http://mg.co.za/
21 SEP 2012 05:15 - RAY NDLOVU
Analysts fear a recently
opened defence college, army recruitment, and arms
imported from South
Africa are part of Zanu-PF's election preparations.
President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has intensified its drive to
militarise the country
with the commissioning of a state-of the-art National
Defence College ahead
of new elections expected next year.
Observers point out that the move
sends a strong message that the military
will be kingmaker in the next
crunch polls where Mugabe is expected to face
off against arch-rival Morgan
Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) for the third time,
after previous encounters in 2002 and 2008.
Last weekend, Mugabe
officially opened the college, built by China at a cost
of $98-million,
describing it as a "think-tank" on security matters. He said
it would also
be used as a bulwark against Western countries pursuing a
"regime change"
agenda.
The college is reserved for military personnel with the rank of
colonel or
group captain and above and their equivalent ranks in state
security, police
and prisons.
As part of the terms of the loan
agreement, the loan will be repaid over 13
years with the diamonds being
mined by Chinese companies in the Marange,
diamond fields.
Anjin, the
Chinese-linked diamond mining company operating in Marange was
earlier this
year involved in a war of words with Finance Minister Tendai
Biti, who
accused the Chinese firm of failing to remit "a single cent" in
taxes to the
treasury. In its defence, Anjin cited exemption as part of the
conditions of
the loan.
Militarisation of Zimbabwean society
Charles Mangongera, a
political analyst said: "The defence college not only
marks the continued
militarisation of Zimbabwean society, but also the
dominance of Chinese
interests in the country. Zimbabwe is not under threat
of attack from anyone
and such a huge investment could have gone into
improving the situation at
our defunct state universities. Mugabe sees the
military as a source of his
power and will now do anything to please the
military chiefs."
In
June, the military recruited 10 000 people for the army, sparking tension
in
the fragile unity government, as the Zanu-PF defence minister, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, demanded that the treasury placed the recruits on the state's
payroll.
Military sources pointed out that the recruits were
earmarked to play a role
in the census and upcoming referendum vote.
However, opposition by the MDC
eventually resulted in the military's push to
be included in last month's
census – traditionally conducted by public
servants – blocked at the
eleventh hour.
There are also signs that
the military has purchased R2-million worth of
arms from South Africa,
circumventing the treasury in the process. Under
normal circumstances,
Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) a government-owned
military company, deals
with the purchase and sale of arms.
Senior ZDI officials have indicated
that they did not engage with the South
African government over the arms
procurement, which includes military
radios, tankers and teargas. The
Zimbabwe treasury has admitted that it did
not know how the arms purchase
was financed.
MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said: "We learnt in the
press just like
everyone else. Biti did not allocate money to buy a war
chest. What is more
clandestine is that some of the deliveries are being
made when he [Biti] is
away soliciting money in the region to keep our
government afloat."
Welshman Ncube, the leader of the smaller MDC party,
speculated that the
money could have been raised from diamond proceeds as
Zanu-PF enjoyed
"monopoly and virtual control" over the Marange fields.
Mugabe has since
been promoting senior military officers, such as
Brigadier-General Douglas
Nyikayaramba, who have pledged allegiance to his
rule and has also kept his
ring of military chiefs around him, despite their
terms of office expiring.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
FRIDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2012
14:35
Zanu PF has reactivated its structures accused of spearheading
the deadly
2008 political violence in urban areas as it tries to railroad
its
amendments to the Copac draft constitution, a human rights group said
yesterday.
The move is also reportedly part of Zanu PF’s campaign
strategy for general
elections that must be held before June next year where
it would seek to
reverse its poor performance in urban areas in the last
decade.
In a report, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) said members of
the “terror
groups”, usually dressed in Zanu PF regalia, were moving around
the country
harassing people ahead of the Second All-Stakeholders’
Conference on the new
constitution.
Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC are
expected to meet soon to discuss the logistics
for the conference, including
the dates and documents to be used.
CZC spokesperson Thabani Nyoni said
the notorious Harare-based Chipangano
group had been spreading its influence
to other centres outside Harare. The
groups were cited as Al-Shabaab in
Kwekwe, Jochomondo in Hurungwe, Top Six
in Chinhoyi and Jambanja in
Maramba-Pfungwe, Mashonaland East.
“What we discovered really is a group
called Al-Shabaab in Kwekwe and we
think that there might be similar groups
around the country,” Nyoni said.
“It is difficult really to link such
groups, for example Chipangano, to Zanu
PF, but considering the free rein
that they have to do what they want, shows
that they might have the party’s
blessings.”
Zanu PF political commissar Webster Shamu at the weekend told
a meeting in
Bulawayo that the party had set up committees that would go to
urban areas
to promote “development and indigenisation”.
