with the problematic implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of the GPA.

“The appointment of the SADC officials was supposed to have been done a
month ago because we are extremely worried about JOMIC which has not managed
to push for the full implementation of the GPA,” said.

“As long as JOMIC still stands as it is now, nothing will be achieved
because it has taken over two years to show its effectiveness.”

JOMIC is said to be useless due to poor funding and lack of legal
instruments to enforce its recommendations.

The SADC team is selected from the Troika on Defence, Security and Politics
members Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. Sources say Zambia and
Mozambique have chosen representative while South Africa is finalising the
selection process.

SADC facilitation team’s Lindiwe Zulu could not be reached for comment
yesterday but sources said that the SADC team to bolster JOMIC was likely to
be appointed before the SADC summit in Luanda later this month.

Sources said Zulu and her team would meet the six negotiators from Tendai
Biti, Elton Mangoma, Nicholas Goche, Patrick Chinamasa, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Moses Mzila-Ndlovu before the SADC summit to
discuss progress on the implementation of the GPA.

More Than 100 Orphans In Anglican Care Left Vulnerable

http://www.radiovop.com

Murewa, September 13, 2011 - More than 100 orphans have been left vulnerable
at an orphanage here after sympathisers of ex-communicated Anglican Bishop,
Nolbert Kunonga, on Monday evicted the orphans’ care givers from the
institution.

Kunonga’s loyalists on Monday morning evicted three Sisters, namely Sister
Dorothy, the Matron, Sister Plaxedes, who was in charge of medical needs and
Sister Anna Chitsura who was in charge of the library and the orphans’
studies from Shearley Cripps Home, an orphanage housing more than 100
orphans and located at St Johns Chikwakwa in Murewa, Mashonaland East
province.

The supporters of Kunonga, affiliated to his Diocesan Trustees for the
Diocese of Harare based their actions on a Writ of Ejectment, which was
obtained on September, 12, 2011 after he caused the Registrar of the High
Court to issue it against the Anglican Church of the Province of Central
Africa (CPCA) led by Bishop Chad Gandiya.

The eviction of the care givers came even though human rights lawyer,
Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had on Friday served an
urgent chamber application on Kunonga’s Diocesan Trustees for the Diocese of
Harare seeking to set aside the Writ of Ejectment issued by the High Court.

Meanwhile, Justice Tendai Uchena will on Wednesday preside over the Urgent
Chamber Application filed by ZLHR lawyers challenging the Writ of Ejectment.

Operation Garikai beneficiaries to pay rentals

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 13 September 2011 15:59

HARARE - Government has urged beneficiaries of the housing programme
introduced soon after the Operation Murambatsvina and code-named “Operation
Garikai/ Hlalani Kuhle”, to pay rentals for the housing units in order for
the state to recover funds invested.

Officially handing over housing units to Beitbridge beneficiaries last week,
National Housing and Social Amenities minister, Giles Mutsekwa said the
houses would be allocated to sitting tenants upon full settlement of
arrears.

“In order to ensure that the loan funds used at the inception of the
programme are recovered, beneficiaries in completed houses will continue to
pay the rental to the ministry of national housing and social amenities.”

“The houses will be valued and sold to sitting tenants. Beneficiaries who
are paying rentals continuously will be given a discount for the years they
have been paying rentals,” said Mutsekwa.

After the formation of the inclusive government, the state resolved to hand
over the project to local authorities so that the municipalities could
administer the initiative.

“The revenue from the marts and shells will accrue to the respective local
authority. This decision was taken because the ministry of National Housing
and Social Amenities has no infrastructure or provision to effectively
administer such structures,” said Mutsekwa.

Mutsekwa earlier on handed over two classroom blocks to Mvuthu High School
in Umzingwane district.

Coltart to give keynote address

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

SEVERAL prominent French dignitaries will on Thursday join Zimbabwe's
Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, Senator David Coltart tonight to
help celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Alliance Francaise de Harare.
13.09.1102:52pm
by Ngoni Chanakira Harare

Coltart is a Senator from the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC. He will give
the keynote address. An Alliance Francaise spokesman, said: "The 60th
Anniversary celebrations will feature Ambassadors, corporate executives, and
cultural figures based in Harare. This is among the many top events
celebrating our 60 years operating in Zimbabwe and our presence to re-assert
the strength of friendship between France and Zimbabwe after 60 years of
collaboration."

