http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in News
A
STORM is gathering over the scenic Zambezi Valley due to controversial
plans
— which are not eco-friendly — to establish heavy mining operations
along
two major rivers which feed into Mana Pools, one of the world’s most
pristine wildernesses and a leading tourist attraction in Zimbabwe, amid
fears the nation’s natural heritage might be irreparably damaged if
politically-connected miners overpower environmentalists.
Report by
Tendai Marima
At the centre of the row is Zambezi Society — a non-profit
conservation
organisation formed in 1982 — and Habbard Investments (Pvt)
Ltd, a
subsidiary of a local mining company GeoAssociates (Pvt)
Ltd.
The clash is intensifying as environmentalists step up their
campaign
against determined efforts by miners to explore the area for
commercial
benefit.
Environmentalists say the area is a
national heritage and must not be
sacrificed on the altar of corporate
interests that largely benefit
shareholders.
This has raised
echoes of the recent invasions of Save Valley Conservancy by
top Zanu PF
politicians and army commanders who have now been ordered by
President
Robert Mugabe to vacate the area.
However, Habbard, which sources say
has powerful political links, is rigidly
determined to scour the riverbeds
of Chewore and Ruckomechi for heavy
mineral sand
deposits.
Habbard managing director Paul Chimbodza this week refused
to clarify
whether his company has political heavyweights behind it trying
to
intimidate environmentalists.
“We can’t be talking to the
media, we don’t talk to them. Ngatingomirira
zvirikuitwa (Let’s wait for
what’s being done),” Chimbodza told the Zimbabwe
Independent on Tuesday,
before hanging up his phone.
Habbard is determined to proceed as it
sees money-spinning opportunities
because of the abundance of heavy mineral
sand deposits in the Zambezi
Valley which are used as raw materials in the
manufacture of paints and
dyes; enhancing colour in plastics, paper and
rubber; in cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals; and in producing titanium alloy
metals needed in aircraft,
spacecraft and medical
prostheses.
Although Habbard has contracted Impact Assessment
Consulting (Impaco) to
conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA),
environmental groups have
warned explorations would be ecologically
devastating to Mana Pools.
The Zambezi Society has since engaged Impaco,
Environmental Management
Agency (EMA), Safari Operators Association of
Zimbabwe (SOAZ), National
Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Lower Zambezi
Tour Operators and Unesco
national commission in a bid to save the area from
mining invasions. A
committee has been set up to deal with the
issue.
So much is at stake in this dispute. Habbard wants to make a
fortune through
heavy mineral sand deposits while environmentalists, who are
also
benefitting, want to protect their treasure.
Mana Pools is a
wildlife conservation area in northern Zimbabwe constituting
a national
park. It is a region of the lower Zambezi River where the flood
plain turns
into a broad expanse of lakes after each rainy season.
As the lakes
gradually dry up and recede, the region attracts many large
animals in
search of water, making it one of Africa’s most renowned game
viewing
regions.
The area covers 2 500-square kilometres of river frontage,
islands,
sandbanks and pools, flanked by forests of mahogany, wild figs,
ebonies and
baobabs, and is one of the least developed national parks in
Zimbabwe and
the region. It has four pools which are part of an extensive 10
500-square
kilometre national parks and wildlife reserves.
This
unique park is a Unesco World Heritage Site, based on its wildness and
splendour, together with the wide range of animals, over 350 bird species
and aquatic wildlife.
It was saved from a hydro-electric scheme
in the early 1980s which would
have seen the flooding of this world heritage
site with the country’s
biggest concentration of hippopotamuses, crocodiles
and large dry season
populations of elephants, buffaloes and other
animals.
The spoiling of the Zambezi River itself is also an issue in
this dispute.
The river is Africa’s fourth largest and one of the finest and
least spoilt
in the world. Its basin is larger than the Sahara Desert and
flows through
eight countries in central and southern Africa.
It
is rich in biological diversity. Its wetlands, aquatic systems, riverine
woodlands, montane forests, dry forests and savannahs are all complex
eco-systems which support abundant wildlife and a great diversity of trees
and plants; some species are native only to the Zambezi region. It has
magnificent wilderness values which are becoming increasingly attractive to
the international tourism market.
However, these valuable
national resources are now at risk.
Zambezi Society says on September
10 last year, the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development issued two
exploration licences to Habbard which intends
to prospect for copper, lead,
titanium and other minerals along the banks of
Ruckomechi and Chewore rivers
which feed into the Zambezi.
Habbard claims to be the first in
Zimbabwe to attempt sand mineral
exploration along the 45-km long Rukomechi
and 65-km long Chewore rivers. It
says an EIA to determine economic
viability and ecological sustainability of
the projects currently being
undertaken by Impaco, a Harare-based
environmental consultancy
firm.
“Habbard Investments is required by law, to undertake a series
of
environmental impact assessments. These assessments seek to establish the
likely impacts of mineral exploration activities and to recommend how
proposed operations should minimise such impacts,” Chimbodza said
recently.
Although Zambezi Society claims that up until July Impaco
was not listed as
a consultancy approved to carry out EIA by EMA, an Impaco
employee told the
Independent this week an assessment was currently taking
place.
Habbard convened a stakeholders meeting in Harare on August 31
attended by
representatives from over 50 public and private sector
organisations to
discuss the issue. It explained to stakeholders its
proposed mining methods.
“Excavation of one-metre deep pits in the
sand of the rivers; drilling of
augur holes every 1km down the centre of the
riverbed, Habbard is not
insensitive to the environment and fragile nature
of Mana Pools,” Chimbodza
said.
The Zambezi River basin contains
mineral-rich sand eroded from higher plains
and while Chimbodza says Habbard
will only go down one metre, copies of a
2011 exploration licence for
Ruckomechi River show the company could
potentially excavate as deep as five
to 16 metres.
Zambezi Society said on August 12 Habbard’s operations
would pose too great
a threat to flora and fauna in the World Heritage
Site.
“We believe that there should be no mining (prospecting or
exploration
included) in this area because of potential impacts on its
biodiversity,
wildlife and sensitive eco-systems, which are globally
important, and on its
wilderness areas which are valuable to international
tourism,” Zambezi
Society spokesperson Sally Win
said.
“Furthermore, World Heritage status is not awarded lightly.
There are less
than 200 sites worldwide on Unesco’s ‘natural sites’ listing;
and in the
society’s view, Zimbabwe’s national interests will be best served
by
maintaining the integrity of the area, and prohibiting activities such as
mining that will result in its degradation and possible loss of its World
Heritage status.”
Zimbabwe currently holds five World Heritage
Site titles for man-made and
natural historic sites, which include Great
Zimbabwe, Khami Ruins, Mana
Pools, Matobo Hills and Victoria
Falls.
Unesco programme specialist in natural sciences in Harare, Guy
Broucke, said
on Tuesday the World Heritage Committee had contacted the
Zimbabwean
government over the highly controversial issue.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
News
CABINET ministers have been accused of siphoning cash and grabbing
vehicles
from line parastatals despite receiving the same benefits from
central
government in a damning preliminary report by the Comptroller and
Auditor-General, a cabinet minister has said.
Report by Herbert
Moyo
In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent State Enterprises and
Parastatals minister Gorden Moyo said preliminary reports from the Auditor
and Comptroller-General’s office on the operations of parastatals for 2011
contains evidence of massive double-dipping in state enterprises by cabinet
ministers.
“There is fraud involving ministers and deputy
ministers particularly with
respect to travelling expenses which they claim
from parastatals even though
they get the same from Treasury. They even
claim vehicles as well and this
is double-dipping which contravenes the
Public Finance Management Act,” Moyo
said.
Although Moyo refused
to disclose any names, ministries or details of the
irregularities,
impeccable sources told this paper that the report showed
that the Home
Affairs, Transport and Mines and Water ministries were among
those allegedly
involved in commandeering fuel and cars from the Central
Mechanical
Equipment Department.
Moyo condemned the ministers’ behaviour saying
it undermines the work his
ministry has been undertaking to make State
Enterprises and Parastatals
profitable through policies premised on good
corporate governance and
restructuring under a turnaround framework adopted
in 2010. His revelations
come after his recent presentation to cabinet
suggesting parastatals have
been performing dismally with the majority
making losses amounting to
millions of dollars in 2011 due to
under-capitalisation, high overheads and
lack of customer
confidence.
Moyo said his ministry would not spare any efforts to
deal with the culprits
and would engage President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and the Anti-Corruption Commission over the
matter.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
News
ZANU PF ministers clashed with their MDC counterparts in cabinet this
week
over the Referendum Amendment Bill with President Robert Mugabe and
allies
rejecting the diaspora vote and a proposal to allow the public to
petition
for a referendum on any contentious issue.
Report by Brian
Chitemba
Impeccable sources told the Zimbabwe Independent that the coalition
government partners engaged in a fierce clash over clauses of the Referendum
Amendment Bill.
The Bill, according to officials who attended the
meeting on Tuesday, was
later accepted with Zanu PF rejecting critical
issues like the diaspora vote
which it fears.
The meeting
discussed the Referendum Act Amendment Bill ahead of the second
all-stakeholders’ conference as pressure mounts for the unity government
partners to conclude the constitution-making process.
Zanu PF,
critics say, fears the diaspora vote because millions of
Zimbabweans who are
living abroad fled political and economic turmoil
created by Mugabe’s
authoritarian regime mainly from 2000.
“MDC formations’ ministers
argued every Zimbabwean, local or foreign-based,
should be allowed to vote,
but Zanu PF rejected the amendment since they
have their own fears,” a
minister said.
Zanu PF ministers further opposed MDCs’ moves to
empower citizens to demand
a referendum on any contentious issues like
devolution through a petition.
This, some ministers said, was mainly
intended to preserve Mugabe’s sole
authority in deciding when and how to
call for a referendum as stipulated in
the current Act.
Ministers
agreed that voters in the referendum should not be registered
voters as is
the case in elections, but every Zimbabwean with an identity
card would be
allowed to cast the ballot.
“It’s unfortunate that in an inclusive
government, when there is no
consensus, an issue is rejected despite the
fact that other parties want
it,” said the minister.
The second
all-stakeholders’ conference is expected next month to pave way
for a
referendum on the Copac draft.
Zanu PF, which made 266 amendments to
the latest Copac draft, claims the new
draft does not incorporate people’s
views gathered during the outreach
programme.
Copac says over 2
000 delegates are expected to attend the second
all-stakeholders’ conference
with Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC seconding 600
representatives.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
News
GOVERNMENT will today come under increasing pressure to settle its debt
with
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid indications three countries,
including Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe, as at June-end owed the
international financial institution Special Drawing Rights (SDR)1,3 billion
(US$2,007 billion at the rate of SDR1:US$1,54228 yesterday) in overdue
arrears collectively.
