http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
14 September 2010
The ZANU PF party has kicked into election
mode after it recently launched a
campaign that many of its opponents view
as a coded message to activate its
political violence machinery.
The
party’s national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo, launched a new campaign
dubbed
‘ZANU PF: The Unstoppable Machine,’ using newspaper advertisements to
fire
broadsides at political parties such as the MDC formations. Part of the
messages contained in the campaign includes statements like; ‘The legacy
left by our fallen heroes should never allow any visionary Zimbabwean to
live on borrowed oxygen.’
‘Cognisant of the fact that the land reform
program is now complete and also
irreversible – the thrust being now on
economic emancipation of our entire
people and unity of purpose. Offshoot
political parties will remain
offshoot, offside and scoring own goals,’ read
some of the statements.
MDC-T deputy organizing secretary Morgan Komichi
told us on Tuesday this is
the type of intimidatory language ZANU PF always
tries to use to intimidate
people.
Komichi said he saw this latest
ZANU-PF campaign as part of a broad strategy
of mobilizing its own ranks,
adding that the campaign was started by the
party’s political commissar
Webster Shamu months ago. Shamu supplied the
state broadcaster ZBC with
different sets of jingles and videos extolling
Mugabe and ZANU PF’s
leadership role.
‘I hope the announcement by Tsvangirai (on elections)
has put to rest much
anticipation and assumptions about the next election.
ZANU PF’s concept of
using violence towards an election will not stop even
in the next 20 years.
So let’s not fool ourselves that the country is not
yet ready to hold
elections because of anticipated violence,’ Komichi
said.
‘As long as we have people like Chihuri (Police
Commissioner-General) in the
system, any attempt to have a violence-free
election will be thwarted by him
and his partisan force because they fear
they have a lot to answer for in a
new political dispensation,’ Komichi
added.
Chihuri is accused by many of being at the forefront of cleansing
the
heavily politicized force of both known and suspected MDC sympathizers.
He
has routinely purged the force of professional officers for refusing or
reluctantly failing to follow orders from him and other senior officers, to
apply the law selectively.
The senior MDC-T official said there have been
fears since 2008 that ZANU PF
will re-engage its political violence
machinery, even as the party talks
about healing and
reconciliation.
Two years ago during the run-up to the June 27 2008
presidential election,
close to 500 MDC-T supporters were killed and tens of
thousands more injured
in the violent campaigns orchestrated by ZANU PF
activists. They were aided
in their brutal orgy of violence by the well
oiled state machinery of the
Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe National
Army, Intelligence and youth
militia.
In the past three months,
during the constitutional outreach program, SW
Radio Africa has extensively
covered reports of increasing ZANU PF militia
and war vets being mobilized
and camped in bases and at schools, just as in
the previous election
campaign.
During the violence that has blighted the outreach program, the
police have
turned victims of intimidation and violence into the accused,
resulting in
the arrest of many MDC-T officials and activists.
In Bikita,
instead of arresting war vets leader Jabulani Sibanda for
inciting violence
in the area, MDC-T MP for Bikita South, Jani Vherandeni,
was incarcerated by
the police in Masvingo for making a report about the war
vet leader’s
behaviour.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has spoken out
against the
holding of elections until widespread electoral reforms and the
writing of a
new constitution are complete. ZESN national director Rindai
Chipfunde-Vava
said although elections are the only way forward in Zimbabwe,
she believed
they could only be held after extensive electoral reforms to
plug the hole
for possible rigging and ensure free and fair
poll.
ZESN has already embarked on lobbying for zero tolerance on
political
violence as well as campaigning for an overhaul of the voters’
roll. But
other pro-democracy groups said no credible election could be held
until
there was a guarantee of civil liberties such as freedoms of the
media,
expression, assembly and freedom from arbitrary arrest.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
14
September 2010
Tuesday was the end of the 30 day deadline imposed by
regional leaders on
Zimbabwe's unity government, to finally implement the
Global Political
Agreement (GPA), but still nothing has changed.
The
30 day deadline was set at the Southern African Development Community
(SADC)
Summit in Namibia where the regional bloc's defence body, the Troika,
endorsed a report by the facilitator in the Zimbabwe crisis, South African
President Jacob Zuma. Zuma's report suggested that the coalition government
be given another month to implement 24 outstanding issues in the GPA. In his
report to the Troika Zuma said if the agreement on the 24 items was
implemented on schedule, it would lay the basis "for the conviction to grow
that Zimbabwe can reach her goal of holding free and fair
elections."