Among the dignitaries to the event will be Charles Houdart, the AF Executive
Director.

The AF spokesman said in an interview that since 1951, AF had been hosting
and organising pluri-disciplinary cultural events in Zimbabwe.

"The events include concerts, exhibitions, cinema showings, theatre
performances, as well as the annual Francophone Week, usually held in
March," he said.

"We also take part in many local and cultural projects such as the Harare
International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) and the annual Zimbabwe
International Book Fair (ZIBF). During the 60 years, the Alliance Francaise
of Harare has pursued three main missions according to its values, and we
should not be ashamed to say that we have done well".

The spokesman said the facility offered French lessons, increased the
awareness of French and Francophone culture, and provided a platform for
enhancing the Zimbabwe/France cultural network.

He said during the 60th Anniversary celebrations the AL would host the
cocktail party tonight for "invited VIPs only", and on Friday it would host
an international "DJ - Funkalicious", while top group "Gargar" would
entertain guests later during the night.

Gargar is an all female group from Kenya.

The spokesman said the Friday night event would be hosted by the resident
Master of Ceremonies (MC), "Comrade Fatso".

"We are expecting more than 300 people to enjoy the music performed by our
artists until dawn and celebrate as it has to be the 60th Anniversary of the
Alliance de Harare with us," the spokesman said in the interview.

The events are being sponsored by Harare's Courtney Hotel (accommodation for
artists), Spar (Zimbabwe) (Private) Limited (cocktail party including food
and drinks), and I-Way Africa (Private) Limited, a leading regional internet
service provider (Information Communication Technology (ICT) activities).

German group to invest 13 mln US dollars in Zimbabwe park: report

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Sep 13, 2011, 12:11 GMT

Harare - A German conservation group is investing 13 million US dollars into
a major Zimbabwean wildlife park, which is battling poaching and land
invaders, reports said Tuesday.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society handed over equipment including a plane,
4x4 vehicles, radios, trucks, tractors and firefighting equipment, for use
in Gona re Zhou National Park, said the official Herald newspaper.

'We have invested a lot into the project and we have so far spent about
three million US dollars and we will be spending a million dollars every
year for the next 10 years,' said Hugo van der Westhuizen, project leader of
the FZS.

'We want to make an impact in capacitating national parks to deal with
poaching and several other problems,' he said.

Gona re Zhou, which means 'place of the elephants' in the local Shona
language, forms part of a giant trans-frontier conservation area together
with parks in neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique.

The Zimbabwe side has been badly hit by poaching as well as land invaders on
the back of President Robert Mugabe's controversial policy of land seizures.
Poachers killed seven elephants in the park in June.

The government has so far been unable to evict 1,000 families from the local
Chitsa clan who invaded the park in 2003. The families, together with their
cattle, have posed a threat to the wildlife in the area.

Beatrice Mtetwa honoured in US

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

PROMINENT international human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has won the
2011 "Inamori Ethics Prize", United States Embassy Public Affairs Director,
Sharon Dean-Hudson, has confirmed.
13.09.1106:41am
by Ngoni Chanakira Harare

Mtetwa, a prominent local and international lawyer operating in Zimbabwe and
the region, is a Senior Partner at the law firm Betrice Mtetwa & Tawanda
Nyambirai Attorneys and Legal Practitioners (Private) Limited.

She is joint boss with prominent due diligence expert and Chief Executive of
TN Financial Holdings Limited (TN), Tawanda Nyambirai.

Nyambirai, a prominent businessman, is also a top lawyer in Zimbabwe.

He is also Chairman of telecommunications giant Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Holdings Limited (Econet) whose majority shareholder is Strive Masiyiwa, now
based in South Africa.

Hudson-Dean said Mtetwa, is "a free press advocate who is well known for her
sterling work in defending journalists and fighting for a free press in
Zimbabwe".

"Human rights lawyer and free press advocate, Beatrice Mtetwa, is the 2011
recipient of the Inamori Ethics Prize," Hudson-Dean said.

Mtetwa sits on the Board of Directors of top firms including some listed on
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

She sits on the Board on Trevor Ncube's Alpha Media Holdings (Private)
Limited, publishers of The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard, NewsDay and
several trade publications.

Mtetwa also sits on the Board of the ZSE-listed firm, Zeco Holdings Limited
(Zeco), owned by flamboyant business tycoon, Phillip Chiyangwa.

