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Robert Mugabe allies face rare legal challenge
Jestina Mukoko, the Zimbabwe human rights activist, and 17 others have
launched an extremely rare legal challenge against President Robert Mugabe's
closest colleagues for £14 million associated with claims of kidnap, torture and
illegal detention.
By Peta Thornycroft, Zimbabwe Correspondent
Published: 3:35PM BST 31 Aug
2010
Ms Mukoko was abducted at dawn in December 2008 by a dozen security agents,
shoved into an unmarked vehicle and driven to a secret location. Among those
also detained was a two-year-old boy held with his parents.
The group of 18 disappeared 10 weeks after Zimbabwe's
former opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, 58, who easily beat Mr Mugabe, 86,
in the first round of March 2008 presidential elections, signed a political
agreement which led to a unity government in February last year.
After an international outcry, Ms Mukoko and other detainees were released to
hospital, and she was charged with recruiting insurgents to overthrow Mr Mugabe.
Last year the Supreme Court ruled her arrest was illegal.
The legal challenge by Ms Mukoko and fellow detainees is the most politically
significant since the country gained independence in 1980. The case will be
heard by Mugabe loyalist, Judge George Chiweshe, who was chairman of the
election authority in 2008 which delayed presidential poll results for five
weeks.
At the time of her abduction, Ms Mukoko was documenting violence by Mr
Mugabe's Zanu PF's party against Mr Tsvangirai's supporters ahead of the June
2008 presidential run off. A week before the poll Mr Tsvangirai withdrew his
candidacy after about 200 of his supporters were killed and hundreds injured by
Zanu PF militia.
A Zanu PF justice minister, a former security minister, a police commissioner
and senior prison officers, policemen and security agents are among those facing
a trial on September 13.
Mr Tsvangirai is prime minister in the inclusive government, but political
analysts say Mr Mugabe still holds much of the real power.
So
called ‘implementation matrix’ exposes farce of coalition
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance
Guma
31 August 2010
Twenty-nine months after Zimbabweans rejected
Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF’s
leadership in the March 2008 elections the same
losers are making demands
that are meant to paralyze the power sharing deal
that rescued them. A
so-called ‘implementation matrix’ was agreed by the
political parties and is
meant to see a total of 24 issues being
implemented, at different time
frames.
While the two MDC parties hope
the implementation of these issues will
provide a clear road map for
credible elections, analysts have questioned
the inclusion of issues which
neither of the parties can deliver. For
example the parties have agreed ‘to
call upon foreign governments hosting,
funding and relaying ‘pirate’ radio
stations to stop interference in the
internal affairs of the Republic of
Zimbabwe.’
Apart from the obvious fact that broadcasts on shortwave and
via the
internet are completely legal neither of the MDC parties own or
operate any
of the independent radio stations. How the three parties in the
coalition
government will ‘call upon foreign governments’ to stop hosting
such
stations also remains a mystery as they have not broken any laws and
are
within all international legal rights to operate.
In 2000 Capital
Radio, which eventually became SW Radio Africa in exile,
challenged
government’s broadcasting monopoly and won its case. Within 6
days of
broadcasting from a local hotel the station was shut down by Mugabe
using
his excessive presidential powers. Commentators say instead of the
coalition
partners wanting to shut down independent stations in foreign
countries they
should focus on removing repressive broadcasting legislation
and allow
independent media players to broadcast in Zimbabwe.
The same muddled logic is
extended to another of the agreed issues, the
‘immediate implementation of
the sanctions removal strategy.’ ZANU PF is
putting pressure on the MDC to
get western targeted sanctions removed before
they agree to implement any of
the other agreed issues. MDC-T Foreign
Affairs spokesman, Professor Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro, told us earlier this
year ‘we don’t formulate foreign policy
on any country’s behalf.’ So has
anything changed?
Governments who
imposed targeted sanctions made it clear that respect for
human rights is a
pre-condition for lifting the measures, but Mugabe’s
regime continues using
violence and intimidation in its campaigns. Over the
weekend MDC-T spokesman
Nelson Chamisa told a party rally in Chitungwiza;
‘We were not there when
they were doing things that made them get those
sanctions. We are trying to
help them cleanse themselves.’
The ‘implementation matrix’ goes on to
talk about the ‘regularization of the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe
board, the appointment of a new Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation board and
constituting the Media Trust, within one
month. Commentators said all this
is just more bureaucracy and delaying
tactics and they had expected a
timetable about the time frame for issuing
licences to independent
broadcasters. It is however patently clear Mugabe
has no intention of
licensing independent radio stations before the next
elections.
Other
issues agreed to include issues around - a land audit, cabinet rules,
electoral vacancies, national heroes, hate speech in the media, review of
ministerial allocations and mandates and amendments to the electoral act,
among other things. But none of the issues had a clear cut method of
implementation and many of them did not seem to move the country forward at
all.