"The parties, assisted by the Troika, should discuss the
outstanding
matters. and resolve them within one month as part of a
confidence-building
measure, based on appropriate consultation in keeping
with Zimbabwe's law
and any other relevant instrument," said Zuma in his
report presented 30
days ago.
The coalition leaders apparently also
agreed that the remaining three
outstanding GPA issues, including the
appointment of Roy Bennett to his
position as Deputy Minister of
Agriculture, would be 'resolved' in the month
stipulated by SADC.
But
30 days on there are no signs that the SADC deadline has been taken
seriously and divisions in the 'unity' government have continued to widen.
Robert Mugabe, who appeared to calmly agree to the 30 day deadline, just
days later said he would not make any more "concessions" to the MDC, until
targeted sanctions still in place against him and his inner circle are
lifted. ZANU PF's Patrick Chinamasa then insisted that the agreed-upon
appointment of governors would not happen, until the targeted sanctions were
lifted.
The MDC has vehemently denied that the sanction tie in was
agreed to at the
SADC Summit, saying in a statement that it was a
"misleading and
mischievous" report by the state media. The party also
accused ZANU PF of
using "primitive tactics" to delay the implementation of
the GPA and further
complicate issues in the divided coalition
government.
The MDC also insisted that the targeted sanctions issue was
between ZANU PF
and the countries that have enforced the measures, saying
that "the
authorship of restrictive measures is located on the doorstep of
ZANU PF."
It is clear that both the MDC and ZANU PF are now focusing on
elections to
put an end to the coalition, with both party leaders, Mugabe
and Morgan
Tsvangirai agreeing to hold the polls next year. The Prime
Minister said
over the weekend that he and Mugabe had agreed not to contest
the results of
the vote, so that one party can be in government. Analysts
and observers
have since said this is a fools' arrangement that puts the MDC
in a
difficult position of not legally being able to challenge the results
if
they are rigged by ZANU PF.
Dewa Mavhinga from the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition told SW Radio Africa on
Tuesday that the only way forward
is free, fair and credible elections,
explaining that it is up to SADC to
ensure that this happens. He said the
regional bloc needs to do more to
ensure that conditions are right in
Zimbabwe for a free vote. He added that
if the bloc cannot do this, it needs
to "admit defeat and ask for
international intervention."
"Without a direct role by SADC in the coming
elections, and by this I mean
peacekeepers and monitors, then the outcome
will be no different from 2008,"
Mavhinga said. "SADC urgently needs to do
more to prevent this situation
from recurring."
Wednesday meanwhile
will mark two years since the GPA was signed in 2008. On
Saturday
Zimbabweans in London will commemorate this date by wearing black
armbands,
in a demonstration that will also mark the failure of the Mugabe
regime to
meet the 30 day deadline set by SADC. The demonstration is being
organised
by the UK protest group, The Zimbabwe Vigil, which has been
demonstrating
outside the Zimbabwean Embassy in London every Saturday for
almost eight
years.
The Vigil's Rose Benton told SW Radio Africa's Diaspora Diaries
program that
the anniversary of the signing of the GPA will be treated like
a day of
mourning, "because it is another two years that nothing has changed
in
Zimbabwe." Benton explained that the Southern African region needs to end
its "dictators' solidarity" and show solidarity with Zimbabweans, by
ensuring there are free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.
http://news.radiovop.com
14/09/2010 17:32:00
Harare, September 14,
2010 - Zimbabwe held a secret auction of diamonds from
its Marange fields,
where the army has been accused of forced labour and
torture, an official
said on Tuesday.
"Yes, the sales were carried out this weekend,"
Secretary for Mines Thankful
Musukutwa said, without giving further
details.
The auction on Saturday and Sunday was supervised by Abbey
Chikane, the
monitor from the international Kimberley Process watchdog,
another official
said on condition of anonymity.
Kimberley Process is
charged with preventing the sale of "blood diamonds"
used to fuel armed
conflicts, but in November the regulator banned sale of
the gems from
Marange after its investigators found soldiers had beaten
nearby residents
and forced them to mine the stones.
The weekend sale was the second and
last auction authorised by Kimberley
until its investigators certify that
the military has ended rights abuses in
the fields near the Mozambican
border.
"We will not be releasing the quantity or amount that was
generated because
these were private sales by private companies," Musukutwa
said.
"No other country in the world releases their sales figures or
quantities.
When it comes to the issues of diamonds we must be careful as a
country
because of the sensitivity of the issues associated with
them."
Zimbabwe says the military no longer runs the fields and has
contracted
operations at Marange to two little-known South African firms,
Mbada
Diamonds and Canadile Miners. A third company linked to a Chinese firm
has
also been allowed to operate there.