She has represented several prominent and top clients in and outside
Zimbabwe such as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) when it faces
charges, journalists including from The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard,
The Daily News, as well as the wealthy Meikles Africa Limited (MAL) family
when it initiated legal proceedings to boot out international banker Nigel
Chanakira, as Chief Executive of the diversified Kingdom Meikles Africa
Limited (KMAL) Group.

During her high profile career, however, Mtetwa has had a "nasty experience"
and an "ironic brush with the law" when she was surprisingly "slapped on the
face" by female business tycoon, Jocelyn Chiwenga, wife of Zimbabwe National
Army (ZNA) Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga.

The MDC Today - Issue 237

Cars for Ministers: The facts

Mnangagwa used CIO to spy on prominent ZANU PF members

Chidyausiku a 'rabid party man': judge

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

13/09/2011 00:00:00
	by Staff Reporter

Shock attack ... Chief Justice Chidyausiku (front) leads Supreme Court judges

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will do “anything, everything” to stay in power and his determination to do so can only be underestimated at one’s “grave peril”, a High Court judge told American diplomats.

Justice Yunus Omerjee said Mugabe’s Zanu PF government had succeeded in “shaping the judiciary in their own image”, and claimed judges had their phones tapped, mail opened and some had been placed under physical surveillance, leaked US embassy cables reveal.

Justice Omerjee, currently a senior High Court judge, described Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku as a “rabid party man through and through who owes everything he has become to Zanu PF”.

Fellow High Court judge Maphios Cheda, Omerjee said, is “very mediocre, given to excitability and pompous”. Justice Benjamin Paradza, who fled Zimbabwe in 2004 after being accused of corruption, is described as “okay” but “comes with a lot of baggage”.

President Mugabe’s appointments to the Supreme Court Misheck Cheda, Luke Malaba, Vernanda Ziyambi and Ahmed Ebrahim “would likely comprise the A-Team either because they are considered sympathetic to Zanu PF, or are pliant”.

Justice Omerjee also suggested to his American interlocutors that to force Mugabe to “pull Zimbabwe back from the precipice”, the international community must carry out a “sustained curtailing of fuel and electricity supplies”.

The judge’s candid views on the Zimbabwean judiciary and political players were expressed in August 2001 during a meeting with Matt Harrington, the political section chief at the US embassy in Harare.

In a cable dated August 29, 2001, released by whistleblower website, WikiLeaks, Harrington revealed that Omerjee was increasingly concerned about his personal safety following a purge of the bench targeting mainly white judges.

“Omerjee said he had been informed by reliable sources that his phones are tapped and that he and other judges are under constant physical surveillance... Convinced that the Central Intelligence Organisation was opening his mail, he now has his mail sent to a friend’s house,” Harrington said in the dispatch to Washington.

Justice Omerjee told Harrington he had “no interest in becoming a martyr” and was “making contingency plans to take his family – a wife and three young children below the age of nine – to Zambia and on to Europe if the situation deteriorates further”.

So concerned was Harrington with Omerjee’s contacts with the US embassy being released that he put in brackets “strictly protect throughout” in front of his name and classified the cable as “confidential”.

The release of the cable will not only be a source of personal embarrassment for Omerjee, particularly his views about colleagues, but puts him in conflict with major political players he was critical of including Mugabe, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Under a section marked “Zanu PF survival strategy”, Omerjee is quoted as telling Harrington that “Mugabe and Zanu PF won power through violent means, and they are prepared to revisit those means if necessary”.

Chiwenga feels betrayed

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Tuesday, 13 September 2011 12:06

HARARE - Army chief general Constantine Chiwenga and other security chiefs
were not happy with President Robert Mugabe whom they felt had betrayed them
by agreeing to a power sharing agreement with the MDC formations, latest
United States diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks have sensationally revealed.

The MDC and Zanu PF signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in 2008
which brought about the inclusive government and at the time there were
reports that hardliners from Zanu PF were opposed to the idea.

In a US diplomatic cable dated September 17, 2008 released on WikiLeaks,
Fred Mutanda, a former Zipra commander and businessman told the US
ambassador James McGee that Chiwenga was not happy that Mugabe had made a
decision without consulting him.

The service chiefs and Zanu PF felt that in signing a power sharing
agreement with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe had taken care of
himself only.