For example it was agreed to review the position of George
Charamba, who
doubles up as Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry
and as Mugabe’s
spokesman. The parties said they would ‘ensure that the
Permanent Secretary
is apolitical.’ How this will be achieved was not
addressed and it has been
given to the Chairman of the Public Service
Commission and the Chief
Secretary to the President and Cabinet to resolve.
Both are appointed by
Mugabe and are unlikely to sack Charamba. How Charamba
can become apolitical
overnight is hard to see.
How the MDC parties
signed up to an agreement such as this ‘implementation
matrix’ remains a
source of curiosity for many. Psychology Maziwisa, who
heads the Union for
Sustainable Development, says that in any negotiation
you have to give and
take and make compromises, but he told our Newsreel
programme he is
surprised at some of the things the MDC have agreed to.
Maziwisa said the
MDC is failing to use their position in government ‘to
criticize ZANU PF at
close range’ and instead they have become ‘too
comfortable’ in office.
Efforts to get comment from MDC-T spokesman Nelson
Chamisa proved fruitless
as he was thought to be in cabinet meetings most of
the day.
Zimbabwe's
Marange gem output to rise
http://af.reuters.com/
Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:51pm GMT
*
Zimbabwe set to become leading producer
* $2 bn annual revenues
forecast
* Work begins at $20 million diamond processing
facility
By Nelson Banya
MOUNT HAMPDEN, Zimbabwe, Aug 31 (Reuters)
- Zimbabwe's diamond output from
its Marange fields will reach 40 million
carats in the next three years,
with annual revenues expected at around $2
billion, a government adviser
said on Tuesday.
The government says it
has stockpiled 4.5 million carats from its two joint
venture mines in
Marange since January and that it sold its first stones
last month after
approval from global diamond industry regulator, the
Kimberley Process
(KP).
"With the new diamond find in Chiadzwa (Marange), we're estimated
at 40
million carats per year and $2 billion per year in revenue," said
Belgian
diamond expert Filip van Loere in an interview. He is advising the
government on ensuring compliance with the KP.
"Zimbabwe has been
propelled to the number one spot as the world's most
important player and it
will be number three in value. That is estimated to
come along within the
next two to three years."
Zimbabwe's unity government, formed by
President Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai, now prime minister, says it
needs $10 billion to fix an economy
ravaged by hyperinflation, which peaked
at 500 billion percent in December
2008.
Van Loere said Zimbabwe
could surpass top diamond producers like Russia,
Botswana and South Africa,
but said a sudden increase in output on the
global market could force prices
down.
"The main issue for Zimbabwe is to be careful in harvesting this
resource.
Zimbabwe might add 20 percent to global trade, but then prices
will go down
at least 60-70 percent, so we have to be responsible, Zimbabwe
should not
become the main producer just for the sake of it," van Loere
said.
Zimbabwe's government has formed two joint venture firms -- Mbada
Diamonds
and Canadile Miners -- with South African partners to mine the
Marange
diamonds, but van Loere said there was scope for more mines in the
vast
fields.
On Tuesday, Canadile Miners launched the construction of
a $20 million
diamond processing and auction centre to the west of the
capital Harare.
"Currently, the two mines occupy 10 percent of the total
area. We need two
or three more firms in the area," said van
Loere.
Over 30,000 illegal diggers descended on the Marange fields in
2006,
prompting the government to deploy the army to stop rampant panning
and
smuggling.
Rights groups, however, accuse the security forces of
committing atrocities
during the crackdown on the panners. (Editing by
William Hardy)
Zimbabwe
firm builds diamond polishing, cutting centre
http://news.yahoo.com
AFP
- 2 hrs 33 mins
ago
MOUNT HAMPDEN, Zimbabwe (AFP) - A diamond firm operating from
Zimbabwe's
Marange diamond fields has begun constructing a multi-million
dollar cutting
and polishing centre in the country, officials said
Tuesday.
The Zimbabwe Diamond Technology Centre, which is being
constructed by
Canadile miners, one of the three firms operating in Marange,
is set to
become operational within six months.
Faber Chidarikire,
governor for Mashonaland West province said the diamond
industry was set to
revive the country's economic woes.
"The ailing country's economy shall
be revived through the proceeds,
marketing rates, making life easy for the
minister of finance (Tendai
Biti)," Chidarikire said.
Early this
month, Zimbabwe resumed trading of Marange diamond sales since
international
regulators partially lifted a ban imposed after the military
seized control
of the mines.
The sale generated about 30 million US dollars, according
to government
figures.
Upon completion, the centre is expected to
create 7,000 jobs.
Cougan Matanhire, chairman of Canadile miners said the
centre would funnel
all the rough diamond streams of Zimbabwe into one
professional and high
security area.