The first Kimberley-backed
sale generated about $30m, according to
government figures.
Canadile
miners, has begun constructing a multi-million dollar cutting and
polishing
centre in the country.
Representatives from the companies operating from
Marange refused to
comment.
- SAPA
http://www.iol.co.za
September 14 2010 at 01:25PM
Harare, Zimbabwe -
Zimbabwe's state airline says it has fired striking
pilots for failing to
meet a deadline to return to their posts.
Air Zimbabwe board chairman
Jonathan Kadzura said on Tuesday the airline
invoked the nation's labour
laws against 40 striking pilots and "so all of
them are fired."
The
pilots ignored a weekend deadline to return to duty.
Kadzura said plans
were under way to charter other carriers to operate
grounded regional and
international routes.
The pilots say the indebted airline has not paid
out operational allowances
for nearly 20 months. They earn up to $2,500 a
month, about one third of the
international pay scale for airline pilots. -
Sapa-AP
http://www.swradioafrica.com
by Irene
Madongo
14 September 2010
Bulawayo-based artist Owen Maseko, who was
arrested for his exhibition about
the Gukurahundi atrocities under the
Mugabe regime, believes that the local
artistic community has deserted him.
He says it is possible they fear
persecution after he faces new charges that
come with a harsher prison
sentence.
In March Maseko was placed on
remand, on charges of 'undermining the
authority of or insulting the
President and causing offence to persons of a
particular race or religion',
which has a maximum prison sentence of 12
months.
But the State now wants
him to face a different charge, that of breaching
Section 31 of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act by allegedly
publishing or communicating
falsehoods prejudicial to the State. This comes
with a maximum prison
sentence of 20 years.
Speaking about the lack of support from the artist
community Maseko said; "I
was surprised that the artists are the only
community that has not really
truly supported me. I don't know, maybe it is
something to do with fear.
Maybe they are scared or worried that if they
associate with me they might
also get arrested."
Maseko added:
"Artists are aware of how, whatever the outcome that can
happen to me, can
greatly affect them, but taking a stance of running away
is not really a
helpful one because whichever way they look at it they will
still be greatly
affected."
On Monday Maseko's lawyers challenged the State's new charge. They
said that
because Maseko's first charge has not been dealt with, it was not
lawful to
bring in another charge at this stage. The lawyers also pointed
out that
there is no procedure which allows the State to substitute a less
serious
charge for a more serious charge.
As a result, Magistrate
Ntombizodwa Mazhandu ruled that the State can only
bring new charges against
Maseko if the first charges have been withdrawn.
So the State has now
withdrawn the earlier charges and Maseko will face the
fresh charges in
court on Wednesday.
But Maseko said he is not afraid to face the new charges.
"I am not worried.
My lawyers have been good and have not disappointed me so
far. I am really
looking forward, but given a choice I did not want to be in
court. With
Zimbabwean law you never know what might probably happen in a
court room."
Although his Gukurahundi exhibition is now banned in Zimbabwe,
he says he
plans to show it around elsewhere, such as regionally.
http://news.radiovop.com
14/09/2010
13:03:00
Harare, September 14, 2010 - Zimbabwe's Justice and Legal
Affairs Minister
Patrick Chinamasa has announced that the Human Rights
Commission whose bill
he has just finished drafting will not have powers to
investigate human
rights violations that were committed before the formation
of the inclusive
government.
"The commission is going to carry
out investigations and then when it
arrives at a decision that there is
human rights violations they have
the first option to apply to the
High Court for the enforcement of
that decision. They can also write a
report to the Head of State that 'may'
enforce their decision.
"This
commission when operational will not have powers to investigate
alleged
human rights violations that happened before the enactment of the
amendment number 19, unless such violations have continued after the
amendment 19. Anything that happened before
that period, it has no
powers to investigate," he told journalists in
Harare on
Monday.
The eight member Human Rights Commission, which was sworn in
March is
chaired by Professor Reg Austin, a lawyer, former Professor and
Dean of the
Faculty of Law at the University of Zimbabwe and former head of
Commonwealth
Secretariat's Constitutional and Legal Affairs
Division.
Professor Austin has been under pressure from Human rights
groups who have
been demanding that it should investigate all human rights
violations back
dating from the early 1980s.
These human rights
watchdogs say the Human rights commission should be given
powers to try and
convict anyone found guilty of human rights violations,
which occurred in
the country over the past 30 years.