Report by Tendai Marima
The IMF will meet
authorities today to discuss the Zimbabwe situation at a
time when Harare’s
cooperation on policies with the Bretton Woods
institution has
weakened.
The IMF says three members — Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe —
remain in
protracted arrears to the fund. Somalia and Sudan have
accumulated arrears
dating back to the mid-1980s, accounting for 18% and 76%
of the total US$2
billion arrears, respectively. Zimbabwe, which has been
in arrears to the
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) since February
2001, accounts for
the remaining 6%.
The IMF executive board
reviewed Zimbabwe’s overdue financial obligations to
the PRGT in September
2011 and subsequently in April this year.
It said Zimbabwe’s
cooperation with the fund on policies had weakened. The
board said the
authorities must align the execution of the 2012 budget with
realistic
revenue forecasts in order to return to a path towards medium-term
fiscal
and external sustainability and to increase economic resilience to
shocks
by improving expenditure management, further strengthening financial
sector
prudential regulations and their enforcement and improving the
business
climate.
The directors underscored the importance of refraining from
incurring
non-concessional liabilities, including using SDR resources, to
prevent the
further exacerbation of debt distress and unsustainable widening
of external
imbalances.
They also emphasised the need to
demonstrate the capacity and commitments to
implement strengthened policies
under an IMF staff-monitored programme,
including continuing timely data
reporting, adopting remedial measures to
resolve irregularities in
employment practices, controlling the payroll,
improving transparency in
diamond revenues and taking additional actions to
reduce financial sector
risks.
An IMF report Review of the Fund’s Strategy on Overdue
Financial Obligations
released last week shows that by June-end, Zimbabwe
owed the IMF’s PRGT
SDR85,9 million (US$132,6 million). Most of the debt
overdue to the PRGT
facility is held by Sudan and Somalia who owe SDR983,3
million (US$1,5
billion) and SDR233,1 million (US$359,3),
respectively.
Although the IMF noted a slight reduction in Zimbabwe’s
arrears, it said the
country has a poor record of repayment. The report,
prepared by directors
from the IMF’s finance, legal and policy strategy
departments, also stresses
the urgency of Zimbabwe settling its outstanding
arrears.
“Zimbabwe’s arrears to the PRGT have declined slightly.
Cooperation with the
fund on payments remains poor and Zimbabwe was strongly
encouraged to make
regular and timely payments to the fund and to increase
them as the payment
capacity improves,” it said.
Minister of
Finance Tendai Biti said yesterday Treasury, IMF and World Bank
officials
would meet today to discuss the situation. Biti held a video
conference call
on Wednesday with IMF officials to discuss the issue.
“Zimbabwe is
not in arrears with the IMF. Zimbabwe owes money to the IMF,
the World Bank
and other creditors. We are up to date with our payments to
the IMF,” Biti
said.
“The Ministry of Finance is in intense discussions with the IMF
and the
World Bank and we going to have a meeting with them tomorrow. We are
going
have another one next month.”
Apart from its US$132,6
million IMF debt at June-end, Zimbabwe also owed
SDR614,6 million
(US$947,9million) to the World Bank and SDR376,2 million
(US$580,2 million)
to the African Development Bank.
The IMF says Zimbabwe could be
eligible for debt relief under the Highly
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
initiative, but Harare has refused to accept
HIPC approach, claiming it
would be used to interfere in internal affairs.
As an alternative,
the Ministry of Finance launched the Zimbabwe:
Accelerated Arrears
Clearance, Debt and Development Strategy in March this
year, a plan
detailing how the country intends to pay off its liabilities
through a
combination of debt relief and concessional loans or grants from
its
development partners. Zimbabwe’s total debt is currently US$10,7
billion.
On re-engagement with the IMF, Biti said Zimbabwe does
not have the means to
settle its debt and alternative sources would have to
be found. “Zimbabwe
does not have the capacity to pay off the IMF from its
own resources.
In this regard, the country will need to request
cooperating partners for a
concessional bridging loan or a grant to settle
arrears to the fund,” he
said.
“Clearance of Extended Credit
Facility arrears will unlock new financing
arrangements from the IMF, within
the context of a fund-supported financial
arrangement, which will then be
used to repay the bridging loan obtained
from the co-operating
partners.”
The IMF said Zimbabwe would need international assistance,
but the country
must find ways of resolving problems of ghost workers on the
payroll,
opaqueness in diamond revenues and taking effective steps to
minimise
exposing the financial sector to systemic risks. “Zimbabwe faces an
unsustainable debt situation, and may at some point need comprehensive debt
relief from the international community,” it said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
News
THE MDC-T leadership has grilled its deputy organising secretary
Abednico
Bhebhe to explain his public utterances that the party would write
a new
constitution if it gets into power.
Repport by Brian
Chitemba
Bhebhe reportedly told party supporters in Umzingwane, Matabeleland
South,
about two weeks ago that his party made many concessions in the Copac
draft
constitution just to ensure free and fair elections and would revisit
the
charter once it comes to power.
The MDC-T swiftly issued a
statement distancing itself from Bhebhe’s claims,
saying the party had no
intention of re-writing the constitution. Party
insiders told the Zimbabwe
Independent Bhebhe was grilled and asked to
explain his utterances by party
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.
Although Bhebhe denied that he was
questioned about his statements, sources
said Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai was angered by Bhebhe’s speech.
Mwonzora denied Bhebhe was
summoned, but admitted he was taken to task over
the
statement.
“I talked to him (Bhebhe) about the speech,” said
Mwonzora. “He denied ever
saying the party would re-write the constitution
and blamed journalists for
misquoting him.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in News
CONSTITUTIONAL
and Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga says
Zimbabwe is unlikely
to hold a referendum on the new Copac draft this year
as haggling among
coalition partners means the document cannot be taken to
the second All
Stakeholders’ Conference before consensus.
Report by Faith Zaba/Paidamoyo
Muzulu
Matinenga told the Zimbabwe Independent in an interview that as long
as the
process has not been agreed by the three political parties, the draft
would
not be taken to the conference.
“We cannot proceed to the
second stakeholders’ conference without getting
all things in order,” said
Matinenga. “We need to get all our ducks in a row
before then otherwise we
would get nothing out of it.”
In terms of the GPA Article VI, the
draft should now be taken to the second
stakeholders’ conference and then
parliament. The draft may be amended at
both stages thus cooperation and
consensus among the parties is paramount.
President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday
agreed that they must consult
Copac on the future of the constitution-making
process ahead of the second
all-stakeholders’ conference.
Matinenga could not rule out the possibility of
parties manipulating the
outcome of the stakeholders’ conference to suit
their interests.
The two MDC formations have vowed not to reopen
negotiations with Zanu PF
over its proposed amendments to the
draft.
Zanu PF wants any reference to devolution completely removed
from the draft.
It also wants the imperial presidency retained; the running
mates clause
removed and key state appointments to be the prerogative of the
president,
among other things.
Matinenga said the process has
become a charade because the draft has not
been tabled for discussion in
cabinet since it was released on July 18.
“The issue (draft constitution) in
the main has been removed from the
government work programme and it’s only
being played out at a political
level,” said Matinenga.
He ruled
out the possibility of two drafts being taken to a referendum,
saying this
would spark violence along party lines.
Meanwhile, the Zanu PF
politburo insists it would continue pushing for its
amendments to be
inserted into the draft and said if the principals do not
reach consensus,
the party would take the national statistical report to the
stakeholders’
conference for them to decide.
The politburo resolved last week to
allow the Copac draft to be taken to the
conference without the party’s
proposed 266 amendments. It also wants the
national statistical report to be
published in all media and copies given to
delegates at the second all
stakeholders’ conference.
Contrary to assertions that this was a
climb-down by Zanu PF, party insiders
said the game was not yet over as they
would still push for the
incorporation of their amendments during the
principals’ meetings, the
stakeholder’s conference and in
parliament.
“Our position has not changed,” a politburo source said.
“We will not
support a draft that does not incorporate our amendments. There
are still
stages during which we can ensure that the amendments are
incorporated.
People are forgetting that you need a two-thirds majority vote
in
parliament — so we need each other at the end of the
day.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said his party has not
conceded defeat.“The
principals are consulting now and the draft will be
taken to the second
stakeholder’s conference. It must be made abundantly
clear that the draft
and the national statistical report should be given to
the people so that
they have an opportunity to evaluate and assess whether
what was said during
the outreach meetings is incorporated in the draft,” he
said.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
News
THE weather was as fine as one could hope for on such a day, while the
atmosphere which engulfed Raintree — upmarket venue of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Elizabeth Macheka’s marriage ceremony in leafy Umwinsidale in
Harare — was heavenly, a far cry from the hellish if dramatic events which
had ensued during the course of the week.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
Raintree, nestled in Umwinsidale valley, offers a
breathtaking vista with
pine forests, landscaped gardens and sweeping lawns
that roll down to meet
the Umwinsi River, which cascades over a granite rock
waterfall to settle in
an idyllic pool below. Overlooking this beautiful
venue is a Msasa woodland
where it is not uncommon to see the odd giraffe
and buffalo as they idle
away the day and perchance to hear the call of a
fish eagle echoing from
within the serene valley.
Glittering
across the parking area were top-of-the- range car marques for
the
high-flying who-is-who; the latest Range Rovers, Cadillacs, Bentleys,
Escalades, Mercedes Benz and BMWs.
The wedding scene showed
Tsvangirai — who recently moved into a US$3 million
Highlands mansion and
has been gallivanting on holidays — is now living a
high-class lifestyle
compared to millions of his poverty-stricken
supporters. Security was tight,
as one would imagine.
Guests had to go through vigorous checks
before being allowed into the
venue.
The organisers were not
leaving anything to chance – those not on the guest
list were quickly turned
away.
Following a hectic week at the courts fighting to save his
wedding,
gatecrashers were the last thing Tsvangirai and his bride wanted at
the
occasion reduced to a customary affair after ex-lovers Locardia
Karimatsenga-Tembo and Nosipho Regina Shilubane from South Africa filed
separate urgent applications at the Harare Magistrates’ Court in a bid to
halt the event.
Karimatenga-Tembo successfully challenged the
planned civil wedding after
the courts ruled that Tsvangirai was still
married to her and a marriage
licence issued by the court last month was
revoked at the eleventh hour.
However, at Raintree the tumultuous events
which unfolded during the week
seemed like a galaxy away. The glitzy wedding
convoy consisting of a
limousine and equally imposing Mercedes Benz and SUVs
arrived with the St
Johns College Pipe band playing ever-so-softly in the
background.
Both groom and bride strolled on the red carpet to
the magnificent and
colourful marquee set by the river-side, after
Tsvangirai’s mother Lydia,
Elizabeth’s father Joseph Macheka and his wife,
bridal team and best man
Zambian minister of Labour Fackson Shamenda had led
the way and taken their
seats.