But there
are fears the campaigns would be used to intimidate residents, the
majority
of whom have shunned Zanu PF activities since the formation of the
then
united Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999.
MDC-T spokesperson
Douglas Mwonzora and MDC deputy spokesperson Kurauone
Chihwayi said they
were concerned about the reports that Zanu PF was
plotting to use
violence.
“This will not be the first time that Zanu PF is using violence
during this
process,” Mwonzora said. “They used violence during the first
outreach
programme and they also used violence during the First
All-Stakeholders’
Conference and so they will want to use violence
again.
“We have said this Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference must be
monitored by
international observers. We also want the Executive to
guarantee the safety
of the participants.”
Chihwayi said Zanu PF must
not be allowed to disrupt the constitution-making
process, which was now at
a crucial stage.
“We are concerned with what Zanu PF is doing on the
ground; we know the
intention is to disrupt the All-Stakeholders’
Conference,” he said. “Zanu PF
is a party that thrives on violence and they
know that they will lose in a
fair process.”
However, Zanu PF
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo dismissed reports that the party
was preparing to
use violence in its campaigns.
“It’s all daydreaming, there’s nothing
like that, but it’s the usual MDC
propaganda to tarnish our image,” he said
in an interview.
“We are not going to force people to support us. It’s
nonsense, we don’t
have to force people to support us, so there’s no need
for us to whip people
into line as it were.
“All that the political
commissar did, was that he convened a workshop to
brief people on the
decision of the party.
“People wanted clarification of the politburo’s
decision on the draft
constitution ahead of the Second All-Stakeholders’
Conference.”
President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly appealed for peace
during campaigns
in the next elections, but there have been questions about
his sincerity -
Newsday.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Friday, 21 September 2012 12:02
HARARE - Mystery
surrounds the source of funds used to buy an assortment of
arms from South
Africa, strengthening allegations that Zanu PF could be
running a parallel
authority outside the coalition government.
Reports indicate that
Zimbabwe’s powerful Defence ministry last week took
delivery of an
assortment of weaponry, including armoured vehicles from
South
Africa.
Well-placed sources said the Finance ministry, which ideally
should pay for
such government expenditure, was not involved.
The
sources said Finance minister Tendai Biti was in the dark on how the
arms
purchase was financed since he had not budgeted or released money for
the
transaction.
According to the insiders, mystery surrounds the financing
of the arms
purchase and other projects carried out by Mugabe such as the
presidential
scholarship programme.
Asked about his ministry’s
involvement in the arms purchase, Biti appeared
unwilling to
talk.
“My friend, we release an overview of the state of the economy
every month.
They are public documents which you can access,” he
said.
“You can check from them on whether Treasury has paid for the
purchase of
arms or is funding the scholarship programme,” Biti
said.
Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba was not available for comment
and his
office said he had accompanied the president to the UN General
Assembly in
New York.
Defence minister Emerson Mnangagwa was
unavailable for comment. His office
said he flew out of the country well
before Mugabe left for the UN.
The latest quarterly report “You can check
from them on whether Treasury has
paid for the purchase of arms or is
funding the scholarship programme,” Biti
said.
Mugabe’s spokesperson
George Charamba was not available for comment and his
office said he had
accompanied the President to the UN General Assembly in
New
York.
Defence minister Emerson Mnangagwa was unavailable for
comment.
His office said he flew out of the country well before Mugabe
left for the
UN.
The latest quarterly report of South Africa’s
National Conventional Arms
Control Committee included Zimbabwe among close
to 50 countries that bought
arms from Pretoria.
The committee stated
that the transaction happened between April and July
this year.
The
Daily News has gleaned through this year’s State of the Economy Reports
and
can authoritatively state that there has neither been a payment for arms
or
indication Treasury is paying for Mugabe’s pet projects.
Top government
sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed
Treasury did not fund
the arms “cache purchase” and other programmes mainly
administered under
Mugabe’s office.
Biti has previously accused Mugabe’s Zanu PF, which
enjoys close relations
with the army’s top command, of diverting diamond
revenues from Marange to
run a parallel government.
The defence
forces are linked to diamond mining in Marange.
The MDC, of which Biti is
secretary-general, has also repeatedly made
similar claims.
The party
says it fears Mugabe is building a war chest ahead of elections
most likely
to be held next year.
Zimbabwe is reportedly the world’s fifth largest
producer of alluvial
diamonds but extraction of the prized stones has not
turned the economic
fortunes of the country.
Biti has previously said
Treasury is receiving very little from mines
operating in Marange.
He
has also claimed that Anjin Investments, a Chinese-related venture with
close ties to the defence forces, has not been remitting money to
Treasury.
The firm accuses Biti of lying, saying it has paid over $30
million to
government since starting operations in 2010.
Government
mining agency, Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) has
been less
than willing to shed light on diamond revenues, even in the face
of
accusations that the money is being diverted.
ZMDC board chairperson and
Mugabe loyalist Godwills Masimirembwa recently
told journalists that it is
difficult for the diamond mining sector to meet
the projected $600 million
contribution to the 2012 national budget because
of “sanctions as well as
the continued victimisation of the market by the
United States”.
But
some government insiders are not impressed.
“The military is taking
delivery of arms worth in excess of $50 million yet
Treasury did not finance
the deal. Where did it get the money from?” queried
one insider.
The
insiders also disclosed that the cash strapped coalition government is
not
bankrolling the $70 million required for the presidential scholarship
programme yet millions of dollars continued to be mysteriously churned
towards the project.
Mugabe’s scholarship fund, whose beneficiaries
are said to be cherry-picked
along political party lines, caters for
thousands of Zimbabwean students
scattered across South African
universities.
“Very soon as we enter the new agriculture season, Mugabe
will finance an
agricultural presidential scheme to the tune of at least $40
million. Where
is he getting the money?” queried a government insider who
spoke to the
Daily News.
Christopher Mushowe, the director of the
presidential scholarship programme
said Mugabe’s office directly funded the
programme.
“This is a government programme run under the President’s
Office and funded
by government. It has been in place since 1995 and has
always been funded by
the State. I am surprised people are denying this.
That position has never
been communicated to us,” Mushowe
said.
Mugabe has previously said “well-wishers” were funding the
agricultural
inputs scheme.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Netherlands’s Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, Barbara Joziasse, has expressed her
government’s concern over
the invasion of conservancies in the Save Valley
by a group of officials
aligned to Zanu (PF).
21.09.12
10:24am
by Zwanai
Sithole
Harare
The top diplomat said the invasions were a direct
violation of investment
protection agreements between Zimbabwe and other
countries, hers included,
and described them as illegal and detrimental to
the local economy. She was
addressing journalists in Bulawayo on
Thursday.
“We are concerned about the invasion of the Save conservancies.
Apart from
violating investments protection agreements, the invasions are
also
affecting ordinary Zimbabweans who are going to lose jobs as a result
of the
land invasions.
“Zimbabwe should respect these treaties if the
country wants serious
investors to invest in the country,” said Joziasse.
She said her government
was engaging the Harare government over the
issue.
A number of conservancies in the Save area, among them those owned
by German
and Dutch nationals, are under threat from Zanu (PF) bigwigs who
have been
parceling them amongst themselves under the guise of
indigenisation.
The new beneficiaries have been awarded 25-year leases,
but conservationists
have condemned the takeovers. The invasions are already
causing diplomatic
tensions.
EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Aldo Dell
Ariccia, recently said restrictive
measures that were earlier this relaxed
could be tightened.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By
Tichaona Sibanda
21 September 2012
A decision by COPAC to exclude
civil society organizations from the second
all stakeholders’ conference has
sparked a firestorm of controversy, with
accusations that the move is not
only retrogressive, but dangerous.
In recent weeks the parliamentary
select committee spearheading the
constitutional reform program has hinted
that the majority of the delegates
to the conference would be drawn from the
country’s civil society
organizations.
The initial agreement would
have seen civil society fielding 70 percent of
delegates, with political
parties occupying the remainder.
But following meetings of COPAC’s
secretariat and the select committee this
week it was decided, allegedly
because of budgetary constraints, to reduce
the number of participants from
2,400 to 2,000. They also decided that each
of the three parties will send
600 delegates, with the remaining 200 slots
being allocated to Members of
Parliament.
Philani Zamchiya, the regional coordinator for Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition,
expressed grave concern at the latest arrangement, which
he said bordered on
sheer arrogance.
He insisted the
non-participation of ordinary Zimbabweans in the exercise is
a major threat
to fundamental liberties and freedom of expression.
He also said the GPA
principals had tentatively set between the 3rd and 5th
October as the most
ideal time for the conference to be held.
‘I think because of time
constraints between now and the dates proposed,
COPAC has been compromised
to a point where they want to renege on an
earlier undertaking. This is
unacceptable and a sad day for democracy.
‘This is arrogance at its best
by the political parties and we will push
them to reconsider their decision.
If they try to defy us we will confront
them more aggressively,’ Zamchiya
said.
He continued: ‘We are concerned that the three main political
parties have
once again decided to make this important process a political
party’s event,
while excluding the voice of the people.