They also felt that he had given too much authority to Tsvangirai whom they
say is a stooge of the West. But as it turns out in the WikiLeaks, Zanu PF
politburo members are the biggest merchants of regime change in the country.

“Mutanda suggested that service chiefs are dissatisfied with the agreement.
He claimed army chief Chiwenga told him that he felt betrayed; after having
been told he would never have to salute Tsvangirai, Mugabe cut a deal,
without consulting the service chiefs, that placed Tsvangirai in a position
of authority."

“Mutanda said that Mnangagwa had been promised that he would be one of the
Deputy Prime Ministers, and was likely similarly upset by Mugabe’s failure
to follow through on this commitment,” McGee wrote in his cable quoting
Mutanda.

Chiwenga is seen as one of the hardliners who is resisting change. He is
said to be very close to Mugabe.

Mutanda reportedly said the others who felt short-changed included Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) bosses.

He told the US envoy that the Mujuru faction was also not happy and would
seek ways of “further weakening the coherence of Zanu PF.”

Mutanda did not explain in the cables how Chiwenga wanted the nation to move
forward in the absence of the inclusive government.

“Perhaps most significantly, Mutanda told Ambassador that the Mujuru faction
directly confronted Mugabe during Zanu PF central committee in 2008. Mutanda
reported that the faction members told Mugabe they felt sold out by the
deal.

They insisted that, having taken care of himself in the negotiations, Mugabe
must now deal with the succession issue.

“According to Mutanda, they threatened to break away and either align
themselves with the MDC or work independently,” reads part of the cable.

Mutanda, who is also the CAPS Holdings chairman said the GPA further split
the party which was struggling to remain united.

He told the ambassador that some CIO members told him they had been accused
of being sympathetic to the opposition (MDC) after Mugabe was booed by MDC
members during the signing ceremony of the GPA.

“Mutanda said senior CIO officials told him they were being accused of
demonstrating sympathy for the MDC by failing to ensure security at the
ceremony. These officials feel the CIO is under threat from within Zanu PF,”
reads the cable.

He reiterated that most people quoted in the leaked cables agreed on one
thing — that there was need for leadership change in Zanu PF.

Mutanda also revealed that Mnangagwa had been promised a top position in the
inclusive government.

Mutanda claims Mnangagwa was disappointed after Mugabe failed to make good
on his word.

The WikiLeaks have exposed that contrary to propaganda which has been
peddled for more than a decade, top Zanu PF officials have been planning and
discussing with foreigners, plots to have Mugabe out of office.

Opportunity and Risk in the Proposed Polling Station-Based Voters’ Roll

Bill Watch 37/2011 of 12th September [Electoral Amendment Bill - Part I]

BILL WATCH 37/2011

[12th September 2011]

Electoral Amendment Bill [Part I]

The Bill is the culmination of lengthy negotiations between the three parties to the GPA and is a compromise between their differing views on amendments needed to the Electoral Act. Because it is a compromise it is likely to satisfy no one. Some may feel it does not go far enough to ensure free and fair elections, while others may fear it will prevent them using the robust methods of persuasion that have become normal in Zimbabwe.

The following are the main changes the Bill will make to the Electoral Act:

· Polling stations will become the basis of the electoral process. Voters’ rolls will be compiled for each polling station and voters will be compelled to vote at the polling station on whose roll they are registered.

· It will be possible to prepare new voters’ rolls by carrying out a complete re-registration of voters.

· Copies of voters’ rolls will be more readily available.

· Police officers will no longer be stationed inside polling stations.

· Disabled and illiterate voters will be able to choose who they want to assist them in casting their votes.

· Postal voting will be restricted to State employees who are outside the country.

· Electoral officers and members of the security forces who are employed on electoral duties will be allowed to cast their votes before polling day, at special polling stations.

· The procedures for counting and collating votes will be made more transparent, and time-limits will be specified for the announcement of results of presidential elections.

· Committees will be set up to minimise violence and intimidation during elections.

· The powers of the Electoral Court will be extended.

· The provisions of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act will be incorporated into the Electoral Act.

We shall deal with each of these points in turn.

Polling-station Based Elections

Voters’ rolls are currently drawn up for wards or constituencies, and voters are able to cast their votes at any polling station within the ward or constituency on whose roll they are registered. Clause 42 of the Bill will change this. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will fix the number of polling stations for each ward and constituency and the area to be served by each polling station. It will then prepare a voters’ roll for that area, and voters registered on the roll will have to cast their votes at that polling station unless they are entitled to a postal vote or a special vote (as to which, see below).