Elizabeth was dressed in a
beautiful white gown, with a choker and jewelry
on her forehead like an
Indian Tikka and huge earrings, while the groom was
clad in a black suit and
black and grey bowtie. The bridesmaids were dressed
in turquoise blue gowns,
tight-fitting from top to just above the knee, and
flared like a fish tail
with little silver crowns.
The male bridal team, which included
State Enterprises minister Gorden Moyo,
donned black suits and turquoise
blue cravats. The attire would have won the
approval of any stylish
fashionista.
After telling the bride and groom to stand, Catholic
priest Father Patrick
Makaka quickly explained that the wedding was only a
traditional ceremony
bringing the two together and civil proceedings would
take place after
Tsvangirai had sorted out the legal matters with
Karimatsenga-Tembo. He said
love, not a signed marriage certificate, was
what should forever bind
Tsvangirai’s and his wife.
The
couple then exchanged gold rings after which guests made a beeline to
congratulate them before they left for Glamis Arena in a convoy of 15 to 20
cars, where MDC-T supporters were celebrating the union. Notables at the
wedding included swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry who was dressed in a
short green dress with beige shoes and was with fiancé Tyrone Seward. Harare
mayor Muchadei Masunda and his wife also graced the event as did Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and wife.
Deputy Prime
Minister Thokozani Khupe and deputy minister of Women’s Affairs
Jessie
Majome wore “African attires”, while Finance minister Tendai Biti was
clad
in a grey silver suit and his wife a maroon dress. The wedding party
arrived
to blaring music from Brenda Fassie’s Wedding Song as more than 800
guests
ululated, cheered and whistled in appreciation.
MDC-T chief Whip
Innocent Gonese, deputy secretary-general Tapiwa Mashakada
and party
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora set the dance floor alight, as they
cheered on
the bridal party. Entertainment was provided by veteran
disc-jockeys Kudzie
Marudza and Witness Matema, while Barry Manandi and Mike
Madhodha were the
masters of ceremonies.
At the high table, Tsvangirai and his
bride were flanked by Mutambara and
his wife, Khupe, Moyo, the best man and
maid of honour. Reverend Chisvo
opened the celebrations with a prayer, while
Desire Moyo recited a poem
hailing Tsvangirai for overcoming hurdles that
threatened to stop his
wedding. Speeches and presents
followed.
Revellers later danced the night away to old skool
songs like the classic
Solo na Mutsai , Rudo imoto and Chitekete. Guests
were treated to food and
drink galore, while superstar Oliver Mtukudzi
strummed romantic ballades in
the background. After dinner Tsvangirai and
his bride danced to Mtukudzi’s
romantic hit Svovi
Yangu.
Romance was evidently in the
air.
Tsvangirai delighted guests when he danced to P Square’s
song Chop My Money.
As if not to be outdone by the guests, the bride and her
bridal team danced
to blazing South African house music before she changed
into a pink gown.
The revelry continued as the wedding party went on until
the early hours of
Sunday.
In the end, Tsvangirai’s wedding
was a symbol of his new-found life of
luxury.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Business
ZIMBABWE needs to codify legislation governing mining operations in
the
country in order to attract investors and manage the sector effectively,
Liberation Mining technical director Peter Mutsinya said.
Mutsinya told
businessdigest in an interview this week that mining companies
faced a lot
of legal hurdles in setting up mines because of the number of
laws relating
to the industry.
Mutsinya said that Zimbabwe had 45 legal Acts which interact
on the mining
sector, 60 different statutory instruments/regulations, 15
ministries and 20
local governing bodies that are directly or indirectly
involved in the
business.
“There is need to codify the pieces of
legislation governing mining so that
the laws are harmonised. Government,
together with the mining industry,
should come up with a mining code or
national mineral policy for the
purposes of smoothly operationalising the
sector,” Mutsinya said.
“We should come up with a mining
administrative and operating procedure
manual. At the moment you can imagine
dealing with 15 ministries, 45 acts,
and 60 different statutory instruments.
On top of that, they are 20 local
boards.”
He said his company,
Liberation Mining, required a capital outlay of
US$369,3 million to start
mining on the Lubimbi coal project in Matabeleland
North. The Liberation
Mining project is situated about 60km south of Binga
in the Gwayi-Shangani
catchment area and 80km east of Hwange town.
The nearest suitable
railway siding from the proposed working site is Dete,
which is 54km from
Gwayi.
Mutsinya said the company had completed feasibility studies on
the coal
mining project, adding a total US$138,8 million would be needed in
the first
year for pre-stripping, open cast mining, engineering and
infrastructure
capital as well as indirect costs.
A further
US$79,6 million would be required in the second year, which would
be enough
to get the mine to a desirable output.
Mutsinya said that with at
least more than five power generation licences
issued out to date and two
coal to liquid plants scheduled for production in
the next two-three years,
coal demand would outstrip supply, which is
currently forecast at 5 million
tonnes/year.
He said this would move to between 12-15 million
tonnes/year in the next 5
years and to 20 million tonnes per annum by
2030.
Zimbabwe has a total 30 230 million metric tonnes in
reserves.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme
Collaborating Centre
on Energy and Environment, Lubimbi has the highest coal
reserves at 11, 8
billion metric tonnes followed by Hankano at 7,8 billion
metric tonnes and
Mkushwe at 4,3 billion metric tonnes. Hwange is the sixth
largest with 480
million metric tonnes while Sengwa, which has 480 million
metric tonnes,
is the eighth largest.
The project consists of the
A/B export grade with 15-30% yield, the power
station coal product with
50-60% yield and coking coal product with a 3-10%
yield.
Mutsinya
said there is a potential to produce oil from lower grade and coal
shale by
Fischer method based on historical assessment and information on
the Lubimbi
coalfield studies.
The average oil content ranges from 3-8% in the
deeper remaining areas four
seams namely B,C,D and E can be mined by
underground mining methods which
could produce the total tonnage which is
well above 1 billion metric tonnes
of similar or better products than those
described above for the open
castable area.
Mutsinya said there
were other project development options and
opportunities. He said the
company would look at alternative energy sources
as well as coal
gasification opportunities.
A 2000 MW Power station can also be
developed in partnership with major
energy mining firms while there was the
potential of an 80 000 barrels per
day coal-to-liquids factory.
To date
the company had surveyed 70km, completed 233 beacons and drilled 250
boreholes.
In terms of exploration diamond drilling, phase 1
(consisting of 850ha) had
shown an estimated insitu reserve of 600 million
tonnes inferred. This had
been done in 2010. The latest exploration phase
conducted in 2011 and
covering 11 000 hectares had shown 1 billion tonnes of
indicated resource.
Challenges that had been brought to the fore by
an EnvironmentaI Impact
Assessment report the company had undertook was that
they would have to
co-exist with the Zambezi Water Project and the
Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the wall
of which will be 32km
downstream.
“We will have to contend with mine flooding if the dam
reaches full height
post mine life,” he said.
Mutsinya said that
would be contaminated through cracks and there was need
for acid drain
management.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Business
ZIMBABWE has slipped into a mild recession due to a lack of growth
in the
economy as the liquidity situation remains dire. Figures released by
the
Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstats) showed that annual
inflation
for August was down to 3,63% from 3,9% in July as demand for goods
and
services remained constrained. The low inflation makes economic recovery
slower. Already, Finance minister Tendai Biti revised downwards this year’s
economic growth forecast to 5,6% from 9,4% last year.
Report by Our
Staff Writer
Against the backdrop of a waning growth momentum and
continued low
confidence because of the various unpopular policies, real GDP
is expected
to stagnate after the downward revision in the growth forecast.
Analysts say
that these are signs of a mild recession.
Market
analyst Jerome Negonde said the economy was now characterised by
stagnant
salaries and wages, with minimal adjustments being made as this
whould leave
less money for working capital.
Negonde said stagnant salaries discouraged
spending and the point extended
to the larger purchases like cars and homes
that generally depend on loans
as it was becoming increasingly difficult to
access cheaper funding.
In countries which use their own currencies,
when inflation is relatively
low the printing press is activated to add to
the money supply (quantitative
easing) as a way of stimulating demand for
goods and services.
Economic analyst Eric Bloch said the downward
trend in inflation was
attributed to fluctuations in real demand for goods
and services largely
because of low disposable incomes in the majority of
the public.
This he attributed to the persistent liquidity crunch in
the economy which
was resulting in limited cashflows.
“The
slowdown in inflation is due to the fact that the demand side of the
economy
has been depressed since the beginning of the year and this is
reflected
through reduced appetite for goods and services,” said Bloch.
He
however said the country was facing significant inflationary pressures
emanating from a poor harvest in the last season, demand for rental
accommodation and increasing utility prices.
Food and
non-alcoholic beverages in the period remained the major inflation
drivers
recorded and were at 4,2% and 3,8%, respectively.
The month-on-month
food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation stood
at -0,11% in August 2012,
shedding 0,09% points from the -0,02% recorded in
July.
The
month-on-month non-food inflation stood at -0,21%, shedding 0,54% points
on
the July rate of 0,33%.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Business
THE Industrial Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) is raising US$60
million
to partner the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) in the
ongoing
implementation of the prepaid metering project, IDBZ acting director
Alex
Machimbirike said.
Report by Staff Writer
He said
US$30 million would be raised through IDBZ infrastructure bonds and
syndication arrangements.
Under the scheme, Zesa plans to install
600 000 prepaid meters countrywide
as part of the first stage to effectively
phase out its conventional
shambolic post payment billing system which
resulted in it accumulating more
than US$600 million in unpaid
bills.
Zesa last week began rolling out pre-paid meter system in
Harare and the
project is expected to spread to other parts of the country
next year.
Zimbabwe continues to battle with power deficits and
currently generates
1000 MW against a demand of 2200 MW, hence the resultant
erratic power
supply hampering local industry.
Machimbirike said
his bank has so far disbursed US$58 million towards the
refurbishment of
Hwange, Kariba, Harare, Munyati and Bulawayo power stations
in order to up
power generation.
What exacerbates power deficits in Zimbabwe are lack of
maintenance of
ageing equipment and lack of investment in the
sector.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera), however,
last week
announced that it had licensed electricity generation projects
worth US$10,1
billion, a development likely to address the power
deficit in the
country.
Zera said the licensed projects would
have capacity to bring in 5 400 MW
onto the national grid.
The
projects would use mini-hydro, biogas, wood waste, coal-fired and solar
technologies.
The energy regulator said it licensed a 250 MW
solar project worth US$750
million, which is currently at the development
phase.
Four investors had been licensed to develop coal-fired
electricity in
projects worth US$9,3 billion.
The projects
include RioZim’s Sengwa, Essar and China Africa.
Border Timbers has
also injected US$1,6 million for a woodwaste project
which will bring in
500KW for the group’s own use.