People from Matabeleland are also
demanding that Zanu (PF) senior
officials who spearheaded the Gukurahundi
atrocities which lead to the
death of thousands of the Ndebele tribe,
should be investigated.
Victims of the June 27 bloody presidential
runoff elections are calling
for the much awaited Human rights Commission
to bring to book Zanu (PF)
militia and state security agents who
butchered their families and
friends in 2008.
Chinamasa said his
office had finished working on the draft Human rights
bill which will be
tabled before parliament for endorsement when it re-opens
in
October.
According to the Global Political Agreement signed between the
two MDC
formations and Zanu (PF) to form the inclusive government, the Human
rights
Commission will be responsible for the promotion and creation of
awareness
of and respect for human rights and freedoms at all levels of
society.
It should also recommend to Parliament effective measures to
promote human
rights and freedoms and investigate the conduct of any
authority or person,
where it is alleged that any of the rights in the
Declaration of Rights has
been violated by that authority or
person.
http://af.reuters.com
Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:12pm
GMT
HARARE, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's annual inflation slowed
further to
3.6 percent year-on-year in August from 4.1 percent in July, the
Zimbabwe
National Statistical Agency said on Tuesday.
Month-on-month
inflation was steady at -0.1 percent, unchanged from July,
Zimstats said in
a statement.
http://www.mg.co.za/
GODFREY MARAWANYIKA | HARARE, ZIMBABWE -
Sep 14 2010 13:36
Two years after agreeing to form a unity
government, Zimbabwe's squabbling
political leaders are hinting at new
elections for next year, despite doubts
the country is ready for
polls.
Many Zimbabweans cringe at the idea of elections, with painful
memories of
the 2008 presidential race, which was scarred by deadly
political violence
when it appeared then-opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai
could unseat
President Robert Mugabe, leader since the country's
independence nearly
three decades earlier.
The rivals were eventually
pressured into a unity government with Tsvangirai
as prime minister, but the
agreement, signed on September 15 2008, was meant
as an interim arrangement
to pave the way to new polls.
Tsvangirai told party supporters last
weekend that he and Mugabe had agreed
elections would come next year, an
idea both men have floated in recent
months.
"When I last saw
President Robert Mugabe he said the prevailing peace was
ideal for us to go
for an election, and this time we agreed that whoever
loses should make way
for the winner," he said, according to the Standard
newspaper.
Tsvangirai won the first round of the 2008 race, but
pulled out of the
run-off after an estimated 200 people died in political
attacks directed
mainly at supporters of his Movement for Democratic
Change.
He and Mugabe agreed to the power-sharing pact under intense
regional
pressure. The unity government has succeeded in piecing together
the
shattered economy, but has been mired in political bickering over key
posts.
No decision has been made
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
told Agence France-Presse that no
decision has been made, saying Mugabe and
Tsvangirai have yet to give
instructions on an exact date.
"The issue
of elections is being addressed by the principals," he said. "We
just wait
for instructions."
But the idea of new elections is increasingly showing
up in public debate,
despite doubts the country is ready for a new face-off
between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a top
aide to Tsvangirai, told business
leaders last week that he had already set
aside a budget for the polls,
after discussing with Mugabe, even though the
cash-strapped country can
barely pay civil servants.
"I am going to
budget for the election next year. That means that
$200-million is already
gone in an economy such as this one, which is a
disaster if you ask me
purely from a fiscal point of view," he said.
"Whether it happens or not,
I don't know," Biti added.
Electoral officials warn that even basic
preparations are far from ready.
"As it is, the voters' roll is in
disarray," Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
chairperson Simpson Mutambanengwe
said recently.
'Our political culture has not changed over the past two
years'
The unity deal calls for holding elections under a new constitution,
but
that process has barely gotten off the ground.
The government has
made some reforms to expand media freedoms, allowing new
newspapers to
publish and making it easier for foreign journalists to enter
the
country.
But analysts say a rush to new elections would invite a repeat
of the
political violence that marred the 2008 contest.
"It would be
literally impossible to oversee free and fair elections next
year because of
vested interests by those calling for elections,"
independent political
analyst Takura Zhangazha said. "Our political culture
has not changed over
the past two years, unless if we want a repeat of
history that occurred in
2008.
"Elections should be democratic, informed by a democratic legal
framework,
and democratic political space, and we do not have that right now
in the
country." -- Sapa-AFP
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
14 September, 2010 06:20:00 By
LONDON, UK -
The British coalition government Conservative MP Mark Spencer
has revealed
that the United Kingdom, and all Western democratic forces
could help ensure
Zimbabwe hold free and fair elections.
Conservative Foreign Office
Minister Henry Bellingham explained that the UK
was working with all
democratic forces, the SADAC, the UN and the EU to
ensure monitors are
stationed in Zimbabwe well ahead of the elections.
Two years after
agreeing to form a unity government, Zimbabwe's squabbling
political leaders
are hinting at new elections for next year, despite doubts
the country is
ready for polls.
Many Zimbabweans cringe at the idea of elections, with
painful memories of
the 2008 presidential race scarred by deadly political
violence when it
appeared then-opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai could
unseat President
Robert Mugabe, leader since the country's independence
nearly three decades
earlier.
The rivals were eventually pressured
into a unity government with Tsvangirai
as prime minister, but the agreement
signed September 15 2008, was meant as
an interim arrangement to pave the
way to new polls.
Tsvangirai told party supporters last weekend that he
and Mugabe had agreed
elections would come next year, an idea both men have
floated in recent
months.
"When I last saw President Robert Mugabe he
said the prevailing peace was
ideal for us to go for an election, and this
time we agreed that whoever
loses should make way for the winner," he said,
according to The Standard
newspaper.
Tsvangirai won the first round
of the 2008 race, but pulled out of the
run-off after an estimated 200
people died in political attacks directed
mainly at supporters of his
Movement for Democratic Change.
Fiscal point of view
He and Mugabe
agreed to the power-sharing pact under intense regional
pressure. The unity
government has succeeded in piecing together the
shattered economy, but has
been mired in political bickering over key posts.
Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa said that no decision has been made,
saying Mugabe and
Tsvangirai have yet to give instructions on an exact date.
"The issue of
elections is being addressed by the principals," he said. "We
just wait for
instructions."
But the idea of new elections is increasingly showing up
in public debate,
despite doubts the country is ready for a new face-off
between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a top
aide to Tsvangirai, told business
leaders last week that he had already set
aside a budget for the polls,
after discussing with Mugabe, even though the
cash-strapped country can
barely pay civil servants.
"I am going to
budget for the election next year. That means that $200m is
already gone in
an economy such as this one, which is a disaster if you ask
me purely from a
fiscal point of view," he said.
"Whether it happens or not, I don't
know," Biti added.
Electoral officials warn that even basic preparations
are far from ready.
Repeat of political violence
"As it is, the
voters' roll is in disarray," Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
chairman Simpson
Mutambanengwe said recently.
The unity deal calls for holding elections
under a new constitution, but
that process has barely gotten off the
ground.
The government has made some reforms to expand media freedoms,
allowing new
newspapers to publish and making it easier for foreign
journalists to enter
the country.
But analysts say a rush to new
elections would invite a repeat of the
political violence that marred the
2008 contest.
"It would be literally impossible to oversee free and fair
elections next
year because of vested interests by those calling for
elections,"
independent political analyst Takura Zhangazha said.
"Our
political culture has not changed over the past two years, unless if we
want
a repeat of history that occurred in 2008.
"Elections should be
democratic, informed by a democratic legal framework,
and democratic
political space and we do not have that right now in the
country." -
Additional reporting by SAPA
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
14 September, 2010 01:00:00
DUMISANI SIBANDA | BULAWAYO
HARARE - A survey commissioned by NewsDay
on the voting intentions of
Zimbabweans has revealed MDC-T will win the next
general election while Zanu
PF will come second and the revived Zapu a
distant third, but 40% of the
electorate might not vote.
The survey
was conducted by the Public Mass Opinion Institute in August
using a
nationally representative sample of 1 062 people. The results came
out last
week.
Respondents were asked to indicate their voting intentions by
stating the
party candidate they would vote for if an election was held on
the day of
the interview.
However, it is important to note that there
was "a large block of voters who
refused to reveal their voting intentions,
preferring instead not to answer
the question (17%), or claiming that their
vote was their secret (24%).
"So, up to four in every 10 voters were
unwilling to share their voting
preferences, a very high statistic by any
polling standard," says the
survey.
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that
this was largely due to alleged political
intimidation and harassment prior
to, and during the Constitutional
Parliamentary Select Committee-led public
consultations.
In other words, a heavy and dark cloud of fear seems to
have enveloped the
electorate during the survey period. The survey says the
high refusal rate -
for whatever reason - is a cause for grave concern while
at the same time
seriously distorting partisan support.
The results
of the survey show that 32% would vote for Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC-T while Zanu PF led by President Robert Mugabe - who has
been at the helm of government for the past three decades - would come
second with 18% and the revived Zapu led by former Zanu PF politburo member
Dumiso Dabengwa - which is bubbling with confidence after its recent
"successful congress" - would only manage 2%.