The change from constituency-based voters’ rolls to polling-station based rolls will not take place immediately, but only after ZEC has compiled the rolls for all polling stations throughout the country.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

It is understood that this amendment was put forward by representatives of the two MDC formations. Whoever proposed it, it is likely to do at least as much harm as good. On the positive side it will help to curtail double-voting because it will be impossible for anyone to vote at two or more polling-stations, which they can do at present; and the bussing-in of voters will not be so easy since the voters rolls will be much more localised. On the other hand the amendment will probably make intimidation more effective, because if voters are faced with intimidation at any one polling station they will not be able to go elsewhere to cast their votes. For the same reason pre-election displacement of voters --- i.e. chasing one’s political opponents out of the area before polling day --- and threats of post-election retribution will also be more effective. Furthermore, the amendment is unlikely to improve the efficiency of the electoral process. Currently voters’ rolls are based on wards, which are administrative units whose boundaries are recognised to some extent by the people who live in them. The new rolls, on the other hand, will cover arbitrary areas determined by ZEC and there is likely to be a great deal of confusion amongst voters, at least initially, as to where they can vote.

Re-registration of Voters

The Bill will insert a new section 36A into the Electoral Act allowing [but not obliging] the President, on the advice of ZEC, to order a new registration of voters, either countrywide or in specified wards and constituencies. The old voters’ rolls will be replaced by new ones, and anyone who wants to be registered on a new roll will have to apply to the appropriate constituency registrar. People who were registered on an old roll will be entitled to re-registration simply by producing proof of their identity.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

Scrapping the existing voters’ rolls and registering voters afresh is probably the only way for Zimbabwe to get an accurate voters’ register, and for that reason the proposed amendment must be welcomed. Nonetheless, it has some drawbacks. Members of the Zimbabwean Diaspora, many of whom are still registered voters, will not be able to re-register and so will lose their votes. Similarly, people who are hospitalised or disabled or for any other reason are unable to get to a constituency registrar’s office to re-register may be disenfranchised before the next elections. So while the rolls will be cleared of the names of dead voters, they may exclude the names of many people who should be on them.

Provision of Copies of Voters’ Rolls

In previous elections there have been legitimate complaints from political parties that they were unable to obtain copies of the voters’ rolls, and that any copies they were given were in such a form that they could not be analysed electronically. Clauses 5 and 6 of the Bill will require ZEC to keep copies of the rolls in printed and in electronic form, and to provide anyone who asks for it with a copy in whichever form, printed or electronic, that the person may specify. If the roll is provided in electronic form it must be capable of being searched and analysed.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

This amendment, if it is implemented, will go some way to allay the suspicions that have been aroused in non-ZANU-PF political circles, that the names of deceased persons have been deliberately kept on the voters’ rolls so that their “votes” can be used to inflate support for ZANU-PF. Whether the amendment will in fact be implemented is doubtful, however, since responsibility for preparing voters’ rolls remains with the Registrar-General, and he may not be willing to provide ZEC with copies of the rolls for ZEC to issue to members of the public in accordance with the amendment.

Exclusion of Police Officers from Polling Stations

Under clause 18 of the Bill, police officers will no longer be stationed inside polling stations. Instead they will be stationed in the immediate vicinity of polling stations, and will be allowed to enter polling stations only to cast their votes or help in preserving order.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

There have been complaints that the presence of police officers inside polling stations has an intimidatory effect on voters. Whatever the justification for these complaints, this amendment will remove it.

Illiterate and Disabled Voters

Under sections 59 and 60 of the Electoral Act, illiterate, blind and disabled voters who find it difficult or impossible to mark their ballot-papers themselves, may be assisted by electoral officers in the presence of at least one police officer. The Bill will replace these sections with a new one that will allow such voters to be assisted by persons of their choice.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

This is a beneficial amendment which may help to prevent abuses that have allegedly occurred in rural areas. It will be effective, however, only if illiterate, blind and disabled voters are informed of their right to choose a person to assist them in voting.