The three biogas projects to generate
96MW are in Triangle, Hippo Valley and
Chisumbanje.
Plans are
still on the cards to expand capacity at Batoka to 800MW by 2020
and Kariba
South to 300MW by 2016.
Zera is assisting the development of the
Renewable Energy Policy framework
and drafting the Feed-in-Tariff framework
for renewable energy technologies.
The energy regulator is also
working on the Energy Efficiency Policy
framework to advise both producers
and consumers to ensure optimisation of
energy resources.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
FOLLOWING the release of the shoddy, if controversial, Copac draft
constitution produced by the three political parties in the coalition
government through an inherently-flawed and non-inclusive process on July
18, so much has been happening.
The draft has been subjected to close
scrutiny mainly in elite circles and
found to be inadequate in many
respects, despite attempts by its architects
to defend it. It is, of course,
better than the current compromise Lancaster
House constitution, although it
is clearly defective and substandard. The
three parties conspired to exclude
other key stakeholders from the
parliament-driven process and inevitably
produced a contentious document.
The situation has been exacerbated
by the Zanu PF politburo’s attempts to
rewrite the Copac draft, something
that will make it worse. After some
wrangling, principals met on Wednesday
to discuss possible dates for the
second all-stakeholders’
conference.
The Zanu PF politburo — which recently spent close to 50
hours day and night
revising the draft — met again last week and agreed the
constitution-making
process must proceed to the stakeholders’ conference,
which might come early
next month after President Robert Mugabe’s return
from United Nations
General Assembly in New York. However, principals will
have to sort out the
situation before that to avoid chaos.
This
brings us to the issue of the stakeholders’ conference. What is the
real
purpose of the meeting in the first place, apart from fulfilling a
Global
Political Agreement (GPA) obligation and trying to purchase
legitimacy for
the unsound draft through the backdoor? If the three parties
wanted an
inclusive process, what stopped them from ensuring that at the
beginning?
Even though Copac is set to take its charade — costly
as it is shambolic —
to the conference where its dubious 150-page draft
constitution would come
under scrutiny from about 2 000 delegates, there is
no hope of progress
after that.
The exercise, characterised by partisan
political interests, inordinate
delays, organisational ineptitude and weak
leadership, could be heading for
yet another round of chaos. The
stakeholders’ conference is likely to be
worse than the first one in July
2009.
The three parties will head to the conference geared for a
fight. The two
MDC formations seem to be fighting from the same corner after
endorsing the
draft and launching a “Vote Yes” campaign while Zanu PF is
preparing for
battle at the meeting where it might unleash
mayhem.
In 2009, Zanu PF and MDC officials and supporters clashed,
throwing chairs
and glasses all over the show even when the process was at
its inception.
Now that the situation has changed and so much is at stake
politically and
battle lines are drawn, there are likely to be bitter
wrangles at the
conference. The dispute over the national report is also
likely to explode
there. Zanu PF wants to take the report to the conference
to back its demand
for amendments to the draft, but the other parties are
resisting it, saying
that would take the process rearward and create new
problems.
It is against such an ominous background that the
stakeholders’ conference
will come. Throw in a hitherto excluded civil
society representation
expected to make up 70% of the delegates and a Zanu
PF itching to impose its
266 amendments — designed to restore the
constitutional status quo and allow
President Robert Mugabe to keep his
imperial powers ahead of elections — you
have a perfect recipe for another
high-profile Copac fiasco in the waiting.
The conference is likely to
explode into a political disaster, with
far-reaching consequences to
preparations for free and fair elections.
How Copac expects so many
delegates to negotiate a disputed document, over a
day or two and reach
anything remotely resembling consensus is a mystery,
especially given that
the three parties, through their principals and
negotiators, can now hardly
agree on anything with elections approaching.
If the parties take an
already agreed-upon draft — within the admittedly
self-serving framework of
Copac — to the conference, it would simply further
confirm the process is
not inclusive as other stakeholders, who are just
window-dressers anyway,
would be presented with a fait accompli.
In July 2009, when the
stakes were much lower, drama unfolded when Zanu PF
thugs disrupted the
first all-stakeholders’ conference at a local hotel,
throwing furniture and
missiles around, hurling abuse and singing party
songs and chanting party
slogans; all this in front of police who stood by
and watched the political
drama. It is clear we are heading in the same
direction.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012
in Opinion
THIS is the last in a series of articles by MDC-T
secretary-general and
Finance minister Tendai Biti — who is a lawyer by
profession — on the
consitution-making process, content and
output.
Report by Tendai Biti
Devolution is reinforced by the
obligation in Article 17.4 of the same which
ensures that there is an
equitable allocation of capital grants to provinces
and that not less than
5% of the budget is allocated to the provinces.
Another important
developmental issue dealt with in the constitution is the
land question.
While in Article 4.29 the land reform programme is made
permanent, in
chapter 16 of the same, the land reform programme is now
democratised that
all Zimbabweans, irrespective of race, tribe or colour,
can be beneficiaries
of the same. Thus security of tenure is now bestowed on
everyone and any
person in Zimbabwe has the right to own, sell, lease,
hypothecate or
transmit any land right.
From an economic point of view, this is
critical. The constitution now
allows the restoration of a private property
market in Zimbabwe that will
transform current agricultural land from a dead
into a live asset.
Farmers will now be able to capitalise on their
farms and the majority who
are now farmers can sell or lease to
better-equipped Zimbabweans of any race
or tribe who can use this land
productively. Chapter 16 thus allows this
country to put a decisive
full-stop on the land question.
Does it create mechanisms for state
and generational succession and
regeneration?
Yes. The
constitution provides for harmonised elections every five years.
Unlike in
the present position, elections can only be held in the last 30
days of the
term of office of the existing parliament. Thus no one can be
taken by
surprise.
In addition, by defining free and fair elections and the
orderly transfer of
power as a founding principle, this constitution is
predicating stability
and evolution of state power.
More
importantly, by placing term limits on the president, securocrats and
top
government heads, this constitution is guaranteeing evolution. More so
given
that these provisions cannot be amended without a referendum and even
when
they are amended, they will not benefit the serving incumbent.
By
providing for two running mates, the constitution is also dealing with
the
fundamental disease in Africa. The founding fathers of Africa, be it
Siad
Baare, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, President Robert Mugabe or Kwame
Nkrumah, had and have one disease — that of predatory
permanents.
The issue of running mates thus provides the basis for an
orderly transition
as we happily saw in Malawi, Ghana and now
Ethiopia.
Where Africa’s big men had no orderly succession, the
nation state hardly
survived after them. Somalia, Ivory Coast and the
Democratic Republic of
Congo are living examples of this.
The
long and short of the above is that while the Copac draft is not the
best
constitution Zimbabweans could have written, it represents a major
starting
point and a point of departure from the status quo. That is why
some of us
who have spent all their life fighting for a new order in
Zimbabwe will
support it.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
MANY would have read with alarm that one Habbard Investments (Pvt)
Ltd, a
subsidiary of Geo Associates (Pvt) Ltd, intends to explore the two
rivers
dissecting Mana Pools, one of Zimbabwe’s five heritage sites, for an
array
of heavy mineral sands deposits.
Report by Itai
Masuku
Alarm because the last well-publicised such adventure took place
barely two
decades ago and was conducted by the world’s biggest oil company,
Exxon
Mobil of the US.
In fact, this is not the only time that
there has been an attempt to carry
out mining activities in the Zambezi
Valley. Ever since the river has been a
major waterway for southern African
trade long before the arrival of the
first European settlers on the
continent, there have been several
exploration missions for minerals,
particularly gold in and around the
Zambezi Valley.
In books such
as the Rivers of Gold, one can see that there was much
activity along the
Zambezi, with major Arab and then later Portuguese
trading posts dotted
along the river, some famous ones of which are Zumbo,
believed to be
present-day Kanyemba and the ancient settlement at Ingombe
Ilede near
Chirundu. Goods would find their way to the sea at ancient ports
as Pemba
and Sofala on the Indian Ocean.
The Zambezi River is Africa’s only
major river that flows into the Indian
Ocean, having also flowed to the
Atlantic in pre-historic times.
Fortunately, the number of people and
in particular the means of extraction
and transport in earlier times did not
adversely affect the ecology. It was
good old pick and shovel, and the
silent barges and canoes. Fast forward to
the late 1980s to early 1990s,
when Exxon Mobil scanned the area around Mana
Pools for black gold (oil) and
possibly methane gas. The exploration took
nearly five years, but at the end
of it all, we were told the studies
yielded nothing.
However,
some who claim to know better say the black gold was discovered,
but it was
felt this wasn’t yet the opportune moment to exploit the resource
in much
the same way Anglo Amercian Corporation is said to have discovered
platinum
at Unki way back in the 60s, but held on to full exploitation. Or
the case
of De Beers in Chiadzwa.
There was, however, hue and cry from
environmentalists and other concerned
citizens, and rightly so over the then
Exxon Mobil exploration. Ecologists
know that it is not easy to be awarded
World Heritage Site status by Unesco
and Zimbabwe is unique to have five
such sites, the others being the
Victoria Falls, Matobo Hills and the
man-made Great Zimbabwe and Khami
monuments.
Just as memories of the
Exxon Mobil attempt were beginning to dim, we hear
of yet another attempt
to disrupt the tranquility at Mana Pools.
We are once again
confronted with the situation where environmental
interests and the
extractive industries clash. Those in support of the
exploitation of the
Zambezi Valley’s potential minerals may cite the
economic benefits that come
from there, given the high prices of minerals on
the international markets
and the demand for carbon fuels, etc.
The Exxon Mobil exploration
sparked a lot of controversy, with
environmentalists severely objecting to
one of Africa’s remaning pristine
ecological sites being disrupted for
hydrocarbon fuels that are also known
to be very detrimental to the
environment, especially the protective ozone
layer. At least the Exxon Mobil
exploration was done in a more
environmentally-friendly manner, given the
resources at the disposal of the
giant multinational
corporation.
As for this group that is currently exploring the area
for other minerals,
one is not sure whether they have adequate resources to
do an effective
Environmental Impact Assessment and other eco-friendly
measures. The reason
we very much doubt that is of late mining concessions
in Zimbabwe are not
given on meritorious grounds. We know that in business
it’s now who you
know, rather than who has the capacity or
means.
We commend the Zambezi Society for once again standing up for
the
environment. We expect that some will cry foul, citing all sorts of
pretexts, including indigenisation. But Exxon Mobil is not indigenous and
the society led a spirited objection then as now.
And quite
honestly, in spite of all the minerals being mined in Zimbabwe,
the country
paradoxically remains poor. This is despite that we have some of
the key
minerals in the world such diamonds and platinum. So what makes
anyone think
those generally unknown minerals will have an impact on our
society?
After destroying the environment, we will still have nothing to
show for it.
So let’s leave Mana Pools alone. It’s a national
heritage.