Zamchiya
emphasized that the new arrangement is a negation of the initial
agreement
and will deprive the majority of Zimbabweans of an opportunity to
actively
and effectively participate in the conference.
‘We are convinced that the
2nd All Stakeholders’ Conference is a space for
ordinary people and hence
must not be hijacked by political players who have
been active in the
constitution making process for the past three and half
years,’ he
said.
We tried all day to get hold of both MDC formations, but no one was
answering their phones.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
21 September 2012
A leading human rights group in
Zimbabwe has expressed deep concern at the
continued use of torture by the
police during investigations, following the
death of a suspect who had been
assaulted by officers at Chitungwiza Police
Station.
According to the
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Harrison Manyati was a
suspect under police
custody when officers brutally assaulted and tortured
him on September 4th.
Manyati is reported to have died nine days later from
the injuries he
sustained. He was only 24 years old.
The Forum said Manyati had lodged a
complaint of torture by officers at the
same police station, but at the time
of his death no action had been taken
to investigate the complaint or
prosecute the perpetrators.
Phillip Pasirayi from the Center For
Community Development told SW Radio
Africa they have it “on good record”
that Harrison Manyati had died from
injuries sustained during police
interrogations at Chitungwiza Police
Station.
He said the culture of
impunity that existed before the coalition government
was installed has
continued to exist.
“We credit the MDC formations for condemning
violence. A lot has been done
by them but not enough to pressure Robert
Mugabe into disbanding these gangs
like Chipangano. And SADC should also be
pressured to have monitors on the
ground now to oversee events,” Pasirayi
explained.
He added that the next election in Zimbabwe will be
meaningless if it
happens before reforms to the state security institutions
are implemented.
“To have elections while we still have a partisan police
and military that
publicly supports ZANU PF would be an exercise in
futility,” Pasirayi said.
Earlier this month, a group of 20 soldiers ran
amok and assaulted touts and
rank marshals at the Charge Office commuter bus
rank in Harare. The attack
was allegedly meant as revenge for an assault on
one of their colleagues,
which had taken place at the same
location.
There are also reports that rowdy soldiers and riot police are
abusing
revellers and other innocent civilians around Harare’s high-density
suburbs,
assaulting the public for unknown reasons. According to NewsDay
newspaper,
the unruly soldiers descended on Highfield, Glen View and
Budiriro,
confiscating vendors’ properties.
A statement from the
Forum said: “The Forum urges the Government of Zimbabwe
to immediately
ratify the UN convention against Torture and its optional
protocol as well
as criminalise torture in Zimbabwe in fulfillment of its
commitment before
the UN Human Rights Council.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
21
September 2012
A Harare Civil Court has postponed to next week a hearing
at which Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s ex-lover Locadia Karimatsenga
Tembo is claiming
US$15,000 a month from the MDC President.
The case
was due to be heard at the Harare magistrates’ court on Friday. But
Innocent
Chagonga, Tsvangirai’s lawyer, told SW Radio Africa the hearing was
postponed to next week Thursday.
In a claim that was filed by the
court three weeks ago, Karimatsenga wants
the Prime Minister to contribute
towards her upkeep. She said she was now
used to the high standard of
living, which Tsvangirai had introduced into
her life.
Karimatsenga
still insists Tsvangirai is her husband under customary law
after he paid
lobola to her parents in November last year. The Prime
Minister denies
this.
Last week Karimatsenga successfully challenged the courts to revoke
Tsvangirai’s marriage licence to his wife Elizabeth Tsvangirai. However the
Premier on Saturday circumvented the court ruling that tried to block his
wedding to Elizabeth by staging the nuptials under the alternative customary
law that allows a man to have as many wives as he wants.
Originally
he had planned his marriage under the country’s monogamous laws—
being
married to only one person at a time.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
21 September 2012
A government scheme meant to assist
villagers in need of grain has been
hijacked by ZANU PF officials in
Masvingo, who are selecting only members of
their own party as
beneficiaries.
Reports from Rupike, Tugwane, Mavizhu, Muchibwa, and
Maburutse villages in
Masvingo province said that villagers are facing
starvation while ZANU PF
politicians abuse the government
scheme.
According to a report from the Crisis Coalition, villages had,
“properly put
their names forward and submitted photocopies of their
identity particulars”.
But local councillors and traditional leaders are
being used to alter
distribution lists and only ZANU PF members are
receiving seeds and
fertilizer, meant for all in need.
A team from
the Crisis Coalition spoke to a villager who said: “We are
starving here, we
have no food. The major problem is that when food is
distributed we are not
given because they say we are MDC members. Lots of
food is being distributed
but we are left in the cold because of our
political
inclination”.
The strategy of politicizing food donations has been used
by ZANU PF
regularly over the years, to try and increase their support base
ahead of
elections. The donations are usually accompanied by threats to the
recipients, who are ordered to vote for Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF candidates
if they accept the food.
The same strategy has already been used in
other parts of the country,
especially in Manicaland, where villagers are
being told to report the
incidents to the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (JOMIC). But
the provincial JOMIC teams have no
power to change anything.
The loan scheme was introduced by the inclusive
government last year. The
idea was to assist communal farmers who needed
grain from the Grain
Marketing Board but could not afford it. The scheme
gives them a loan of
seeds, which is meant to be repaid after their next
harvest.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
20/09/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
ZIMBABWE will ask South Africa’s ruling African National
Congress to take a
“political decision” to stop displaced white farmers from
seizing its
properties, a minister said on Thursday.
South Africa’s
Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Zimbabwe against a
decision of the
Johannesburg High Court to register and enforce a 2008
judgement of the SADC
Tribunal which ruled that the land reform programme
was “racist and illegal”
– clearing the way for white farmers to press for
compensation.
The
77 white farmers had gone on to attach a Cape Town property owned by
Zimbabwe – which was not covered by diplomatic immunity – with the intention
of selling it.
Zimbabwe has always said it did not recognise the SADC
Tribunal’s rulings
because it did not ratify its founding treaty. The
Tribunal has since been
abolished.
Presidential Affairs Minister
Didymus Mutasa said: “What they (farmers) are
fighting is not about land,
but to trouble the government of Zimbabwe.
“After this judgment, which is
legal, we should let it go and we speak to
the ANC [African National
Congress] and take a political decision. I hope
that is
possible.”
Advocate Martin Dinha, who was part of Zimbabwe’s legal team,
said suggested
the decision of the South African Supreme Court was
racist.
“South Africa’s judiciary is not yet liberated from apartheid; it
has
cosmetic liberation. South Africa remains a colony of white Rhodesians
and
apartheid,” charged Dinha, who is also the Mashonaland Central
governor.
He added: “Notwithstanding attempts by elements of the
Rhodesian Front to
derail the land reform programme, the programme is
totally irreversible.
“No country has jurisdiction over another. Zimbabwe
is a sovereign state.”
He said Zimbabwe fully expected South Africa to
take political steps to stop
any further seizures of Zimbabwean
properties.
“South Africa must be careful. They must respect the sovereignty
of
Zimbabwe. They have properties here and given that there are unspeakable
abuses that were committed during colonialism and property was damaged,
nothing stops us from seeking compensatory damages here and attaching those
properties.”
Willie Spies, a lawyer for the white farmers, called
unanimous decision by
the Supreme Court a “a great success ... a symbolic
victory that makes it
possible for the government of Zimbabwe to be
effectively punished.”
Spies, attorney for South African rights group
AfriForum and for many
Zimbabwean farmers, said the dismissal will bring
solace “to the many
Zimbabweans who affected by the atrocities.”
He
added: “I think it’s probably the first time in legal history
internationally that a judicial failure in execution of property will go on
after a country is found to be in contravention of certain human rights
laws. We’re making legal history.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
21 September 2012
The future of a primary school on a farm in
Chivhu remains uncertain, amid
an ongoing attempt by a female prison officer
to evict the teachers who live
and work on the farm.
The three
teachers from Makumimavi Primary School have been fighting to keep
the farm
school open and stay on the property, ever since it was seized
under the
guise of land ‘reform’ more than a year ago. The teachers have
been living
on the farm in a compound specifically built to house the school’s
staff and
without them, the school will be closed.
The beneficiary of the land,
prison officer Angela Chisora, has since filed
criminal charges against one
of the teachers, Edwin Maseva, for refusing to
vacate the property. He is
being charged under a section of the Land Act,
which ‘outlaws’ his ongoing
occupation of a building on the government
gazetted land.
Jeremiah
Bamu from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) told SW Radio
Africa on
Friday that Maseva was meant to appear in court this week, but the
state
could not produce any witnesses for the case. He explained that when
the
state is ready to proceed, Maseva will be summonsed once again.
“He sees
this as harassment and intimidation. This has been going on for
about a year
and a half and he has been requested to attend court on a
number of
occasions. His right to a fair trial is being denied,” Bamu said.
In
August Maseva was only issued with a summons to attend court on the day
that
he was meant to appear. He had also been previously summoned in March,
but
the summons was defective and quashed after the intervention of
ZLHR.
Desperate parents concerned about their children’s future at the
school have
meanwhile pleaded to Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, and
the Education and Lands ministries to intervene. But these
pleas have not
been answered.
“His eviction will negatively impact on
the right to education of over 100
children who learn at the farm school. It
is necessary that this matter is
concluded as soon as possible,” said
Bamu.
The school remains open, for now.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
21 September 2012
Members of the Chipinge South community,
affected by the construction of an
ethanol plant there, are still in the
dark about their future, despite this
week’s release of a government report
about the project.
The report, released by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara on Wednesday,
has exposed that the Chisumbanje Ethanol Project has
been abusing the
community and their livestock, and has also misrepresented
the facts of the
multi-million-dollar venture to the government.
The
ethanol plant is owned by controversial businessman Billy Rautenbach who
has
strong links to ZANU PF ministers. In 2009 ZANU PF Minister Didymus
Mutasa
gave Rautenbach permission to take over 5,000 hectares of land at the
Chisumbanje Estate (then owned by the Agricultural and Rural Development
Authority – ARDA) to grow sugarcane for production of ethanol fuel. In the
same year Mutasa reportedly signed a letter authorising Rautenbach to
operate the ethanol project at Chisumbanje, but never disclosed this to
Cabinet.
Mutambara, who chairs the committee that recently probed the
goings on
there, revealed serious malpractices at the plant, which has been
idle since
early this year.
“Verified reports from the displaced
communities indicate that livestock was
lost through being shot, drinking
contaminated water or by the levying of
undue and oppressive fees for
trespassing. A total compensation of US$20,000
must be advanced to the
affected communities,” Mutambara said on Wednesday.
He continued: “There
are a few individuals who were victims of violence,
contaminated water, and
unsafe working conditions. Rehabilitation of, and
compensation to, these
people amounting to about US$15 ,500 must be
immediately effected. The
company must swiftly install a water purification
system for the
contaminated water from the plant before it is recycled for
human and
livestock consumption.”
Local MDC-T MP, Meke Makuyana, told SW Radio
Africa that the community
remains completely in the dark about what is going
to happen. He said there
has been no feedback from the government committee
and no one knows what
their future will be.
“The people want to know
about compensation, and what land they will have,
how much hectarage, if
they will get their ownership back. But there has
been nothing from the
government and this is the main problem,” the MP told
SW Radio Africa on
Friday.
Mutambara meanwhile said Wednesday that the committee has
proposed that the
ethanol project be turned into a joint venture, with the
government as a
majority shareholder. The project had stopped ethanol
production after
failing to win government backing for mandatory blending of
petrol and
ethanol. If they approve of a joint venture, Mutambara said
mandatory
blending will start immediately at five percent, rising to 20
percent by
2015.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Friday, 21 September 2012 12:08
HARARE - Mbada
Diamonds yesterday handed over a new $1,5 million
state-of-the-art police
accommodation block at the Harare International
Airport that it built and
furnished.
Mbada chairperson Robert Mhlanga handed the accommodation
block to police
chief Augustine Chihuri at an event attended by top cops and
senior airport
officials.
Mbada is a 50-50 joint venture between
private investors and the state-owned
Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation (ZMDC).
The accommodation block is for ZRP Support Unit
details who man Mbada
Diamonds’ offices at the Sorting and Valuation Centre
at the Harare
International Airport.
Chihuri said it was a fantastic
addition to airport police.
“It is an inspiring gesture of social
responsibility by Mbada,” Chihuri
said. “This will go a long way in
addressing problems of accommodation here
at the airport. It is something to
be proud of.”
The ZRP accommodation block is fully furnished with leather
sofas, 2x10
dining-room suites and 51inch plasma TV and a PVR decoder fully
subscribed
for a year.
It has beds for officers on duty complete with
ironing boards and steel
cabinets to hang their clothes.
The kitchen
is fully furnished with an industrial stove and the latest
double-door
fridge. Mbada also installed a 15KVA generator and a borehole at
the
block.
“I am sure you will agree with me that this level of
responsibility is
historic,” said George Manyaya, Mbada Diamonds’ corporate
services
executive.
Chihuri said: “I haven’t seen accommodation for
officers at any airport
anywhere in this world like this so
far.”
Manyaya said Mbada diamonds was accelerating its national duty of
letting
diamonds sweat for the people.
“All our efforts are guided by the
need to harness diamonds for the people,”
he said.
Mhlanga said Mbada
was going to liberate the country economically.
“Ours as a business is to
ensure that whatever business we do in this
country is not meant for the
benefit of individuals as people would like to
speculate,” Mhlanga
said.
“Ko unonokama mombe wotadza kumwawo here? (Can you milk a cow and
fail to
take a cup of milk?) So it’s given but then you don’t drink the
whole milk.”
Chihuri said he had made several futile appeals for
assistance for the
police force from Finance minister Tendai Biti but said
Mbada had swiftly
responded to their plea for help.
The police chief
asked Godwills Masimirembwa, ZMDC chairperson, to give
Mbada Diamonds three
more diamond mining concessions so that it can engage
in more beneficial
social responsibility programmes.
Manyaya said they were grateful to the
police for the security they were
providing at the Harare International
Airport.
“Our diamond fields and sorting offices are professionally
secured by the
ZRP and this is part of the reasons why we are KP compliant,”
he said.
International diamond watchdog the Kimberley Process (KP)
certified the
diamond mining company to sell gems from the Marange fields on
the
international market last year.
Manyaya said their relationship
with the ZRP was blossoming with each
passing day.
He said they have
entered several strategic alliances with the police,
including during the
recently held commissioner’s gala, commissioner general’s
funfair and
providing monthly food rations, vehicles and fuel for the teams
in Chiadzwa.
- Gift Phiri
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Tatenda
Gumbo
20.09.2012
Since the formation of the Zimbabwe coalition
government four years ago,
politicians sought to re-work the country’s
political landscape and revive
the economy in an effort to boost the
struggling economy.
Many multi-million dollar projects have been given
the green-light to
operate in the southern African nation amid pomp and
fanfare but most of
them today have stalled due to continued political
interference.
Green Fuel (Pvt) Ltd's Chisumbanje Ethonal Plant, saddled
with over 10
million liters of ethanol, has now been lying idle for almost a
year though
an inter-ministerial taskforce headed by Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur
Mutambara is trying to resolve its ownership
structure.
Mutambara told journalists in Harare Wednesday that the
taskforce has
resolved to reconstitute the company’s ownership structure
from the initial
‘Build-Operate-and-Transfer’ arrangement to a joint venture
with the
state-owned Agriculture and Rural Development Authority
(ARDA).
He said the government is expected to gradually introduce
mandatory blending
of ethanol and fuel from E-5 to E-10 up to E-20 by
2015.
Mutambara said cabinet has accepted these recommendations after the
taskforce unearthed numerous irregularities which are supposed to be
addressed by Billy Rautenbach’s Ratings Investments, one of the top
shareholders.
He said Green Fuel is now expected to also compensate
over 1,238 villagers
who lost their land and livestock when the project was
implemented
At the same time, the $750 million Essar Africa Holdings and
Zimbabwe Iron
and Steel Company deal is another project facing serious
problems due to
disagreements in the unity government.
Government is
currently renegotiating the deal after the Indian firm took
over the
collapsed entity and renamed it New Zimbabwe Steel Limited.
There were
high hopes that the company would be speedily revived by Essar
Holdings but
everything was scuttled by the Ministry of Mines which claimed
that the
Indian firm was bound to grab vast iron ore reserves, worth
billions of
dollars in some parts of the Midlands Province, at a giveaway
price.
More than 7,450 people have been left jobless due to the
stalled operations
at New Zimbabwe Steel and Chisumbanje Ethanol
Plant.
On the other hand, politicians have been criticized for their
involvement in
conservancies, especially the recent forced take-over of the
Save
Conservancy, Manicaland Province.
Critics say this is
threatening to derail the revitalization of the tourism
industry and holding
of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
General Assembly in
Victoria Falls next year.
Some top Zanu PF politicians and military
commanders have grabbed the
conservancies where they are reportedly killing
large numbers of wild
animals and selling the meat to urban retailers and
villagers.
Left behind are Zimbabweans desperate to revive their lives as
unemployment
tops 86 percent countrywide. Critics say the government lacks
the ability to
revive the economy by letting politics to call the
shots.
For perspective, VOA spoke to Callisto Jokonya, an economist and
former
president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, and Godfrey
Kanyenze
of the Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of
Zimbabwe.
Kanyenze said the failure of these deals is a reflection of
Zimbabwe’s
woeful politics.
Jokonya concurred, adding that government
negotiated these deals with many
loose ends.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
21/09/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
BULAWAYO’S two million residents are being
asked to flush their toilets all
at the same time once every three days as
the city grapples with a worsening
water crisis.
There is not enough
water in the reticulation system and waste is not moving
for days. The
build-up is causing sewer pipes to burst all over the city,
say council
officials.
Now engineers are recommending that every household must flush
their toilets
at 7.30PM every three days when water services are restored
across the city
during the on-going water shedding.
Simela Dube,
Bulawayo’s director of engineering services, said: “We need to
flush our
toilets at the same time to push all the waste that will just be
under the
surface as residents would be using little water to flush toilets
during
water shedding hours.”
In a statement, council spokeswoman Nesisa Mpofu
added: “Every household is
requested to flush their toilets systematically
at 7.30PM the very day when
water is back after the 72 hours of water
shedding.
“This is done to prevent any sewer blockages as we anticipate
longer periods
without water in the reticulation system. Please note that
this is in
addition to the normal flushing that will occur during the
day.
“This is due to the recent water shedding programme by council which
has
seen a reduced amount of water entering the sewer system.”
Two of
Bulawayo’s five water supply dams have already been decommissioned
and the
water levels have reached critical levels at the remaining dams –
the result
of the worst drought in south-western Zimbabwe in almost four
years.
A long-mooted plan to build a pipeline to draw water from the
Zambezi River
has reached implementation stage after the Chinese government
committed
US$2,2 billion for the project – but it will not be complete for
at least
another two years.
As a long-term solution is being pursued,
Bulawayo residents are going for
up to two weeks without water. The worst
hit areas are Entumbane,
Harrisvale, Old Pumula, New Magwegwe and New
Lobengula.
Council spokesman Mpofu explained: “Water, unlike electricity,
takes long to
move from the nearest reservoir to the point of consumption
particularly if
the latter is far. Also water flows to low lying areas
first.
“The residential areas that are not receiving water are all high
altitude
areas and will always be the last to receive water.”
The
council has been sending water bowsers to worst affected areas.
The MDC Today
Friday, 21 September
2012
Issue – 436
The MDC calls on the police to activate its arresting
powers and extend the
long arm of the law on a new Zanu PF outfit, El-Shabab
in Kwekwe before it
worsens the chaos and lawlessness in the town.
The
militant group, being bankrolled by Emmerson Munangagwa and his
henchman,
Owen ‘Mudha’ Ncube is forcefully evicting shop owners from their
business
premises under the guise of youth empowerment. Al-Shabab, named
after the
Somalian based Islamic group, claims to promote Zanu PF’s looting
drive.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya , the MDC MP for Mbizo, said market stall
holders
in his constituency have not been spared. He said the group’s
actions have
heightened tensions in the normally tranquil
suburb.
Meanwhile, it is exactly eight days before the MDC celebrates its
13th
anniversary next Saturday.
The “Red Event” set for Bulawayo’s White
City Stadium will be a carnival of
activity as MDC members and supporters
will celebrate 13 years of existence
in Zimbabwe’s brutal political
landscape under the theme: “The Last mile:
Towards Real
Transformation”.
MDC @ 13: The last mile: Towards real transformation!!!
http://www.moneyweb.co.za
Sapa
21
September 2012 17:59
Pledges budget support grants, a line of credit and
export credit
facilities.
South Africa will continue helping Zimbabwe
in its economic recovery
programmes, the finance ministers of the two
countries said on Friday.
"South Africa further committed itself to
continue supporting Zimbabwe's
efforts to normalise its relations with
multilateral financial
institutions," the ministers said in a joint
statement.
The statement followed a meeting in Pretoria between South
African Finance
Minister Pravin Gordhan and his Zimbabwean counterpart
Tendai Biti, aimed at
deepening co-operation between the two
governments.
The discussions in the meeting were centred on the
resolutions of the
extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
heads of states held in Swaziland in 2009.
The
resolutions were to provide support to Zimbabwe's Short Term Economic
Recovery Programme (Sterp).
At that summit, South Africa pledged to
help Zimbabwe through budget support
grants, a line of credit and export
credit facilities.
Gordhan and Biti recognised Zimbabwe's positive
recovery from a period of
hyper-inflation and the successful implementation
of Sterp, the statement
said.
However, both ministers noted that the
country continued to face significant
economic constraints, including cash
flow challenges arising from revenue
collections that were below target, a
high debt over-hang, and uncompetitive
business environment.
Other
challenges were infrastructural deficits and limited access to lines
of
credit for business.
The ministers acknowledged that Zimbabwe had been
undertaking reform
measures to achieve fiscal sustainability and overall
economic recovery.
The measures included increase in fuel taxes coupled
with the incorporation
of the Zimbabwean Revenue Authority (Zimra) into the
diamond value chain, as
well as closing tax loopholes and
slippage.
Budget processes had been strengthened to improve support for
fiscal
management, planning and control of spending.
Both ministers
agreed that Zimbabwe would receive the facilitation of a line
of credit, and
further budget support which would be aligned to South
Africa's 2012 budget
process.
Development finance institutions would also be encouraged to
participate,
including the Development Bank of Southern Africa, in order to
invest in
infrastructure projects, particularly energy and
roads.
Collaboration would be strengthened between the SA Revenue Service
and
Zimra, with particular focus on the harmonisation of customs systems,
procedures and investment in Beitbridge border post infrastructure.