"This is the centre where we
will transform rough diamonds into polished
diamonds," Matanhire told
delegates who attended the launch.
A Belgian, diamond expert, Filip Van
Laere said Marange fields could produce
40 million carats
annually.
Once fully completed, the 20 million US dollar centre will have
among other
things banks, a diamond college and insurance firms.
In
January, diamond watchdog Kimberley Process halted the sale of stones
from
Zimbabwe's eastern Marange diamond fields after documenting military
abuses
against civilians.
The Zimbabwean government reacted by imposing a
blanket ban on the export of
diamonds until the Kimberley Process gave its
Marange diamonds a clean bill
of health.
Mpofu
faces court action for allowing Chiadzwa diamond sales
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
31
August 2010
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu is set to face court action for
allowing the sale
of diamonds mined at the controversial Chiadzwa diamond
fields, despite a
Supreme Court order barring the stones from being
sold.
The title holder of the Chiadzwa claim, African Consolidated
Resources
(ACR), has lodged legal papers against Mpofu for violating the
Supreme Court
order. The order was handed down earlier this year as part of
the ownership
wrangle between ACR and the government approved firms mining
the site.
The government owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
(ZMDC) has
joined forces with Mbada Mining and Canadile Mining, who were
licensed to
mine the Chiadzwa site after it was seized in 2006 from the UK
based ACR.
Since the first High Court ruling in their favour in 2009, ACR
has been
embroiled in a legal battle over ownership of the site.
The
ZMDC and Mines Minister Mpofu then appealed this High Court decision and
the
Supreme Court subsequently ordered all mining operations be suspended
until
the issue was finalised. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku ruled that
despite the ZMDC being in physical control of the claims, "they must cease
all mining activities and it is so ordered."
"Allowing applicants
(ZMDC) to continue mining, pending appeal, has the
potential of causing
irreparable damage to the respondents (ACR) should the
appeal fail," the
Chief Justice ruled.
But mining has continued regardless, and last month
a multi million dollar
auction of the stones was launched in Harare. ACR now
wants Mpofu to face
High Court action for allowing the sales. ACR also wants
the High Court to
throw out the appeal made by Mpofu, over Chiadzwa's legal
ownership.
"As a government minister he has a legal and moral duty to see
to it that
orders of (the High Court) and of the Supreme Court are obeyed
and see to it
that the integrity of (the courts) is protected, by not openly
and publicly
acting in defiance of a court order," reads part of the heads
of arguments
filed by ACR's legal team.
Mugabe Vows
To Defy Regional Court In Land Dispute With Former White
Farmers
http://www.voanews.com
President Mugabe vowed to defy rulings by a regional tribunal
saying Harare
was pressing ahead with its land reforms to correct colonial
land imbalances
Blessing Zulu & Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 30
August 2010
President Robert Mugabe has vowed to defy the ruling of
the Southern African
Development Community tribunal or any International
Court concerning Harare's
dispute with former white commercial
farmers.
The state controlled Herald newspaper qoutes president Mugabe as
telling
mourners at the burial of his brother in law, Reward Marufu Sunday
in
Chivhu, Mashonaland East province, that the aggrieved farmers will never
reverse the land reform by appealing to international courts.
The
tribunal ruled in November 2008 that the Zimbabwean leader's
controversial
land reform programme was discriminatory, racist and illegal
under the SADC
treaty.
The regional court ordered the Zimbabwe government not to seize
land from
the 79 farmers who had appealed to the Namibia-based court and
said Harare
must compensate those it had already evicted from their
farms.
SADC is currently reviwing the operations of the tribunal after
Harare
challenged its legality. Human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga told
VOA's that
Mr Mugabe's remarks show that he does not respect the rule of
law.
Mr Mugabe meanwhile has threatened threatened to confiscate land
from
indigenous black farmers who are leasing out to former white owners,
tracts
of land allocated to them by government.
Speaking Sunday, Mr.
Mugabe said black land holders unable to utilize farms
given to them under
the land reform, should hand them back to the state
instead of leasing them
to former white commercial farmers.
He said government was pressing ahead
with land reforms, initiated by his
former ruling ZANU-PF government in
early 2000 to correct colonial land
imbalances.
"Those (black
farmers) who cannot put their farms to good use should
surrender them back
to government," state media quoted Mr Mugabe as saying.
Commercial
Farmers Union Vice President Deon Theron confirmed to VOA that
some
beneficiaries of the land reform program are leasing out their land to
white
farmers because they have no capacity to engage in productive farming.