After all, when it comes to minerals, Zimbabwe has enough
to cobble dogs
with. So why not concentrate on tourism, which has a
multiplier effect
across the economy?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
GOVERNMENT, through the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), has created
the
Zimbabwe Media Council, a statutory regulatory body which seeks to
establish
a code of conduct and ethics for journalists in order to serve the
interests
of power rather than the democratic role of the
media.
Report by Pedzisai Ruhanya
The core of this proposal is not to
protect and promote the democratic
practice of journalism, especially if one
looks at the powers of the
Zimbabwe Media Commission as provided for under
the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa) where
journalists could be cautioned,
suspended, deleted from the roll of
journalists and referred for prosecution
in cases of breaches of the code,
among other punitive measures.
The code is being proposed in
circumstances where the history against the
democratic practice of
journalism in Zimbabwe is littered with numerous
cases of media stifling and
muzzling by the state in order to impede its key
role of making public and
private corporate institutions and their leaders
accountable.
However, the problems of statutory regulation do not
mean the alternative,
which is the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe
(VMCZ) offers the best
practice. The setting up of VMCZ suggests no
regulation at all. It purports
to be self-regulatory yet quite a number of
its constituencies are not
journalists. At best it is co-regulation. There
is also a misguided
appreciation of statutory regulation in this group to
connote state
interference when numerous examples both locally and abroad
show a
professional body can be statutory, but still remains autonomous of
the
state.
One fundamental area in the self-regulation of the
media that should be
captured is the public interest role of the media. In
attempting to regulate
the media, a distinction should be drawn between
regulating media content
which is unacceptable in plural and democratic
societies and regulating
media processes which could be desirable and
acceptable as a means of
ensuring transparency for the audiences as well as
accountability of the
powerful.
The ZMC is interested in
regulating content, which is undemocratic and
outrageous. Regulating the
process by which fairness, accuracy, respect for
privacy and redress for
journalistic malpractices are properly implemented
by the press need not be
a constraint on the media’s freedom to publish.
This is what VMCZ
entails but lacks an independent statutory enforcement,
but much better than
ZMC. The government proposal is therefore mala fide
(done in bad faith or
malicious in intent) in terms of safeguarding the
public and journalistic
interests. It serves the interests of power, yet the
media is supposed to
make politicians accountable to the public.
As part of this idea, the
concept of protecting and promoting journalism “in
the public interest”, is
a framework which should be determined by
parliament not under the framework
of ZMC. This framework should not be
prescriptive and like all laws, would
inevitably require interpretation and
refinement through the
courts.
The critical issue which the ZMC, through Aippa, misses by a
wide margin is
that the framework should enshrine the fundamental importance
of journalism’s
watchdog role, and could therefore serve to liberate rather
than restrict
the very idea which proponents for self-regulation suggest
would be
endangered.
An independent statutory body must safeguard
the absolute right to
publication in the case of exposing wrongdoing,
injustice or incompetence
among the private or public officials in positions
of responsibility, and
revealing information which fulfils a democratic role
in advancing a better
understanding of important issues or assists the
public to come to electoral
or other decisions of crucial
importance.
These issues are omitted by the ZMC because it critically
aims to control
the media content — not process — to serve the interests of
the political
elite, the interests of power.
The ZMC is the worst
body we can have. However, the VMCZ is not a perfect
alternative.
Given the failure of like-minded self-regulatory or
co-regulatory bodies
such as the United Kingdom’s Press Complaints
Commission (PCC) in the wake
of the phone-hacking scandal that is currently
under inquiry by Lord Justice
Leveson, VMCZ should move to have a
statutory-backed regulator with a
broader cross-section of media
stakeholders and enhanced powers to advance
the practice of journalism and
not criminalise the same as the ZMC seeks to
do.
The VMCZ should
be statutory, but independent where direct government
involvement is only
necessary and minimal. It should be independent of the
government and
publishers as well for it to be effective.
Under current discussions
in the UK to remodel the PCC in the wake of
Hackgate, it has been argued
that if media self or co-regulated, bodies such
as the VMCZ may herald a new
age of good journalistic standards;
publications themselves will be required
to adopt robust internal
accountability systems, policed by a new regulator
to make sure they are
effective and meet minimum ethical standards set up by
the professionals
themselves, not a government body that seeks to promote
the interests of
the political elite or by publishers who seek to promote
their corporate
financial interests.
Taking the PCC as an
example, one can draw the lesson that self-regulation,
though critical and
at the heart of regulating the media, will not work
alone.
From the phone-hacking revelations by Rupert Murdoch’s
News International
Corporation and the manifest failure of the PCC to deal
with journalistic
malpractices, there is need for Zimbabwean journalists to
scrutinise and
revisit self-regulation which currently is not statutory.
There is also need
to appreciate that not everything that is legal has
inherent state
interference.
As suggested by Steven Barnett, a
media scholar, after interrogating the
failures of the PCC, it is critical
and necessary to introduce a backstop
body given powers by parliament that
provides regulation with real teeth and
creates proper accountability of the
media to society and the public, not to
serve the interests of political and
corporate power.
Without such a body, and only using the VMCZ
framework for those who abhor
government interference, it will not be
possible to levy fines or to ensure
that an ombudsman is genuinely
independent from the industry. Barnett argued
that in order to gain public
confidence in the case of the PCC following the
phone-hacking scandal and to
ensure that the powerful corporate interests
are not allowed to dictate the
terms of regulation, such reserve statutory
powers are
essential.
The point being made is that a self-regulatory media body
must not only
protect its members from state power, but also corporate power
and
interference, as well as donor power, something that the VMCZ should
take
note of. ZMC is out.
Ruhanya is a PhD candidate at
Communication and Media Research Institute,
University of Westminster,
London.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
THE recent Zanu PF climbdown on the constitution-making process is
not
surprising as it was expected by those who understood that factionalism
and
the resultant turmoil in the party have made it difficult for the party
to
be coherent and cohesive in its engagement on the issue.
Report by
Qhubani Moyo
It is known to all, including Zanu PF people, that the outcome
of the
constitution-making process is not what all Zimbabweans are
particularly
happy with. It was never going to be possible to craft a
document that
appeals to all individuals and group interests, yet it was
necessary to
produce a document that will capture the collective interests
of all
Zimbabweans.
It is thus obstreperous for Zanu PF to now
try to cause a debate on the
national report at the all-stakeholders’
conference as the basis of
discussion when they know that at all levels the
draft constitution had to
be changed several times to accommodate their
unending demands which were
largely a result of their internal
contradictions and fractures.
It is important for Zanu PF to
understand the function of the
all-stakeholders’ conference. Its purpose is
to discuss the draft
constitution and not go back to the national report, a
move which may result
in the revisiting of the whole process right back to
the outreach programme.
At the rate we are going, it won’t be
surprising to hear demands for videos
of proceedings of some outreach
meetings under trees all over the country.
The trouble is that Zanu PF
factions are using the constitution-making
process to try to outmanoeuvre
each other, hence their endless demands for
changes. If one faction is not
happy, it will seek to secure revisions and
this has been going on for
months now.
That is why it is now important to push the process
forward to the
all-stakeholders’ conference and then referendum. Zanu PF has
a
responsibility to work with others as it is clear this process is based on
compromise and consensus.
The national report issue is now
inconsequential because it was compromised
by them in the first place.
Besides, anyone with basic understanding of
research methodology will know
that the Copac process by any standards can
never qualify to be called a
quantitative or a qualitative research process.
It was never even
a triangulation because there was no structured formula
for mixing the
research approaches. The instrument that was used for the
enquiry, with due
respect, was neither a questionnaire nor an interview
schedule. It had what
were called talking points that were never designed
methodologically to meet
any of the simplest tenets of research methodology.
The process of
enquiry itself which some ignoramuses want to argue was a
focus group
approach was never anywhere near that. It is important for the
public to
know that if you intend to use a particular research methodology,
you should
from the very beginning design your sample and instruments to
meet the frame
of that method. You don’t just gather people without a
formula and then
decide they are a focus group and start saying that
frequencies on a subject
matter represent a quantitative result. This can
only be done by a party
with leaders who believe diesel can ooze out of
rocks!
The only
justifiable quantitative scrutiny of the draft constitution will be
a
referendum because it is by its nature quantitative. If Zanu PF wants a
quantitative approach to analysis of the draft constitution then it must go
to the referendum.
What is desirable now is for the people of
this country to go through the
draft so that they get an understanding of
what is contained in it. If the
citizens of this country get an
uninterrupted opportunity to scrutinise the
draft, they will be able to
identify the good, the bad and the ugly in the
document and make informed
decisions at the referendum.
But what are the fears which Zanu PF has
that have caused them to work
tirelessly to try and suffocate the document
which they partially produced?
First, it was always never in the interest of
Zanu PF hardliners to embrace
any sort of reform, including constitutional
review, and that ’s why they
were dragged screaming and kicking into the
constitution-making process.
Zanu PF leaders, especially hardliners,
are dead scared of a new
constitution as it might result in their heavy
defeat and the only way to
ensure self-preservation is to resist the process
to ensure the country goes
to elections under the current constitution and
environment in which they
can repeat the brutality of June 2008 and ballot
theft.
It is those in Zanu PF who want to preserve the current
dictatorship and
scorched-earth policy approach towards elections by
blocking a new
constitution through frivolous and vexatious amendments which
have no
enlightenment value as they are simply designed to restore the
despotic
status quo.
The reason why Zanu PF reactionaries and
intransigents are angry about the
Copac draft constitution is not so much
its flaws, which admittedly are
there, but the new power structure and
checks and balances it introduces.
The tragedy of Zanu PF amendments is that
they are just designed to defend
the imperial powers of an individual and
his party at the expense of the
nation.
The Copac draft provides
a healthy balance in the exercise of executive
power between the president,
cabinet and other state institutions. It
further provides for clearly
defined separation of powers. The era of
imperial presidents with all the
powers is over. The draft provides a
workable framework for redefining our
social relations and new governance
architecture for the
country.
The draft, in line with other progressive constitutions,
provides a balanced
executive presidency, term limits, smooth succession, a
beefed up Bill of
Rights, devolution, women’s rights, important commissions,
new institutions,
structures for good governance, accountability and
transparency and
protection of Zimbabwe’s languages, among other things. It
offers a new
beginning. That’s why Zanu PF doesn’t want it!
The
all-stakeholders’ conference must debate this draft rather than engage
in
reactionary quarrels about past issues.
Moyo is the director of
policy and research co-ordination in the MDC led by
Professor Welshman
Ncube. He is contactable on: mdcpolicyguru@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012
in Opinion
MEDIA, Information and Publicity minister Webster Shamu last week
gave what
he said was his final warning to the private media for criticising
President
Robert Mugabe.