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn led
by Simba Makoni - also a former Zanu PF politburo
member who lost dismally
in the March 2008 presidential elections - would
get less than 1% alongside
MDC-M led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara.
The combined
vote for "other parties" would attract a total of 6%
support.
According to the survey, a third (32%) of all respondents
would vote for the
MDC-T and that support base has a significant - albeit
small - urban and
male bias.
Nearly two in 10 (18%) of voters would
opt for the former ruling Zanu PF
party and the support base has a
distinctively rural bias but is spread
evenly across gender.
The firm
which conducted the survey warns "caution" in interpreting the
voting
preferences because of the large reservoir of "refusals".
"No one knows
who (the refusals) would vote for and yet whoever they decide
to vote for
could yield the decisive result," says the survey.
"They may also 'vote'
not to vote, as has become the pattern in the last
several general elections
where a large segment of the electorate did not
turn out to vote. This
suggests a lot of hard work for civic educators,
including the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission."
The results of the research show that half of the
"refusals" were
concentrated in Mashonaland West - traditionally a Zanu PF
stronghold -
followed by Matabeleland North (48%), Harare (47%) and
Mashonaland East
(43%).
"If the 'fear thesis' has any credence, then
the least fearful electorate is
in Masvingo (28% refusals), followed by
Manicaland (34%)."
In terms of provincial spread, the survey shows that
none of the parties has
majority support in any of the country's 10
provinces. However, half
(actually 49,6%) of Masvingo would vote for the
MDC-T, followed by Bulawayo
(42%), Manicaland (37%) and Midlands (35%). The
party would attract little
support in Mashonaland Central (13%) and
Mashonaland West (18%). Harare
would lend 29% support to the
MDC-T.
Zanu PF would do fairly well in Mashonaland Central where 42%
would vote for
it, followed by Mashonaland West (27%) and Matabeleland South
(20%).
It would do badly in Bulawayo (8%), Matabeleland North (10%) and
Harare
(11%). In terms of age, the survey shows that slightly over a third
(35%) of
the youth prefer the MDC-T, 19% Zanu PF and 2% would vote for
Zapu.
"We also find that another 36% are refusals while 7% would vote for
other
parties," says the survey.As for the middle-aged, 34% would choose an
MDC-T
candidate, 16% would lend their vote to Zanu PF while 41% were in the
non-disclosure category.
Nearly a quarter of the old folk are for
Zanu PF, two in 10 prefer the MDC-T
while almost half would not
disclose.
In the presidential elections in 2008, Tsvangirai of MDC-T had
47,9% and
Mugabe had 43,2%. -News Day
http://www.voanews.com
A
senior member of the judiciary told VOA that Mr. Mugabe demanded a raise
after learning he was earning less than judges paid US$1,200 a
month
Blessing Zulu & Ntungamili Nkomo 13 September
2010
Reports that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and their vice presidents and deputy premiers
secretly received
salary increases of 400 percent from the Treasury in
January have generated
widespread resentment among public
workers.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba confirmed to the
ZANU-PF-leaning
Sunday Mail that Mr. Mugabe was now receiving US$1,750 a
month before other
unspecified allowances. A ZANU-PF cabinet minister told
VOA that Mr
Tsvangirai's salary was raised to US$1,650 at the same
time.
A senior member of the judiciary told VOA that Mr. Mugabe demanded
a raise
after learning he was earning less than judges paid US$1,200 a
month.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti was ordered to provide funds to cover
the
increases, sources said.
Constitutional expert Lovemore Madhuku
said that under the Presidential
Salary and Allowances Act salaries of top
officials must be made public, so
the raises were
unconstitutional.
Cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, soldiers, teachers
and other civil
servants blasted the government for neglecting them while
giving big
increases to executive officers. State workers have given the
government 30
days to address their demands or face a possible
strike.
Labor leaders objected to what they described as inequitable pay
increases.
Deputy Secretary General Japhet Moyo of the Zimbabwe Congress
of trade
Unions said that the government should award state workers the same
percentage increase as Mr. Mugabe.
Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe Secretary General Raymond Majongwe
said his teachers feel left out
by the large pay increases granted to top
government
officials.
Ministerial sources said the Cabinet will take up the issue
tomorrow at its
weekly meeting.
VOA was unable to obtain comment from
Biti. Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara referred all questions to Biti
saying he was in China.
Members of Parliament are also demanding
increased compensation. Bulawayo
East member of Parliament Thabitha Khumalo,
a member of Parliament's welfare
committee, told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Blessing Zulu she was not aware that
top executives had received pay
increases.
In the private sector, meanwhile, The Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions and
the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe are said to be
working to bridge
the gap between the country's top earners and the
shop-floor workers. The
highest-paid executives in the private sector are
said to be earning as much
as US$20,000 a month, the lowest-paid no more
than US$150.
http://www.voanews.com
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai said it is his desire to restore the
nation's ailing
health sector to its former status as one of the best in
Africa
Sandra Nyaira | Washington 13 September
2010
Efforts to revitalize Zimbabwe's health delivery system
following its
near-total collapse in late 2008 and early 2009 gathered pace
Monday as
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai officially reopened refurbished
wards and
an intensive care unit at the Harare Central Hospital.
The
hospital, a major referral center, closed the wards eight years ago due
to
funding, staff and equipment shortages. Mr Tsvangirai commissioned a new
renal center at the hospital too.
The prime minister said it is his
ambition to restore Zimbabwe's ailing
health sector to its former status as
one of the best health care systems in
Africa.
Health Minister Henry
Madzorera said the health sector is now out of
intensive care, and that his
ministry will launch an appeal next month for
US$700 million in donor
assistance to rebuild.
Dr. Madzorera told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra
Nyaira that the situation is
the same in other hospitals in the country
where major improvements in
service are being witnessed.
HARARE, 14 September 2010 (IRIN) -
Zimbabwe's education ministry has backtracked on a new policy, introduced in
August 2010, to grant pregnant schoolgirls
and the prospective fathers maternity and paternity leave from school, and
has opted for disciplinary measures instead.
Photo: IRIN
A baby
being weighed
"Learners in all schools
may be suspended, excluded or expelled from school for various acts of
misconduct of a serious nature," Stephen Mahere, Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, said in a circular.
"Pregnancy of a learner, and being responsible for it, are such an
example of misdemeanour of a serious nature. The law provides for the exclusion
of a learner who falls pregnant, and expulsion of a learner responsible for it,"
the circular warned.
After consultations between the school and parents
or guardians, a girl could be readmitted to school three months after a baby's
birth at the grade or form she had been in before she had the baby, Mahere said.
However, the boy responsible for the pregnancy would be considered for
admission at another school, and only after a period of 12 months.
"It
should be noted that re-admission of the boy learner is not automatic, as
approval would have to be sought and granted from the ministry of education
before re-admission in any other formal school," the circular said.
"There cannot be maternity or paternity leave for learners in schools.
In this regard, it can only be exclusion or expulsion from
school."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Guthrie Munyuki
Tuesday, 14
September 2010 14:30
HARARE - Flamboyant businessman Phillip
Chiyangwa, who is at odds with
fellow board members in the Loackape
investment vehicle over the "irregular
sale" of their shares to Nigel
Chanakira, nearly manhandled the chairman of
his consortium when he was
summoned to explain the controversy surrounding
the deal.
Sources
said a furious Chiyangwa came close to flooring Rugare Chidembo who,
together with three other shareholders in Loackape questioned the sale of
their 10 percent stake in Kingdom Financial Holdings (KFHL) which paved the
way for Chanakira to wrest control of his financial services
firm.
"He didn't like the intense questioning. On more than two
occasions,
Chiyangwa had to be restrained from physically attacking
Chidembo," said an
insider who attended the meeting Monday evening in
Harare.
Chiyangwa could neither deny nor confirm that he was nearly
involved in a
fracas with the diminutive former Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
(Econet)
director.
"Look, I don't know who your source is in our
consortium but what I said at
the weekend stands. As for fisticuffs or the
noise about the so called
irregular sales, it is nonsense." said Chiyangwa
"We hold insignificant
shares in Kingdom - 2 percent each. Nigel must be
allowed to get his bank.
He deserves it."
The maverick entrepreneur,
who met with fellow shareholders at the offices
of a leading lawyer, denied
any wrongdoing in the alleged sale of his
consortium's
shares.
Loackape comprises five different companies - Lebwave
Investments (Rugare
Chidembo), Venlem Investments (Chipo Mutasa), Parcam
Investments (Phillip
Chiyangwa), Cagmal Investments (Temba Mliswa) and
Filtem Investments
(Langton Nyatsambo) - who acquired 10% Econet stake in
KFHL in 2009.
Each company holds two percent shares in both KFHL and
Meikles Africa
limited.
In August 2009, Econet's private investment
arm sold its stake in both
companies to Loackape Investments for US$27
million, representing almost 25
million shares at US$0, 71 per
share.
But other shareholders in Loackape Investments have taken
Chiyangwa head-on
for going behind their back to sell the shares without
their approval.
The disputing shareholders insist that if Chiyangwa wants
to sell shares,
including his, they must exercise the right of first refusal
since they have
pre-emptive rights - meaning they have the option to buy
first or refuse to
sanction the sell of shares outside the
consortium.
"We are hereby requesting an update on the developments
regarding
Meikles\Kingdom shares. Apparently, I have received several calls
from other
members who have not been updated or consulted on issues and are
worried
about the recent press reports.
"Each member has to sign to
give consent to the sale of their respective
shareholdings before any deal
can be finalised. We hope we can get clarity
on the way forward at the
meeting on Wednesday and look forward to your
report," wrote Chipo Mutasa,
the Loackape secretary to Chiyangwa Monday.
Mutasa's letter was in
response to last weekend's comments by the former
Zanu PF Mashonaland West
chairman who claimed that they had sold their 10
percent stake in KFHL to
Chanakira.
"Chanakira is now the owner of the bank," Chiyangwa said at
the weekend. "A
fortnight ago we structured a deal and the structure is
self-financing. I
was involved and we gave him our stake. He got 43 percent
from Moxon, 10
percent from Loackape, and added to his existing six percent
stake, this
makes it a 59 percent shareholding."
Chiyangwa confirmed
that he had been summoned to appear before his
colleagues, again, but said
he was unfazed by the agenda which includes the
sale of shares to
Chanakira.
Instead, he said Wednesday's meeting would put the matter to
rest but
reminded his colleagues that Chanakira had actually increased his
stake in
KFHL.
"Yesterday (Monday) when we were meeting, Nigel had
just bought 14% shares
and as I speak to you, he is now at 23%. If you add
this to the 43% that he
got from John Moxon you will realise that he is in
total control of his
bank," Chiyangwa told Daily News.
However,
Chiyangwa did not want to comment on the consortium's deal with
Econet
Wireless Zimbabwe which, among other things, does not allow them to
sell
their shares before settling the money owed to the mobile
telecommunications
operator.
Initially, Econet had given the consortium September 19, 2010
as the
deadline but following the delays in finalising the matter between
Moxon and
Chanakira, the blue chip firm has extended its deadline by six
months.
Associated Press
By The Associated Press (CP) - 1 hour
ago
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe won't be going to the United
Nations-backed
Homeless World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil this weekend
because most of
the players didn't come home last time, the team's coach
said Tuesday.
Petros Chatiza told The Associated Press that the team's
last appearance in
Australia in 2008 ended in turmoil after nine of the
10-member squad -
composed of players from some of the impoverished
country's most squalid
townships - went missing and only he returned to
Zimbabwe.
For that reason, when Italy hosted last year's tournament, the
European
country refused visas for the revamped Zimbabwean
team.
Chatiza says he didn't bother to prepare for Brazil, where the
seven-a-side
tournament will be held starting Sunday, but is hoping to
compete again in
France next year.
"We are now trying to get ready
enough to be accepted in France next year,"
Chatiza said.
In recent
years, Zimbabweans have disappeared from several official trips
abroad under
the banner of sporting or civic events. A group of Boy Scouts
left a camp at
a jamboree in Britain honouring the world founder of the
movement, Lord
Robert Baden-Powell.
At least three million Zimbabweans have fled the
country as economic
refugees or political fugitives.
For Chatiza,
getting a new team ready includes taking steps to show that
players are
working - if only selling goods, growing vegetables or doing
carpentry - and
thus would have reasons to come home.
The annual seven-a-side
tournament's sponsors include the U.N. children's'
agency, the European
Football Association and Nike.
The competition claims it is taking the
game to streets of the world,
creating self-esteem among youthful players
and "beating homelessness and
poverty through football."
Chatiza said
his team trained at the Hatcliffe township settlement outside
Harare, a camp
of wooden shacks housing many families displaced by a brutal
government
"urban renewal" program in 2005 known as Operation Murambvatsina,
or "clear
out the filth" in the local Shona language.
The United Nations estimated
that 700,000 people were left homeless in that
operation and another two
million lost their livelihoods as market stalls
and traders' roadside
shelters were demolished amid violence.
Critics said the slum clearance
program aimed to root out burgeoning support
for the then opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party in urban areas.
Last year, Movement
for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai joined a
power sharing
coalition as prime minister with longtime President Robert
Mugabe in efforts
to end a decade of political violence and economic
meltdown.