Zimbabwe's
Constitutional Revision Chiefs to Meet UNDP Seeking More Funding
http://www.voanews.com/
COPAC
co-chairmen Edward Mkhosi said they will be meeting with UNDP
officials on
Tuesday over the proposed supplementary budget
Irwin Chifera, Jonga
Kandemiiri and Patience Rusere | Washington 30 August
2010
The
parliamentary committe leading Zimbabwe's constitutional revision
exercise
met Monday to finalise a proposed supplementary budget to see
through the
consultation process ahead of a crucial meeting with main
funders, the
United Nations Development Program.
Constitution select committe
co-chairmen Edward Mkhosi said they will be
meeting with officials from the
UNDP on Tuesday to discuss a funding
proposal of US$8 million. Government
wants the money to cover the remaining
phase of the
consultations.
"We had a brainstorming session with Constitution Affairs
Minister Eric
Matinenga today and we will be presenting our supplementary
budget to UNDP
tomorrow," Mkhosi told VOA.
Consultations in
metropolitan Harare and Bulawayo have been pushed back to
mid September
after outreach teams from Mashonaland Central and East
provinces protested a
move by the select committee to re-assign them to the
two cities before
completing work in their provinces.
Funding agreements between the UNDP
and COPAC expired last Friday but
government is seeking extended funding for
15 more days. But the UNDP is
demanding an audit before it can release any
additional funding, according
to VOA correspondent Irwin Chifera who
reported from Harare.
Some COPAC provincial team members say the 15
additional days are not enough
as they now have to hold two outreach
meetings instead of one per day, thus
cutting down the time people are
expected to make their contributions.
But, Midlands province COPAC team
leader, Amos Chibaya told VOA Studio 7
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that his
province wass comfortable with the two
week extension.
Elsewhere,
director for the Youth Intiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe,
Sidney Chisi
said there were low levels of participation by youth in
outreach meetings
allegedly because of fear and intimidation.
COPAC figures show youths
accounting for just 19.4% of participants, though
they form 41% of the
national population.
Chisi told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere
that the trend was common
in rural areas, where insitutions of violence are
deeply entrenched.
Zimbabwe
Government Bans Works of Prominent Visual Artist
http://www.voanews.com/
Owen Maseko's lawyer,
Lizwe Jamela, said it is surprising that the
government has banned his
client's pieces of art displayed at the National
Art Gallery in Bulawayo
using an achaic law not related in any way to the
non-pornographic
displays.
Gibbs Dube | Washington 30 August 2010
Harare has
banned the works of prominent visual artist Owen Maseko depicting
the Fifth
Brigade atrocities of the 1980s in which an estimated 20 000
civillians,
mostly supporters of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU),
were killed
by the army unit.
The civilians were massacred in the Matableland and
Midlands Provinces and
Mr Mugabe's only apology was that it was a "moment of
madness."
Maseko's works were banned under the Censorship and
Entertainment Act once
used by the Ian Smith regime to suppress the rise of
nationalist movements
in the then Rhodesia.
Maseko's lawyer, Lizwe
Jamela, said it is surprising that the government has
banned his client's
pieces of art displayed at the National Art Gallery in
Bulawayo using an
achaic law not related in any way to the non-pornographic
displays.
In a government gazette published last Friday, the
government banned "the
showing of video clips with effigies, words and
paintings on the walls of
the National Art Gallery set up by
Maseko".
Jamela told VOA's Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that the ban is
meant to
ensure that members of the public do not have access to the
exhibition even
if Maseko is acquitted in the courts of law of various
charges associated
with the Fifth Brigade exhibition.
Meanwhile, Vote
Thebe, the Director of the National Art Gallery and the
sculptor of a
controversial nude statue, 'Looking into the Future', is
expected to appear
in court on Tuesday on charges of allowing Maseko to hold
the art exhibition
without a licence.
Thebe will also be charged under the Censorship and
Entertainment Act for
allegedly keeping a nude statue at the gallery showing
male genital organs.
'Looking into the Future' was pulled down from
Bulawayo's Tower Block
gardens in the 1980s after the local authority was
accused of aiding Thebe
to mount an offensive piece of art in
public.
The then Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban
Development, the late
Enos Chikowore, said the statue was an insult to the
public and mockery to
the then ruling party, Zanu PF.
Police closed
Maseko's exhibition on March 26, showing President Mugabe and
his crack army
unit dripping with blood of cowed innocent civilians, 24
hours after it was
mounted at the gallery.
He was then arrested and granted bail a few days
after police closed a
photography exhibition in Harare showing human rights
violations by Mr
Mugabe's supporters.
Mr Mugabe is accused of
unleashing the Fifth Brigade on unarmed supporters
of ZAPU then led by his
bitter rival, Joshua Nkomo.
The
art they don’t want you to see, because of the truth they fear you will
learn
Artist
Owen Maseko to fight Home Affairs ban
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Irene Madongo
31 August
2010
Bulawayo artist Owen Maseko says he will fight a ban on his art
work, which
depicts the 1980s Matabeleland massacres carried out by troops
loyal to
Robert Mugabe.
On Saturday it was reported that the Ministry
of Home Affairs had banned his
work, under the Censorship and Entertainment
Control Act, with a notice in
the Government Gazette reading: "The
exhibition at the Bulawayo Art Gallery
of effigies, paintings and words
written on the walls portraying the
Gukurahundi era is a tribal-biased event
and as such is prohibited."
On Tuesday Maseko confirmed that his exhibition
is banned. His work is made
of paintings and effigies that show the harsh
reality of the Gukurahundi, as
well as the decades of oppression and
violence that have characterised
Zimbabwe.
In March the work was shown at
the Bulawayo Art Gallery, but Maseko was
arrested and charged with violating
Section 33 of the Criminal Law and
Codification Act, which punishes anyone
who insults or undermines the
authority of the President.
Speaking about
the ban Maseko told SW Radio Africa; "As an artist for the
sake of the whole
artist community, I have to challenge the ban. There is no
way we can
function as artists if we can't be free to express ourselves. The
most
important thing as an artist is that we need to be relevant to the
society
we are living in."
The Ministry of Home Affairs is co-run by the MDC-T's
Theresa Makone and
ZANU PF's Kembo Mohadi. That the Home Affairs endorsed
athis draconian clamp
down, with an MDC-T minister at its helm, casts doubts
on the party's claims
of promoting democracy and freedom of expression in
Zimbabwe. The MDC's
constitution says it is a party dedicated to the
promotion and advancement
of human rights and to setting up a government
based on the principles of
freedom and good governance.
"The
unfortunate part is that we have got the healing process which has to
go on,
the organ of national healing which is supposed to function under the
government of national unity. But I don't know how they are going to make
that work because if you can't discuss these issues then it means they are
not functional in present day Zimbabwe," Maseko said.
Tabani Moyo, from
the Media Institute of Southern Africa's Zimbabwe chapter,
said this ban was
not taken by ZANU PF alone but by the MDC factions too.
"They chose to call
it an inclusive government, in that same definition they
are inclusive in
violating media freedom of expression as we have seen with
the banning of
paintings and film," he said.
Moyo added: "What the government of Zimbabwe is
trying to do is to make sure
that there is no debate pertaining to the
atrocities of the early eighties.
How can the nation heal when artists of
the day who are supposed to mirror
what society is doing are firstly
arrested, and secondly the government goes
to make a bold move of issuing a
gazette, targeting a person and his work?"
The Ministry of Home Affairs could
not be reached for comment.
Mugabe,
Kasukuwere implicated in Temba Mliswa trial
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Staff Reporter
Tuesday, 31
August 2010 18:13
Temba MliswaHARARE - President Robert Mugabe and
Minister of Youth
Development Saviour Kasukuwere have been implicated in the
case of
businessman and sports personality Temba Mliswa accused of fraud
involving
over US$1 million.
This was revealed yesterday when
Mliswa's trial opened before regional
magistrate Never Katiyo.
Mliswa
is accused of illegally acquiring shares from Noshio Motors owned by
Paul
Westwood.
Led by prosecutor Goodwill Nyasha, Paul Westwood, thefirst
State witness and
co-owner of Noshio Motors said Mliswa told him that he was
the Vice
President of the
Affirmative Action Group and had been sent by
Kasukuwere to take-over his
company in line with the country's
indigenisation policy.
"The first accused (Mliswa) came to my offices and
toldme that he had been
sent by Kasukuwere and that even his Excellency
President Mugabe was well
aware of this," Westwood said.
He said
Mliswa, who is jointly accused with five others - Alfred Mwatiwamba,
George
Marere, Pastor Hammarskjold and his wife Brendaly Banda, the son of
Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa, Martin Mutasa, threatened to
make him disappear if he declined to comply.
"The accused (Mliswa)
told me if I do not co-operate he will make me
disappear and I will never
see my wife and children again," Westwood said.
Westwood told the court
that Mliswa had prejudiced him of more than US$60
000 in unpaid salary and
allowance since he illegally acquired the company
on December 19,
2009.
"He had appointed himself executive chairman and I was barred from
work as
operational director until the 12th of January 2010. This
deteriorated my
life," he said.
Westwood said Mliswa had run down the
company and mismanaged the company
resulting in the firm accumulating large
debt. He also said on January 11,
2010, Mliswa's co-accused Marere, who had
been appointed finance director
of Noshio Motors and Murambiwa - the
managing director, threatened to kill
him after he went to the firm to
demand his salary and benefits.
Under cross examination by Mliswa's
lawyer Charles Chinyama, Westwood stated
that he still owned 50 percent of
the company's shares although he did not
receive any dividends ever since
the company was taken over by Mliswa who
he also accused of illegally
running the firm.
Mr Chinyama averred that Mliswa and his co-accused were
being wrongfully
charged as there was no fraud disclosed by the
witness.
The court also ordered Westwood to produce his passport today to
establish
if he was a Zimbabwean citizen after the defence lawyer raised
concerns over
his ownership of the company while it is believed that he is a
British
citizen.
Mliswa and his accomplices have vehemently denied
the charges which stem in
October last year following a dispute over
misappropriation of company funds
by Pastor Banda's wife, Brendaly who was
finance and human resources
manager.
Brendaly had allegedly
misappropriated US$25 000 withoutWestwood's
knowledge. She was subsequently
suspended inOctober. In August the State
further claims, Banda borrowed
US$100000 from Mliswa at 5 percent interest
per month.He allegedly failed to
repay the loan resulting in Mliswa
demanding that he surrender his Noshio
shares to offset thedebt.The trial
continues Wednesday.
DPM
Mutambara challenges Tsvangirai, Nkomo
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Staff Reporter
Tuesday, 31
August 2010 16:38
FILABUSI - There was drama at the burial of the
late MDC deputy president
Gibson Sibanda in Filabusi Sunday, when Deputy
Prime minister Arthur
Mutambara publicly challenged Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy
President John Nkomo to explain why the government
they lead was burying an
exemplary hero of Sibanda's stature at his rural
home and not at the
national heroes acre.
In a heated speech
which sent the crowd into a frenzy, Mutambara switched to
first name terms
and asked them several times why the government failed to
declare Sibanda a
national hero even after voluntarily admitting that they
are both "political
creatures of his (Sibanda's) creation".
"You John Nkomo, deputy president
of this country, you say you are a
creature of Sibanda's creation from the
time you met him in the early days
of the trade unions. Why then are we in
Insiza? Why?" Mutambara challenged
Nkomo.
"You Morgan Tsvangirai, you
have made a decision that this man is a national
hero and you have openly
said so. You have just admitted that he is your
mentor, your creator in
politics. Why are we in Filabusi? Why?."
Mutambara said every Zimbabwean
was convinced beyond doubt that Sibanda was
a national hero and should have
been buried at the national heroes' acre,
but it was disheartening to note
that the inclusive government, which he
said he was ashamed to be part of,
had ignored that public wish and
expectation.
"Gibson Sibanda was
dignity personified, dignity walking, a creator of the
liberators of
Zimbabwe. John Nkomo is a creature of Sibanda's creation.
Morgan Tsvangirai
is a creature of Sibanda's creation. But this government
and its presidents
have a problem. We cannot allow a government that has no
respect for the
people of Zimbabwe, the people of Matabeleland," Mutambara
said.
In
his address Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai described Sibanda as his
creator and mentor from the trade union days, adding that there was no doubt
that he was a national hero.
"Heroes are not bestowed. Heroism is
earned and those who sacrifice
selflessly for their people deserve hero
status. I know the majority of
Zimbabweans have one determination and it is
that Gibson Sibanda was a
national hero," the prime minister
said.
Vice President John Nkomo did not address the hero status issue but
described Sibanda as an exemplary leader, political colleague, a friend and
a great gift to the country. He appealed to Zimbabweans to be calm and stop
insulting each other and be willing to forgive. Sibanda was laid to rest at
his rural home in Silalatshani area of Filabusi but the debate over the
government's failure to declare him a national hero rages on.
Copac's
US$8mln donor bid fails
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Guthrie Munyuki
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
16:37
HARARE - The government has failed to charm donors to commit
more than US$8
million towards the completion of the constitutional outreach
programme,
although the critical phase will not be affected by the shortage
of
resources, a cabinet minister has said.
Eric Matinenga, the
Constitutional Affairs Minister, told Daily News that
the constitutional
management team on Monday failed to convince donors to
support its
supplementary budget, which had been approved to cover the
completion of the
outreach programme including Harare and Bulawayo.
"There were no takers.
Nobody decided to put money on the table in support
of the supplementary
budget. This means money has to be found elsewhere to
complete this
critical phase," Matinenga said in an exclusive interview.
He said the
government would use the "left overs" from the previous budget
and proceeds
from the treasury to complete the outreach programme including
the capital
city and Bulawayo.
"We are on target. The outreach programme will be
completed on time.
Tentative dates for Harare and Bulawayo are September 18
and 19. Unless
there are unforeseen changes, otherwise these are the final
dates leading to
the completion of the outreach exercise," Matinenga
said.
Matinenga expressed the hope that both the drafting of the
constitution and
the second All Stakeholders conference would be done before
the end of the
year.
The constitutional making process has been
riddled with violence and
intimidation in provinces that have been
traditionally hotbeds for political
violence.
A faction of the MDC
led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has expressed
its disappointment
over the current constitution-making process which it
says is marred by
coercion and violence.