Report by MuckRaker
“There is no need of
attacking the president or the leadership for no
reason,” Shamu said. “This
is an abuse of the freedom that has been given to
them.
“We will work
together with the Zimbabwe Media Commission to revoke those
licences because
we cannot watch while the country’s leadership is
assaulted,” he
warned.
It seems Shamu’s self-righteous indignation is unhelpful
considering we have
heard no complaints from him when the state-controlled
media goes into
overdrive in its coverage of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s love life
and other things.
The Saturday Herald and
Sunday Mail should have carried X-rated content
warnings considering the
obscene torrent they spewed on Tsvangirai. Without
doubt Nathaniel Manheru
and Jonathan Moyo’s mudslinging will have given
H-Metro scribes a good run
for their money.
So much for “family” newspapers!
Most of
what they wrote cannot be repeated in the private media lest the
Zimbabwe
Media Commission comes knocking. Indeed some animals are more equal
than
others.
Meanwhile, it seems Zanu PF central committee member and
former Chitungwiza
executive mayor Joseph Macheka has been downgraded from a
comrade to a mere
“mister” after giving away his daughter, Elizabeth, to
Tsvangirai on
Saturday.
Before that, the Sunday Mail and other
state-controlled media prefixed
Macheka’s name with “Cde”. All this changed
on Saturday, with the Sunday
Mail settling for the less revolutionary title
of “Mr” Macheka.
That’s the way it is now.
There is no end in sight to
the wrangle pitting Tsvangirai and his ex-lover
Locardia Karimatsenga-Tembo.
Despite Tsvangirai’s earlier claims that he
never paid bride price for
Locardia, a video showing what looked like
marriage negotiations between the
Tembo and Tsvangirai families suggests
otherwise.
This week
Lorcadia took a dig at “playboy” Tsvangirai, saying she is still
pursuing
her US$15 000 a month maintenance bid and insisting she remains the
PM’s
wife until he officially divorces her.
Conspiracy theories aside, the
premier got himself in a morass for which
only he should shoulder the
blame.
Even bunga bunga maestro, former Italian prime minister Silvio
Berlusconi
would be green with envy at Tsvangirai’s “sexcapades” as alleged
by his
ex-lovers.
Clearly, Tsvangirai has not learned any lessons
from the days of Ari
Ben-Menashe where it became manifest he was under
surveillance from state
agents wherever he goes.
Muckraker
was amused by Zanu PF apologists who opted to take the moral high
ground
over Tsvangirai’s love saga. No women’s rights groups, “analysts”
whined,
have condemned Tsvangirai’s actions. Curiously, some notorious
wife-bashers
and womanisers also joined the fray crying louder than the
bereaved.
Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere has made
another about turn, this
time saying Chinese companies involved in
agriculture are immune from the
indigenisation law that requires
foreign-owned firms to cede 51% of their
shareholding.
According
to the Standard, Kasukuwere said the companies had made “cash
injections and
this is the kind of investment that I want and I don’t
apologise”.
Yet
Kasukuwere has been shouting himself hoarse saying even investors from
countries with friendly relations with Zimbabwe will not be exempted from
disposing majority shareholding to locals.
“The Act will be
implemented without fear or favour,” Kasukuwere said in
August in response
to Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s call for a more
flexible approach to
indigenising the banking sector.
“Where foreign investors bring in
clear long-term benefits to the country, a
reasonable degree of flexibility
ought to be exercised in allowing investors
to hold at least in the initial
stages, majority shareholding so as to
deliberately accord them escalated
dividends that enable them to plough back
their initial investments
outlays,” Gono had said.
Gono has accused Kasukuwere of arbitrarily
applying the indigenisation law.
But Kasukuwere hit back at Gono’s “profane
language” declaring: “Individual
views should remain so, but the law of the
land should remain supreme.”
Now Kasukuwere is singing a different
tune. He has decided to exempt Chinese
companies because “they have brought
in millions of dollars, (and)
sub-contracted our small-scale farmers in this
country”.
The millions of dollars invested and jobs created by other
foreign companies
are inconsequential in Kasukuwere’s book. Undeterred by
this glaring case of
double standards, Kasukuwere took another opportunity
to threaten
foreign-owned banks.
“If they are thinking that one
day they will get out of this problem, then
they are like ostriches hiding
their heads in the sand thinking that nobody
is seeing them,” he
said.
“Can Barclays Bank tell me how many farmers they have
supported? Can
Standard Bank tell me how many farmers they have supported?”
Kasukuwere
wanted to know.
Maybe it’s because the farmers have
leases, not title deeds, which are not
bankable and have led to banks like
Agribank hitting hard times after
politicians masquerading as farmers
defaulted on their loan repayments.
Kasukuwere’s crusade against
foreign-owned banks is relentless despite being
a significant shareholder in
the ill-fated Genesis Investment Bank before
its demise. He now wants to
mastermind the failure of the entire financial
sector by indigenising banks
when most of the institutions are already under
the control of
locals.
Said Kasukuwere before Genesis went bust: “Here is a company
(Genesis) which
has gone under not because of mismanagement, but purely
because of
sanctions.”
He recently declared that “foreign banks
whose parentage in any case
continues to attack and affect our people with
illegal sanctions cannot be
defended by any logical
Zimbabwean”.
So it is all about fixing the West for the “illegal”
sanctions then, not
applying the law.
Developing countries have
been urged to unite and speak with one voice in
order to be heard in a world
dominated by the West which invests heavily in
its propaganda machinery, ZBC
reports.
This was said by China’s Director of the Information Office
of the State
Council, Hu we Ping at the closing ceremony of a seminar for
media officers
from Zimbabwe in Beijing.
Only last year, the
United States poured in excess of US$10 billion in its
mouthpiece, Voice of
America, to “drown” voices of the majority poor in the
world, Hu
said.
Does he not mean it the other way round considering listeners
run away from
such archaic and partisan broadcasters as ZBC to tune in to
the so-called
“pirate” radio stations which offer an alternative to Zanu PF
propaganda?
Ironically Chinese radio jamming equipment is used to drown out
the “pirate”
radio stations’ signal.
The fallout over President
Robert Mugabe’s comment on Jamaicans continued
unabated in the island
nation. The Jamaican Observer opined that Mugabe’s
tirade against Jamaican
men might have been stirred by comments made in July
by former Jamaican
Prime Minister P J Patterson.
Patterson, who bestowed the honorary
Order of Jamaica title on Mugabe in
1996, made some not so flattering
remarks about Mugabe and his government in
response to questions by
journalists.
The former premier made the trip to Zimbabwe with reggae
superstar Bob
Marley for the Independence celebrations in 1980. He was
recently asked to
give his opinion on Mugabe.
“We feel, certainly
the rest of the world that has supported Zimbabwe all
along in the struggle,
we would wish that even at this late hour we would
see some sort of shift
back towards the fundamental principles of freedom,
particularly for the
press, and respect for the judicial process,” Patterson
said.
Patterson also spoke about allegations Mugabe had rigged
the 2002
presidential elections which brought about Zimbabwe’s 12-month
suspension
from the Commonwealth. Harare then pulled out of the grouping
after refusing
to accept its decision to maintain an indefinite
suspension.
The former Jamaican prime minister chaired that meeting
in the Nigerian
capital Abuja in December 2003.
“We actually were
doing everything to afford Zimbabwe some opportunity of
getting back in line
with the principles that govern membership of the
Commonwealth. We were very
disappointed, quite frankly, that President
Mugabe chose not to respond to
our overtures,” he said.
According to the Observer, Jamaica is now
awaiting a clarification or
apology from Mugabe for broad-brush criticism of
Jamaican men.
The Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP), of the
elections-should-be-held-this-year without-a-new-constitution fame, has sent
a letter to South African President Jacob Zuma imploring him to end the
impasse between the parties in the GNU.
Fronted by Kissnot
Mukwazhi, the ZDP sent a lengthy but typo-ridden letter
asking Zuma to “help
us to stop gossiping, (and) cooking stories about each
other”.
“We don’t want in strongest terms bombs to enhance power
transfer,” the ZDP
asserted.
“This is not a call for interference
to our home affair, but a call to help
your needy small brother Zimbabwe to
be economically, political and socially
stabilise.”
The ZDP also
asks Zuma to help Zimbabwe become “a member of the gold Brick
just like
yours”, referring to the acronym Brics; an association of leading
emerging
economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa.
They go on to appeal for Zuma to remind his “counterparty
(sic) our
President Cde RG Mugabe that he has done a lot of good to us as
his children
as Zimbabweans, but his further stay in power will erode more
of our
independency (sic) gain”.
With such poor communication
skills, Mukwazhi can kiss any chances of being
taken seriously
goodbye!
Finally The Zimbabwean reports that President Robert
Mugabe has urged the
nation to embrace Western music. Speaking at the
official opening of the
Research and Intellectual Expo where he also made
the now infamous Jamaica
comments Mugabe said:“I was watching TV and saw
people in DRC having an
orchestra while here we still like to play our
marimbas. But we used to have
such music here and I remember very well that
I was a conductor of an
orchestra during my school days.”
That
surely cannot be a vote of confidence for the rump-shaking Mbare
Chimurenga
Choir or the Born Free Crew. Clearly the president expects better
and we
hope Cdes Shamu and Amos Mahendere have taken a cue.
And when the
president says orchestra he is not referring to Alick Macheso’s
Orchestra
Mberikwazvo!
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
ZIMBABWE is blessed with an extraordinary wealth of spectacular
tourism
attractions. Not many countries can offer tourists so many
exceptional and
varied sights to marvel at and enjoy.
Report by Eric
Bloch
The remarkable tourist drawcards range from the magnificence of the
Victoria
Falls and Zambezi River, to the finest wildlife parks and reserves
on the
continent of Africa, from the splendour of the Matobo Hills to the
mystic
Great Zimbabwe and Khami Ruins, from the beauty of Chimanimani and
the
Bvumba to that of Nyanga, to the astounding sunsets of Lake Kariba and
Mana
pools, to name but a few of what Zimbabwe has to offer the
tourist.
In addition, Zimbabwe has noteworthy art galleries and
museums, ethnic art
centres, and much, much more.
The past year
has evidenced some significant growth in tourist arrivals, but
nevertheless
the numbers are far below those Zimbabwe could achieve.
All
international tourist destinations sustained a decrease in numbers of
visitors during the period 2008 to 2011, because of the financial crisis in
US and Europe, but progressively tourist numbers have been increasing.
Zimbabwe could draw more visitors than it is currently, which would impact
markedly on its troubled economy.
Growth in the tourism
sector generates increased employment, not only within
the sector, but also
downstream among suppliers to the tourist operators.
That growth enhances
inflows of much-needed foreign exchange, thereby
reducing Zimbabwe’s massive
balance of payments deficits.
However, it does not suffice just to
have diverse, appealing drawcards to
achieve significant increases in
tourist arrivals. Much else is needed.