Postal Voting and Special Voting

Under the Electoral Act at present, postal voting is restricted to:

· Government employees such as staff of diplomatic missions, who are stationed outside Zimbabwe;

· Electoral officials who will be on election duty outside their constituencies;

· Members of the police and defence forces who are required for election duty; and

· Spouses of these people (though it is unlikely that electoral officers and members of the police and defence forces would bring their spouses with them on election duty).

The Bill will allow postal votes only to Government employees stationed outside Zimbabwe. Electoral officials and security force personnel who will be away from their constituencies on polling day in an election will be allowed to cast their votes two to three weeks before polling day, at special polling stations established in each district. Candidates’ election agents and accredited observers will be entitled to be present at these special polling stations and to monitor voting procedures there.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

In past elections there have been widespread suspicions that postal votes cast by members of the security forces were not cast freely, that members of the forces were ordered by their superiors to vote for a particular person or party and were monitored to ensure they complied with the order. By requiring security-force personnel to vote at polling stations under the scrutiny of election agents and monitors, this malpractice will be eliminated.

On the other hand, the amendment will not extend the classes of voters who are allowed to vote without going to a polling station on polling day. As before, only government employees will be allowed to do so. No provision is made in the Bill for voting by members of the Diaspora, or by disabled people or by people detained in hospitals or prisons who cannot get to a polling station (and here it should be noted that prisoners are entitled to vote in elections unless they are serving sentences of six months or more). The Bill, in other words, ignores the rights of many people who are entitled to vote in elections.

The procedure for special voting, moreover, will be complex and time-consuming. Voters will be required to place their ballot-papers into envelopes marked to show their constituency and ward, and then to put the envelopes into a special ballot-box. This box will be opened and the envelopes containing the ballot-papers sent to ZEC’s Chief Elections Officer at the national command centre. The Chief Elections Officer will then sort them and send them back to the appropriate provincial elections officers, who in turn will distribute them to the appropriate district elections officers, who will distribute them to the ward elections officers. There at ward level the votes will finally be counted on election day. Whether all this sorting and distributing can be done in the time available remains to be seen. If it can’t, the votes will be wasted.

Counting and Collation of Votes and Announcement of Results

The Bill will make the process of counting and collating votes a bit more transparent. At each stage of the process, political parties as well as candidates and their polling agents will be given copies of the returns (i.e. the voting records), and after the returns have been collated at constituency level the constituency returns will be posted up outside the constituency centres (at present returns are posted up only outside polling stations, and parties and candidates are not given copies).

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

These amendments should make it easier for interested parties to spot discrepancies in returns. The effectiveness of the amendments will depend on how quickly parties and candidates are given copies of the returns (the amendments state in various places that it must be done “without delay”, “as soon as possible” and “forthwith”), because parties will have only 48 hours after the announcement of results within which to request a recount of votes [see below].

Measures to Combat Violence and Intimidation

The Bill will insert a new Part XVIIIB into the Electoral Act, which will require the Commissioner-General of Police to appoint a special police liaison officer for each province who will be tasked with “the expeditious investigation” of cases of politically-motivated violence or intimidation in the province during election periods. Each liaison officer will be under the direction of a special investigation committee chaired by a member or employee of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission. In addition, the Commissioner-General of Police will have to establish special police units to investigate cases of political violence and intimidation, the Judicial Service Commission will have to designate magistrates to try such cases quickly, and the Attorney-General will have to provide sufficient “competent” prosecutors to prosecute the cases.

The courts will also be given power to impose additional penalties for political violence or intimidation. Magistrates will be able to prohibit convicted persons from addressing meetings or otherwise taking part in an election, and the High Court will be able to prohibit such persons from voting or holding public office for up to five years.

Finally, office-bearers of political parties as well as candidates and their agents will be enjoined to take all appropriate measures to prevent political violence and intimidation and, if ZEC calls on them to do so, will have to give a public undertaking to abide by the prescribed code of conduct for parties and candidates.

Evaluation of Proposed Amendment

The effectiveness of these amendments will depend entirely on how diligent the special police units are in cracking down on political violence and intimidation, and on how effectively such cases are dealt with by the courts. No sanction is laid down for those who fail or refuse to comply with these obligations. Electoral violence will diminish only if activists in all parties are made to understand that if they break the law they will be prosecuted and punished. Furthermore no time period is laid down for the establishment of the special investigation committees. It is questionable moreover whether the Human Rights Commission should be involved as part of the process rather than as a monitor.

Extension of the Power of the Electoral Court

Clause 35 of the Bill will extend the jurisdiction (i.e. the power) of the Electoral Court, so that it will be able to review (i.e. determine the legality of) decisions made under the Electoral Act, including decisions made by ZEC. No other court will be allowed to exercise this power. The Electoral Court will generally have the same powers as the High Court and its decisions will be enforceable in the same way as those of the High Court.

Evaluation of Amendment

So far as it goes, the amendment is welcome. The Electoral Court has very limited jurisdiction at present, and it has never been clear to what extent the High Court can deal with electoral matters. Simply amending the Electoral Act, however, is not enough. The procedure for hearing election petitions is slow and complex, and it will remain so until new rules are made under section 165 of the Electoral Act to simplify the process.

[To be continued – Part II will cover the incorporation of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act

and highlight important omissions in the Bill.]

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied

Bill Watch 38/2011 of 13th September [ElectoralAmendment Bill -Part II]

BILL WATCH 38/2011

[13th September 2011]

Electoral Amendment Bill [Part II]

In Part I the changes made by the Electoral Amendment Bill to the Electoral Act were summarised and evaluated. This Part deals with the provisions of the Bill that incorporate the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act so that one Act will regulate both how elections are run and also the body responsible for running them – the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC]. Finally there is an overall evaluation of the Bill drawing particular attention to the omission of provisions which would have made it a more satisfactory piece of legislation.

Incorporation of the ZEC Act into the Electoral Act

The Bill will incorporate the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act into the Electoral Act and will repeal the former Act. The provisions taken from the ZEC Act will deal with: the functions of ZEC and its staff and procedures; with voter education; with the accreditation of election observers; and with the conduct of media during elections. These provisions have not been substantially changed.

Evaluation of Amendment

It will undoubtedly be convenient to have the ZEC Act and the Electoral Act combined into a single piece of legislation, but it is a great pity to say the least that the opportunity was not taken to improve the provisions of the former Act when inserting them into the latter. For example:

· Voter education will continue to be subjected to stifling control. No one apart from ZEC and its agents and political parties will be allowed to provide voter education unless:

§ everyone involved in its provision is a Zimbabwean citizen or permanent resident;

§ the programme of education is supplied or approved by ZEC; and

§ any foreign funding for the programme is channelled through ZEC.

These restrictions are excessive. All that is needed is a provision giving ZEC power to prevent or stop the dissemination of misleading or biased information to voters.

· The accreditation of election observers will continue to be tightly controlled by the government. Applications for accreditation will be channelled through a committee half of whose members will be government appointees [one nominated by the Office of the President and Cabinet]. ZEC will have only 48 hours to dispute the committee’s recommendations on who should be accredited, after which the recommendations will bind ZEC. ZEC will have no independent power to accredit observers.

Adequate numbers of independent observers are an important safeguard against electoral malpractices. If the Bill is enacted in its present form, there may be no independent observers in future elections.

· Observers must all report personally to the accreditation committee, which necessarily reduces their numbers and strains the resources of the organisations that sponsor them. Furthermore, they are accredited for the period of an election, which means their accreditation lasts from the calling of the election until the announcement of the result. Hence they have no right to observe the electoral processes that take place before an election is called: voter registration, for example.

· The new Part dealing with the conduct of the media during elections suffers from at least two defects:

§ The section that requires news media to treat political parties and candidates fairly and to refrain from “hate speech” applies only during an election period, that is from the calling of the election until the declaration of the result. Before and after that period, the media can be as unfair and vituperative as they like.

§ No sanctions can be imposed against media organisations that flout the requirements of the Part. All that ZEC can do is to report contraventions to Parliament after the election has been held.

Evaluation of Bill Highlighting Omissions

The amendments that will be made by the Bill are mostly beneficial, so far as they go, but they do not address the most serious deficiencies in the Electoral Act. In themselves, the amendments will not be enough to ensure free and fair elections.

Some of the matters that are not addressed by the Bill are the following:

No provision for voting by the Diaspora and other absent voters

This is probably the most glaring omission in the Bill. The only people who will be able to vote outside their constituencies are Government employees and election officers. The rights of registered voters who are living outside the country, and of students studying both outside and in the country, and of voters who are detained in hospital or who for some other reason are unable to reach a polling station, are completely ignored — and their right to vote is guaranteed by section 23A of the Constitution.

No attempt to increase the effectiveness, independence and transparency of ZEC

As already noted, the Bill incorporates provisions from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act into the Electoral Act virtually without change. The opportunity should have been taken to do the following:

· To increase the powers of ZEC, for example by requiring it to provide general civic education to Zimbabweans. Voter education is inadequate if voters are not informed about the role of Parliament, the functions of the President and (in relation to local authority elections), the importance of urban and rural district councils.

· To increase the independence of ZEC by removing at least two provisions which seriously compromise its independence, namely:

· section 11(5) of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act, which prohibits ZEC from dismissing its Chief Electoral Officer without the permission of the Minister of Justice;

· section 192(6) of the Electoral Act, which prevents ZEC from enacting regulations without the approval of the same Minister.

· To increase the transparency of ZEC’s internal procedures, for example by opening its meetings at least partially to the public and requiring ZEC to publish minutes of its meetings. All ZEC’s activities are of vital public interest, and very few of them can justifiably be kept secret.

In one way the Bill will reduce the transparency of the electoral process. It will insert a new section 66A into the Electoral Act making it a criminal offence for members of political parties to “purport to declare and announce” the result of an election before it has been officially declared, or for anyone else to purport to declare the results officially [whatever that means]. So although everyone, parties and public alike, will be allowed to see the official results at all stages of the counting and collation process, anyone who dares to say out loud what those results mean — that Mr X or Mrs Y has won the election — will risk prosecution and up to six months’ imprisonment.

The Bill maintains unsatisfactory restrictions on election observers

There are still excessive ministerial restrictions on the accreditation of observers, and the period of official observation has not been extended to cover the run up to elections when in the past there has been most election related violence.

The provisions for voter education are still unsatisfactory

The controls over voter education are excessive and liable to discourage other organisations from trying to inform voters of the issues at stake in an election.

The Registrar-General will continue to prepare voters’ rolls

Voters’ rolls will continue to be compiled by constituency registrars who carry out their functions under the general supervision and direction of the Registrar-General of Voters. Although the Registrar-General is himself under the direction and control of ZEC, the Commission has no direct control over what is done by the constituency registrars, and has no way to ensure that its instructions to the Registrar-General are being carried out by his registrars.

The Chief Elections Officer will continue to be the returning officer for presidential elections

Under section 110 of the Electoral Act the Chief Elections Officer has the function of announcing the results of presidential elections. It is undesirable, however, for the Chief Elections Officer to exercise this function. Presidential elections are by far the most important in Zimbabwe and will remain so for as long as we have an executive President; the results are so sensitive that their announcement should have the authority of the entire Commission behind them, and they should be announced by the chairperson of ZEC, after a meeting attended by a quorum of commissioners has authorised him or her to do so.

Postal ballot-papers will continue to be identifiable

At present, voters who vote by post have to sign a declaration of identity before a competent witness; the ballot-paper is then sent to the constituency elections officer, enclosed in an envelope, together with the declaration of identity, making it possible for voters to be identified through their declarations of identity. The Bill will abolish declarations of identity but instead it will require the names of the voters to be written on the backs of the envelopes in which their postal ballot-papers are enclosed. This in fact would make it easier for postal voters to be identified.

No time-table within which parliamentary elections results must be announced

The Bill lays down a five-day time-limit within which the results of presidential elections must be announced, but specifies no time-limit for parliamentary or local authority elections. In the 2008 parliamentary elections the results were announced by ZEC [not by constituency registrars, as they were supposed to be] and were only announced after delays which gave rise to widespread suspicions of rigging. To avoid such suspicions in future the Act should lay down a time-limit, perhaps of five days in line with presidential elections.

Final Point

In conclusion, it should be noted that this Bill does not represent the last word in amendments to the Electoral Act. If the next election is held after the new constitution has been adopted, the Electoral Act will probably have to be changed to bring it in line with the new constitution. For example if the new constitution provides for elections by proportional representation the Electoral Act will have to be modified very considerably. Perhaps if the Bill has to be redrafted the opportunity may be taken to remove some of the drafting errors – unclear phrases which give rise to ambiguity. The electoral law is so important that absolute clarity is essential.

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Bill Watch 37/2011 of 12th September [Electoral Amendment Bill - Part I]

Bill Watch 38/2011 of 13th September [ElectoralAmendment Bill -Part II]