"The constitution-making process has problems at
the moment. There is
violence, people are expressing views under duress and
in some cases are
coerced to take certain positions.
"There is also
an issue of areas where non civilians are driven in buses (by
party
officials) to give their views. I do agree that this constitution has
problems. Daily we receive reports of abductions, violence and assault,"
Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary general told this newspaper
recently.
Arch critics of the constitutional making process such as the
National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) have condemned the process describing
it as
flawed and not people-driven.
Lovemore Madhuku, whose NCA was
instrumental in the rejection of the 2000
Zanu PF -sponsored constitutional
draft, has repeatedly spat venom at the
three formations in the inclusive
government for assaulting the liberties of
the ordinary citizens by foisting
their parties views in the current
process.
However, the MDC, which
is part of the alliance that includes the NCA, has
defended its involvement
in the constitution-making process arguing that it
is better to participate
than boycott.
Instead, the MDC has urged Zimbabweans to brave the
intimidation and express
their views to "finish a process that will bring
decisive totality in the
next elections".
"While we share the
concerns, our view is that a new constitution is the
first sign post to the
roadmap of elections. This will lead to a referendum
and then the
elections.
"We urge the people to express their views. Sixty per cent of
the
constitution will write itself. There are agreed positions that are of
fundamental material and importance on the issue of the executive and other
areas," Biti said.
The current constitution which has been amended 19
times in just 31 years is
blamed for entrenching President Robert Mugabe's
powers as it gives him the
powers to unilaterally mutilate certain
provisions for his benefit.
Government
makes available $70 million to boost economy
http://www.swradioafrica.com
Staff Writer
31 August
2010
The inclusive government and the Africa Export Import Bank
(Afreximbank) on
Monday unveiled a US$100 million joint loan facility to try
to revive the
country's economy.
The US$100 million line of credit
that will benefit the private sector saw
Afrexim bank contributing US$50
million, while the government chipped in
with US$20 million to the fund,
which will be channeled through banks. It is
expected that another financial
institution will chip in with some cash to
push the funds to US$100
million.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told guests at the official
launch in
Harare that Afreximbank remains fully committed to supporting the
country's
economic recovery 'so that it retains its position as an economic
power
house of southern Africa.'
The prime Minister added that the
purpose of the revival fund was to
resuscitate a broad range of firms in the
productive sector, especially
those in the agriculture and manufacturing
sectors. The facility was
reportedly the brainchild of the Ministry of
Finance, headed by Tendai Biti
from the MDC-T.
Biti said the
government has been struggling to secure credit lines, with
the country
receiving just over US$500 million in aid loans last year and a
further
US$200 million by June.
He said the formation of the inclusive government
in 2009 saw an improvement
in inflows, with disbursed lines of credit
amounting to US $656 million
being recorded in 2009. Zimbabwe stills needs
over US$10 billion to revive
its economy.
But the core problem still
remains. The Global Political Agreement has not
yet been implanted and there
is still no real sharing of power in the unity
government. The full
implementation of the GPA and genuine power sharing
would instantly see mass
investment and a real hope for an improvement in
the economy.
Council
to close businesses without water supply
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Sidney Saize
Tuesday, 31
August 2010 16:35
MUTARE - Hundreds of businesses in the Eastern
borders city are faced with
imminent eviction from their premises following
notice letters from the
Mutare City Council threatening to close their
premises for operating
without water supply.
The local council
this week dispatched the letters to businesses in the
central business
district and industrial sites advising them they would be
ejected from their
premises if they fail to restore water, which the council
cut owing to
failure to pay service charges.
Most businesses had water services
disconnected last week for non payment of
bills. The water bills range
between US$1 000 to as much as $5 000. The
bills have accumulated since
Zimbabwe reverted to using the United States
dollar.
The letter dated
27 August 2010, states that,"You are required to restore
water supply within
24 hours of this date of this notice or vacate the
premises immediately.
Re-occupation of the premises is subject to the
restoration of a proper and
sufficient water supply."
The council has also notified the police to
enforce the order.
The local authority says occupying of premises without
piped water
constitutes a nuisance in terms of Section 7 (e) of the Umtali
Public Health
By-Laws of 1957.
Simon Mashababe, the city's Acting
Director of Health services who authored
the letter was not immediately
available for a comment.
However, in the last council budget it was
revealed the business community
and residents of the city owe the Mutare
city council millions of dollars in
unpaid rates, water services and other
supplementary charges. In its 2010
budget, the council indicated that the
residents' non payment of services
rendered was negatively affecting its
service delivery plans in refuse
collection, water reticulation and supply
throughout the city.
Manicaland Business Association chairman Patrick
Matsanga said the council
was being insensitive to the plight of businesses.
He said most businesses
were struggling and had not been doing well and were
failing to pay the high
bills.
"Since the change of the currency
regime from the Zimbabwe dollar to the US
dollar we have been finding it
hard to honour our dues to service providers
such as to Tel-One, ZESA and
now the council. We would prefer a situation
where the service providers
allow us to pay the outstanding amount in
terms," said
Matsanga.
Some businesses have had their fixed telephone lines
cut.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, ZESA have disconnected
services
from numerous businesses and homes in and around the city for non
payment of
services.
India's
Jindal Steel to re-bid for 70% in Zimbabwe’s Zisco
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
31 August, 2010
12:11:00 By
NEW DELHI - Jindal Steel and Power plans to re-bid for
a controlling stake
in Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, or Zisco, more than
two months after the
African company rejected the Delhi-based firm’s earlier
bid.
Jindal Steel renewed its offer after the Zimbabwe government recently
invited fresh bids for selling 70% equity stake in the state-run Zisco which
also owns iron ore reserves of 100 million tonnes. Worries over Zisco’s high
debt of $300 million may be behind the second offer for a controlling stake
sale, said people connected with the development.
“The Zimbabwe
government is aiming for better valuations and so has invited
fresh bids.
They are trying to make the Zisco deal more attractive to gain
higher
investor interest,” said the persons cited earlier. As per the new
tender,
bids from interested parties need to be submitted by September 24. A
Jindal
Steel spokesperson declined to comment whether his company had
submitted the
bid.
In May this year, Zimbabwe rejected bids from ArcelorMittal’s South
African
unit and Jindal Steel and Power on grounds that the two companies
were too
big to invest in Zisco. “We are a small country and we will have
problems
with a big multilateral company. The thinking is that we need a
medium-sized
investor for Zisco,” Zimbabwe Industry and Commerce minister
Welshman
NcubeNcube was reported as having said.
The Zimbabwe
government has been looking for a suitor for the cash-starved
Zisco, which
had piled up debts amounting to about $300 million. The
government invited
bids last October that saw large companies like Jindal
Steel, ArcelorMittal
South Africa and Gateway Zimbabwe putting in their
bids. Although the bids
were later cancelled, concerns over Zisco’s mounting
debts forced the
government to re-invite the bids.
The Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel has
shown interest in the deal because
apart from owning huge iron ore reserves,
Zisco also owns a 0.8 million
tonne steel plant that will build its presence
in the African market. Zisco
also owns limestone mines with reserves of 60
million tonne. The company’s
operations, however, have been stopped since
the economic meltdown in 2008.
Jindal Steel & Power has already tied
up a couple of foreign acquisitions in
recent years. It acquired Oman-based
Shadeed Iron & Steel for $464 million
this May.
Last October, it
bagged a thermal coal mine in South Africa. In 2006, it
secured the rights
to mine the El Mutun iron ore reserves in Bolivia.
Scotland cricket team turn down Zimbabwe ICC
match
http://news.bbc.co.uk
Tuesday, 31
August 2010 12:54 UK
By Geoff Webster
The Scottish cricket team will not
travel to Zimbabwe for their ICC
Intercontinental Cup match.
The
decision has been made following advice from the UK Government and is
backed
by the Scottish Government.
The game had been scheduled for a neutral
African venue but three months ago
Zimbabwe was permitted to host
it.
Cricket Scotland chief executive Roddy Smith said: "As a responsible
governing body we could not contravene the unequivocal advice from
Government."
The International Cricket Council overturned its
decision to force Zimbabwe
to play its matches in a neutral country. It had
originally been banned from
hosting matches because of the economic and
political situation in the
country.
"It is hugely unfortunate that
Cricket Scotland has been put in an
impossible no-win situation in regard to
the potential tour to Zimbabwe,"
said Smith.
"Both the UK and
Scottish Governments were clear in their advice to us.
"Our Board has
taken cognisance of all the advice and recommendations from
Government and
the ICC, and can only take what we believe is the correct
course of
action.
"We hope that the Scotland team can look forward to playing in
Zimbabwe
again in the future if and when Government policy
allows."
The UK coalition government told Cricket Scotland: "The
Government is firmly
of the view that there has not yet been sufficient
progress in Zimbabwe on
the fundamental issues of political reform and of
re-establishing the rule
of law to justify sports tours by British teams and
the positive signal that
would send.
"We therefore strongly advise
against such visits.
"We recognise that the final decision is for the
relevant Cricket Boards,
but hope they will consider their decisions
carefully in the light of our
unequivocal advice."
The Scottish
Government supports the stance of the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office,
stating: "We strongly advise Scottish sports teams against visiting
Zimbabwe."
It is not known yet what punishment, if any, Scotland will
face from the
game's governing body, the ICC, for refusing to
travel.
An ICC spokesman said: "We will look at the decision by Cricket
Scotland. We
will then come up with a plan of action and see what way we can
try to find
a solution to this."