First and foremost, the intending
visitors need assurance of security and
safety.
But that
assurance does not exist for so long as the war veterans and others
continue
to invade farms, frequently resorting to pronounced violence in
order to
evict the farm occupants.
Security concerns are also intensified
by the extensive escalation in crime
in recent years — a reaction to massive
poverty that afflicts Zimbabweans
and the enforced return to Zimbabwe of
thousands who illegally emigrated to
other countries, who upon return, are
unable to obtain gainful employment.
A second major deterrent to
patronising the tourist resources that Zimbabwe
has to offer is the
intensity of bureaucracy and incompetence confronting
arrivals at the
country’s border posts.
It is untenable that visitors arriving at
Beitbridge border post are often
obliged to queue for more than four hours
in order to gain entry into the
country (unless they are willing to pay the
touts who can facilitate rapid
entry).
Then, after finally
gaining entry into the country, the tourist can be
stopped between 10 to 15
times at police roadblocks between Beitbridge and
Bulawayo, and another six
times between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, or
similarly when travelling from
Beitbridge to the Eastern Districts and to
Harare.
Surely the
first of the roadblocks could issue the tourist with a car
sticker
authorising clearance at all further roadblocks encountered on that
day? In
like manner, prolonged delays in obtaining entry visas at the
country’s
airports are a major aggravation to the arriving tourist.
The
intending tourist is also understandably very concerned about air
services
to and from Zimbabwe, owing to Air Zimbabwe’s inability to
service
domestic and regional routes.
Those who are prepared to travel to
and from Zimbabwe by air are also
recurrently frustrated by the appalling
inadequacy of airport terminal
buildings. It is now more that seven years
since the new terminal at
Bulawayo was scheduled for completion, during
which time the tourist has had
to tolerate the “temporary” terminal, with an
insufficiency of seating,
dilapidated toilets, inadequate check-in desks,
paucity of vehicle parking
facilities, and may other
deficiencies.
To some extent similar faults are found at the
terminal at Victoria Falls,
the refurbishment and extension thereof also
having been scheduled for very
long ago, but still not
completed.
Exacerbating the reservations and concerns of intending
visitors are
frequent non-availability of essential utilities, including
energy supplies,
water supplies in various parts of the country, unreliable
telecommunications and internet services. While some of Zimbabwe’s roads
have been rehabilitated, many remain in appalling states of disrepair, with
innumerable potholes and unsafe kerbs. All of these factors militate
against Zimbabwe enjoying tourist patronage.
In August 2013
Zimbabwe and Zambia will be co-hosting the United Nations
World Tourism
Organisation Congress, which will bring thousands of
international visitors
and delegates to Zimbabwe in general and Victoria
Falls in particular, and
those visitors will include many from the
international
media.
If Zimbabwe gears itself up to making good the innumerable
issues that are
currently tourist deterrents, and ensure unqualified success
of the congress
and of its attendees’ visits to the vast range of tourist
attractions
available, those thousands can become leading ambassadors and
marketers of
Zimbabwe as a “must visit” destination for tourists. Doing so
will yield
enormous benefits to the future economy and, therefore, to
Zimbabweans in
general.
However, in addition to ensuring that
easy arrivals and departures are
facilitated, that extensive but
non-intrusive security prevails for all the
tourists and that a total
sufficiency of utilities and other resources
prevail. Zimbabwe must also
focus intensively upon improving its currently
very negative international
image. Political stability is a must, as also
Zimbabwe must discontinue its
repeated haranguing and castigation of many
countries, and instead must
vigorously pursue harmonious reconciliation,
co-operation and
collaboration.
If Government would now focus on putting right all
that has been deterring
tourist patronage heretofore, not only will there be
a very substantial
increase in tourism earnings, and hence economic
enhancement, but some of
the tourists would become investors in the many
opportunities Zimbabwe has
to offer, thereby further beneficiating the
economy and improving the
presently embattled lot of many
Zimbabweans.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
WHILE some stakeholders have with cautious optimism welcomed
President
Robert Mugabe’s resolve to deal with the latest demonstration of
greed by
senior Zanu PF officials and army commanders who have grabbed
wildlife
conservancies, uncertainty lingers over the fate of Save Valley
Conservancy.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi
must have felt a deep sense of vindication
after Mugabe reportedly tore into
army commanders and senior Zanu PF
officials at a recent politburo meeting
for grabbing lucrative safari
landholdings in the Save Valley Conservancy,
the largest private wildlife
sanctuary in the world, for
self-aggrandisement.
Mugabe ordered all army commanders and senior
party officials who invaded
conservancies to move out immediately, while
demanding that all
conservancies must now be turned into national
parks.
Consequently, there would be massive evictions of army
commanders,
ministers, senior civil servants and top Zanu PF officials from
safari areas
across the country which they had expropriated and are making a
killing
through hunting activities and even slaughtering animals to sell
meat.
Mugabe reportedly described the bigwigs as “greedy”, and his
choice of words
was in sync with Mzembi who was criticised by his Zanu PF
colleagues for
daring to say the latest land seizures were counterproductive
and would dent
the country’s image ahead of next year’s United Nations World
Tourism
Organisation Conference.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare
Gumbo confirmed the politburo had set up a
committee including Environment
minister Francis Nhema, Mzembi, Lands
minister Herbert Murerwa and Local
Government minister Ignatius Chombo to
look into the feasibility of turning
the conservancies into national parks,
and also propose models that ensure
communities also benefit.
While players in the country’s tourism
industry — showing signs of recovery
following Zimbabwe’s prolonged
socio-economic meltdown accompanied by
near-pariah status — have applauded
Mugabe for putting his foot firmly down
on the wildlife land grab, they are
wary the decision to transform the
conservancies into national parks, which
like other parastatals have been
performing dismally, a move they fear
would be ruinous to the
conservancies.
Given that infrastructure
in national parks is run-down and rampant poaching
is the order of the day,
it is difficult to appreciate how turning
conservancies, which have been
well run by a combination of foreign
investors and locals, into national
parks would assist costly conservation
efforts, continue to attract
much-needed tourists and benefit local
communities.
Sources in
the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) board told the Zimbabwe
Independent
this week the department of national parks and wildlife recently
admitted in
a board meeting they have failed to run national parks. The
Ministry of
Tourism and the ZTA are now advocating a broad-based approach,
which would
ensure continued investment into the conservancies in
partnership with local
communities.
Mzembi, who has been fighting for the reversal of
Nhema’s controversial
“wildlife reform” policy, was thrilled by the
president’s decision to
withdraw the leases from “greedy” individuals,
saying it demonstrated
commitment by the government and Zanu PF to empower
local communities,
preserve wildlife and promote
tourism.
“Without being briefed on the policy outcome including the
terms of
reference, if what is being reported that there has been a policy
shift from
empowering individuals to a broad-based approach is true, then
this is
exactly what we have been fighting for,” Mzembi told the Independent
this
week.
ZTA boss Karikoga Kaseke said his organisation
supports broad-based
initiatives and expressed eagerness to appear before
the committee to make
recommendations on the suitability of transforming
conservancies into
national parks.
However, MDC-T Masvingo
provincial secretary Tongai Matutu blasted Zanu PF,
pointing out it should
have been cabinet, not the politburo to decide on the
conservancy battle. He
described the decision to convert all conservancies
into national parks as
“tantamount to nationalisation which is not part of
government
policy”.
“It will only accelerate looting, poaching and other forms
of asset
stripping,” he warned, “as national parks are a parastatal headed
by
political appointees who have no culture of transparency in their
operations
but sing for their supper,” he said.
For Matutu, the
best way forward would be to adopt a model which facilitates
the empowerment
of local communities, like the share-ownership trusts, in
partnership with
foreign entrepreneurs. Chiredzi chiefs Tshovani and Gudo
have concurred,
accusing Nhema and Masvingo governor Titus Maluleke of going
against the
concept of broad-based empowerment by prioritising a few
individuals and
falsely claiming chiefs had endorsed the appropriation of
conservancies.
Vice-chairman of the Save Valley Conservancy
Wilfried Pabst also agreed with
the chiefs.
Pabst said they had
already fully complied with indigenisation because
two-thirds of all
properties in the conservancy have indigenous partners and
they had the full
support of another parastatal, Arda.
“The chairman of Arda, who has a
property within Save, is also the chairman
of Save and I am the vice-chair,”
he said.
“The wildlife-based land reform policy Maluleke refers to
and which has been
waved in our face for years does not exist. However, Save
Conservancy
general manager David Goosen said there should be a balance of
interests in
handling the issue. “This is obviously something big and it has
to be
debated because there are a lot of factors to consider including
balancing
the government’s desire for indigenisation against the need to
attract and
retain foreign investors, as well as ensuring local communities
benefit from
the proceeds of conservancies in their areas, in addition to
ensuring
sustainable conservation of wildlife resources.”
Goosen
said the country should be looking at crafting policies to turn more
of
Zimbabwe’s arid areas in natural farming regions four and five into
conservancies, noting this would not only promote tourism and conserve
wildlife, but also ensure employment for thousands of jobless
locals.
So while some will breathe a sigh of relief at the eviction
of “greedy” Zanu
PF heavyweights whose presence in conservancies was
threatening to decimate
flora and fauna and cause environmental degradation,
there is still
uncertainty on what will happen to world-renowned Save Valley
Conservancy.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
IN this eighth instalment of his article on succession and the Zanu
PF
constitution, Derek Matyszak looks at how the succession issue has played
out in Zanu PF and the overlap between the party constitution with the state
constitution.
Report by Derek Matyszak
In order to consider
how the succession to the presidency within Zanu PF
might unfold, it is
instructive to look at past successions to positions
within the
presidium.
Fault lines
The conventional wisdom in Zimbabwe is that
there are two main factions
within Zanu PF contending for the presidency on
President Robert Mugabe’s
departure: Those who grouped around the late army
commander General Solomon
Mujuru, now grouped around his wife Joice, who is
Vice-President; and those
grouped around Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
Each of these has advanced differing and expedient
perspectives on the
manner in which the presidium is to be constituted to
advance the cause of
favoured candidates to the posts.
The
blurring of the lines between Zanu PF as a party and the state has been
a
hallmark of Zimbabwe’s polity since 1980, and is reflected in the Zanu PF
party constitution. A manifestation of this is the confluence of the party
presidium and state presidium. The state and Zanu PF constitution both
establish the posts of a president and two
vice-presidents.
Those holding the posts under the state
constitution have always been the
same individuals who hold the posts under
the party constitution. With
Mugabe having the unfettered discretion to
appoint both vice-presidents
under the state constitution, this power
impacts upon the processes under
the party constitution.
No term
limits are prescribed for those holding the positions of president
and
vice-president under the state constitution.
Combined with the
fact there is no unequivocal statement of term limits for
the presidium
under the Zanu PF constitution, a sector within Zanu PF, and
particularly
the presidium itself, which of course, includes Mujuru, has
advanced the
notion that unless there is a “vacancy” in the presidium, the
nominations
from the provinces prior to congress for the top three positions
are a mere
formality, in the same way as the people’s conference is required
yearly to
declare the president of the party as the Zanu PF candidate for
state
president.
Mugabe and his supporters have thus adopted the refrain
that “there is no
vacancy in the presidium”. This assumption of the right to
office by the
incumbents is disputed and contested by those aligned to the
two factions,
who contend that fresh elections to all posts within the
presidium must take
place every five years at congress by way of nominations
from the provinces.
These nominations are not to be merely a formal and
automatic endorsement of
the incumbents.
A second fault line
dividing the Mujuru and Mnangagwa camps is a result of
the Unity Accord,
which absorbed the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s PF
Zapu party into
Zanu PF in December 1987. One section of Zanu PF claims an
unwritten term of
the unity accord is that the four posts in the presidium
will be divided
between Zanu PF and PF Zapu, with Zanu PF holding the
presidency and a
vice-presidential post and PF Zapu holding the other
vice-presidential
position and national chairmanship.
Since the power base of PF Zapu
is in Matabeleland, the further inference by
some is that the PF Zapu posts
will be held by members of the ethnic Ndebele
group from
Matabeleland.
However, many of those aligned to the Mnangagwa camp
have taken the
understanding concerning the distribution of posts within the
presidium
along ethnic lines further, and maintain it ought to be party
policy that
all the major ethnic groups in Zimbabwe — the Zezuru, Manyika,
Karanga, and
Ndebele — will be represented in the
presidium.
Military factor
The ethnic analysis of Zanu PF’s
succession battle views the contest as
between the Zezuru (represented by
the Mujuru faction) and the Karanga
(represented by Mnangagwa). Both are
seen as periodically endeavouring to
forge alliances with the Manyika and
Ndebele groupings.
It certainly seems to be outside any coincidence
that the head of state,
Mugabe, vice-president (Mujuru), the head of the
judiciary Godfrey
Chidyausiku, the head of the defence forces Constantine
Chiwenga, the head
of the air force Perence Shiri, the head of police
Augustine Chihuri, and
the Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede are all Zezuru.
None of the four
cabinet ministers excluded from the politburo are Zezuru.
Masvingo and
Midlands provinces, home to the Karanga, have consistently
opposed
nominations to the presidium comprising people of Zezuru and Ndebele
backgrounds only. The most contentious of the District Co-ordinating
Committee elections took place in Masvingo and
Manicaland.
However, while some factions within Zanu PF might wish to
exploit ethnic
considerations, several political observers have cautioned
against using
ethnicity as an analytical lens through which the internal
dynamics of Zanu
PF may be viewed. For several years, and most obviously, in
the aftermath of
Mugabe’s electoral defeat in March 2008 (when those heading
the security
sectors stepped in to ensure Mugabe’s “victory” in the
presidential run-off
election in June), it has been evident that the
president and any aspirant
to the presidency are heavily dependent upon
support from the security
sector.
Zanu PF succession politics may
be conceptualised in terms of the extent to
which the wooing of securocrats
has been accepted or rebuffed, and the
extent to which the securocrats
believe which of the three — Mugabe, Mujuru
or Mnangagwa — are best able to
safeguard their positions, interests and the
status quo. This in turn infers
the extent to which each of these are
prepared to protect the positions of
the Zanu PF old guard, most of whom,
having played prominent roles in the
“liberation war”, believe in “rule by
entitlement”.
Early
manoeuvring
From the time the executive presidency was created, and the unity
accord
signed, there was little challenge to the triumvirate of Mugabe as
president
and Joshua Nkomo and Simon Muzenda as vice-presidents. The only
position
which admitted any fluidity was that of national chairman, a
possible future
stepping stone to the vice-presidency on the demise of any
one of the two
vice-presidents.
Positioning and manoeuvring
around the issue of succession to Mugabe began
as early as 1999, when
sectors within Zanu PF were, correctly as it
transpired, beginning to view
Mugabe as an electoral liability. The Mujuru
and Mnangagwa factions first
locked horns following the death, on July 1
1999, of Joshua Nkomo, then the
PF Zapu-nominated vice-president.
Pursuant to what one PF Zapu member
has described as a series of “secret
meetings”, the late national party
chairman, Joseph Msika was “elected” as
the new vice-president by congress
which convened in December 1999. Although
a member of PF Zapu, and raised in
Matabeleland, Msika was Zezuru, the same
ethnic group as Mugabe. This caused
disgruntlement within PF Zapu who felt
that Msika had been imposed from
above, and, not being Ndebele, was not an
appropriate representative of the
Matabeleland provinces.
However, being fourth in the presidium
hierarchy, and previously
second-in-command to Joshua Nkomo within Zapu, his
elevation to the
vice-presidency was not overtly
contentious.
Matyszak is a former University of Zimbabwe law
lecturer, constitutional
expert and researcher with the Research and
Advocacy Unit.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in
Opinion
ONE of the under-reported but critically significant findings of the
Freedom
House public opinion poll survey is that the “fear factor” remains a
major
issue in Zimbabwean politics, particularly as the country approaches
crucial
elections.
Report by Alex T Magaisa
This “fear factor”
arises from political violence and intimidation and the
negative impact they
have had on the realisation of free and fair elections
in
Zimbabwe.
Unless measures are taken to address this issue, the next
elections are at
serious risk of being compromised by the “fear factor” once
again. Having
analysed the Freedom House survey report, there are some
important aspects
that we learn about the influence and incidence of fear on
the political
landscape.
First, the most serious statistic is
that 66% of respondents in the survey
agreed that “fear of violence and
intimidation make people vote for parties
or candidates other than the ones
they prefer”. This means generally, voters’
choices are not free. They
respond to fear by voting for candidates that
they would otherwise not vote
for.
If this is an accurate reflection of general public opinion, it
means
two-thirds of Zimbabweans believe that fear induces people to make
forced
electoral choices. Such elections cannot be described as being free
and
fair.
Election observers will have to be on the lookout
for incidents of violence
and intimidation given that their impact is to
prevent voters from making
free political choices. High incidents of
violence and intimidation would
fundamentally affect the credibility and
legitimacy of elections and the
outcome.
Second, the survey
confirms a continuing fear among voters of a rise in
politically-motivated
violence and intimidation in the run-up to elections.
We observe that in
this survey, 72% of respondents either agreed or strongly
agreed that “each
time Zimbabwe comes to important political decisions,
violence and
intimidation surface”. Although this is down from a high of 76%
in 2010,
this is still an unacceptably high number of people who fear the
eruption of
violence as Zimbabwe approaches elections.
This is evident in the
survey itself which states: “There is consistency in
the level of belief
that violence and intimidation surface when Zimbabwe
comes to important
political decisions to be made, and that violence and
intimidation impact
electoral choice.”
When the statistics are analysed along party
lines, it is clear that the
fear of violence and intimidation is more
pronounced in the MDC-T where 85%
of its supporters either agree or agree
strongly that violence and
intimidation surface in Zimbabwe each time that
the country approaches
important political decisions.
In
addition, 76% of “secreters” — those who did not declare their political
allegiances — also either agree or agree strongly that violence and
intimidation rise towards periods of major political
decisions.
By comparison, only 55% of Zanu PF supporters share the
same belief. This
big difference between the MDC-T and Zanu PF supporters
can be attributed to
the fact that victims of violence and intimidation are
more likely to
express fear than the perpetrators and in the past it is the
former
opposition (MDC-T) supporters who have largely carried the burden of
violence and intimidation.
Besides, we learn that 49% of MDC-T
supporters and 43% of the “secreters” do
not feel free to express their
political views. This is not unusual given
that although there are incidents
of violence within and across party lines,
the weight of violence usually
falls upon the MDC-T and hence its supporters
are more fearful and sceptical
that the elections can be free and fair.
The survey itself confirms:
“The results show that MDC-T supporters, more
than their Zanu PF
counterparts, report the continuation of fearfulness in
making known their
political positions. This factor thus does remain
continuously
important”.
One plausible deduction that can be drawn from this is
that MDC-T
supporters, fearful of making known their political position, are
more
likely to constitute the larger percentage of the 47%
“undecided”.
Indeed, although in one part the survey report states
that “fear is not a
sufficient reason to explain non-declaration of party
support intentions”,
in fact, in the above statement it seems to contradict
this by stating that
“the results show that MDC-T supporters, more than
their Zanu PF
counterparts, report the continuation of fearfulness in making
known their
political positions”.
Clearly, if the survey found
that the MDC-T supporters are more likely to
fear declaring their political
positions, it is reasonable to assume that
there is likely to be more MDC-T
supporters among those reluctant to
disclose their voting intentions by
saying their vote is their secret, that
is to say the
“secreters”.
Since the survey found Zanu PF are less likely to be
fearful of declaring
their political positions, it is less likely that they
would constitute a
more significant portion of those refusing to openly
declare their support.
Fourth, we also learn from the survey about
subtle forms of violence. The
survey reports that 56% of the respondents
either agreed or strongly agreed
with the statement that “just a threat
nowadays is indeed enough to bring
fear back to life
again”.
Although this is a decrease from 64% recorded in 2010 on the
same statement,
a telling factor is that the fear is consistently high
across all parties,
including those people who did not declare party
choices. This fear is more
pronounced among non-Zanu PF supporters, with 85%
of the MDC-T supporters
expressing this fear compared to 55% for Zanu
PF.
This raises the possibility that tactics may change from the use
of physical
violence to more subtle forms of violence, including verbal and
psychological violence. This could be in the form of threats which, as the
survey confirms, are enough to trigger bouts of fear among the electorate.
What we learn from this is that political parties, civil society and
election observers have to be more vigilant and be on the lookout for subtle
forms of violence and intimidation.
There is however, one aspect
that casts doubt in the credibility and
conclusions drawn from the survey
which is that while 66% are recorded as
fearing that people cannot make free
political choices and 72% agreed that
violence and intimidation crop up
during times of major political decisions,
incredibly one other statistic
seems to run completely the opposite way in
that 67% apparently expect
elections to be free and fair. This is actually
an increase rise from 46% in
2010.
It is difficult to find easy reconciliation of these figures,
let alone the
conclusions drawn from them: If 66% express the view that fear
and
intimidation cause them to make political choices other than their own,
and
72% express the fear of violence and intimidation during the run up to
the
election, how does a whopping 67% supposedly believe that the elections
will
nonetheless be free and fair?
Somehow the figures and
conclusions drawn from them do not seem to add up
that easily. These
apparent contradictions do little to enhance the
credibility of the
survey.
Dr Magaisa is based at Kent Law School, the
University of Kent and can be
contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk