http://www.mg.co.za/
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Sep 05 2010
13:27
An urgent meeting to discuss the documentation of
Zimbabweans living in
South Africa has been planned for this week, Home
Affairs spokesperson
Ronnie Mamoepa said on Sunday.
He said details
of the meeting with representatives of Zimbabwean nationals
living in SA
would be released in due course.
"The meeting will be held this week.
Since the announcement by the Cabinet
to document Zimbabweans living SA,
there had been a great deal of distortion
and misinformation particularly
from NGO's and [so-called] immigration
expert, aimed at sowing confusion
among Zimbabweans in the country," he
said.
He said the suggestion
that Zimbabweans would have to return en masses to
Zimbabwe to acquire the
document was "far from the truth".
He said there was an agreement between
Pretoria and Harare that Zimbabweans
should approach the Zimbabwean embassy
in Pretoria or consulates in
Johannesburg or Cape Town which would profile
their details.
Cabinet announced on Thursday that a special dispensation
for Zimbabweans
had been withdrawn.
The dispensation -- implemented
in April last year -- allowed Zimbabweans
crossing into South Africa the
right to reside in the country, seek
employment, attend an educational
facility and seek access to basic
healthcare for six months.
The
dispensation would expire on December 31.
Non-governmental organisations
said the decision to withdrew the
dispensation would result in mass
deportation for those who did not have the
means to gain the legal permit. -
Sapa
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za
Eyewitness News | 7 Hours
Ago
South Africa's civil servants' strike is turning into a nightmare for
some
Zimbabwean teachers who migrated to the country during the country's 10
year
economic crisis.
Several have told Zimbabwe's state media they
are frightened by picketers
and are considering going back
home.
Zimbabwean teachers working in South Africa said during the week
they are
caught between a rock and a hard place.
With salaries back
home now pegged at around R1300, pay packages south of
the Limpopo are still
attractive.
Several have told state media in Zimbabwe that they did not
want to go on
strike but are being forced to.
Going to work is like
walking through the valley of death, teacher Takudzwa
Marambire
said.
There are at least 10,000 Zimbabwean teachers in South Africa,
though not
all of them will be formally employed in the education
sector.
Many fled Zimbabwe during the 10-year economic crisis, when
monthly salaries
even at top schools dropped to as low as R130.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Staff Reporter
Sunday, 05 September
2010 18:44
HARARE - Government has perfected the art of using fear as a
weapon of
repression against the general populace and media, veteran
journalist Bill
Saidi has said.
Addressing journalists at the
Quill Club, Saidi who has over 50 years in the
profession, said governments
employed all forms of tactics to instil fear,
not only in journalists, but
across the board, to force people to consider
certain topics and actions
taboo.
"Fear can kill freedom of expression and journalism as a
profession," Saidi
said. "The Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act marked a
period in Zimbabwe when there was a naked attempt to
muzzle the free press."
"The proponents tried to defend this evil,
draconian law creating an
imaginary 'enemy of the state', a bogey phantom
whose evil design was the
destruction of the country through the propagation
of so called falsehoods."
He said at one time a soldier delivered a
bullet to the weekly Standard
offices, leaving no contact details or
forwarding address.
"This was a form of harassment meant to cow the
newspaper and its reporters
from covering certain stories," he
said.
For the general populace, he said people have been cowed to avoid
discussing
anything about the head of state, citing numerous examples of
people
arrested for "bringing the name of the Presdient into
disrepute".
Saidi lashed out at the constant harassment and torture of
journalists over
the years.
"I would rather not go into the seamier
consequences of the locking up of
four journalists of the Daily News in
2001, and the eventual closure of the
same paper in 2003," he
said.
He said all the media houses should follow the stance taken by the
Daily
News before they were shut down.
"The Daily News was a new
enterprise in journalism in Zimbabwe. Nothing was
sacred and most of us at
the top had worked for the government media and we
knew what exactly would
not be published under orders," said Saidi.
He said the Daily News would
have inevitably got up the government's nose
and he encouraged the other
papers to do the same in the name of freedom of
expression.
The
veteran journalist commended newly launched independent daily, News Day,
for
providing the Herald with stiff competition.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Tobias Manyuchi Saturday 04 September
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe Platinum Holdings (Zimplats), the
country's largest
producer of platinum, has called on the government to
focus more on luring
foreign investors than on its controversial economic
empowerment drive.
The firm that has said it is ready to pump in a
further $500 million to
expand its operations but is holding out until there
is clarity on the
government's indigenisation policy said it supports any
effort to empower
locals.
But Zimplats said such efforts to increase
the participation of locals in
the economy should be carried out in a way
that does not "compromise
Zimbabwe's desire to be seen as a preferred
investment destination".
Writing in the company's annual report to
shareholders, Zimplats chairman
David Brown said: "It is our firm belief
that at this time, Zimbabwe's
greatest need is for increased levels of
foreign direct investment to create
more employment in the
country.
"We therefore urge the authorities to implement this law in a
way that does
not compromise Zimbabwe's desire to be seen as a preferred
investment
destination."
The government earlier this year published
rules demanding that
foreign-owned companies should cede 51 percent of their
shareholding to
locals, a move that scared investors and divided the unity
government.
The government later revised the law and last month named
committees to
recommend varying percentages of shareholding foreign-owned
companies in the
different sectors of the economy must transfer to
locals.
Zimplats and other firms especially in the mining sector that
have invested
heavily in social infrastructure such as roads, schools and
hospitals want
these to be converted into empowerment credits, which would
mean they would
not be forced to cede too much stake to
blacks.
President Robert Mugabe has previously said the government had
accepted the
principle of empowerment credits as a vital component of the
indigenisation
law.
While Mugabe insists that the empowerment
programme is meant to ensure
blacks have control of the country's economy
and resources, critics say the
ZANU PF leader wants to press ahead with
transferring majority ownership of
foreign-owned companies as part of a
drive to reward party loyalists with
thriving businesses. --
ZimOnline
http://www.voanews.com/
Jindal
Steel and Power of India is bidding again for a strategic stake in
the
Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company or ZiscoSteel after an unsuccessful bid
two
months ago
Gibbs Dube | Washington 03 September 2010
The
Zimbabwe government in conjunction with the National Indigenization and
Economic Empowerment Board is said to be drafting legislation to block
foreigners from investing in the retail sector.
Sources said the law
is aimed in particular at Nigerian and Chinese
entrepreneurs who established
a major presence in Zimbabwean retail over the
decade of economic decline
through 2009.
The sources said officials will be seeking the repeal of
the Zimbabwe
Investment Authority Act under which foreign investors are
allowed to
participate in retail merchandising.
Affirmative Action
Group President Supa Mandiwanzira argued that the
government should use the
indigenization program to block foreigners from
investing in the retail
sector.
Mandiwanzira told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that local
authorities
should immediately cease issuing new retail licenses to
foreigners. But
economic commentator Rejoice Ngwenya said moves to block
foreigners from the
retail sector will cause chaos in
Zimbabwe.
Economist Godfrey Kanyenze said such discriminatory laws are
counterproductive.
Meanwhile, Jindal Steel and Power of India is
re-bidding for a major stake
in the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company or
ZiscoSteel after an unsuccessful
bid two months ago.
According to the
Economist newspaper of India, the steel giant wants a 70
percent stake in
ZiscoSteel though the Zimbabwe government is offering only
a 51 percent
stake.
Jindal Steel's previous bid was reportedly rejected by the
government which
said the company had no concrete plans to handle the
ZiscoSteel debts
amounting to some US$300 million.
Economic and
political commentator Bekithemba Mhlanga said the huge
ZiscoSteel debt may
force government to accept a multinational corporation
to rescue the
collapsed steelmaker.
http://www.voanews.com/
The
outreach process has been hampered in recent weeks by financial
difficulties, with key donors like the United Nations Development Program
said to be expressing concern about spending
Patience Rusere &
Brenda Moyo | Washington DC 03 September 2010
Zimbabwe's
Parliamentary Select Committee for Revision of the Constitution
has reached
agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund on funding to
boost youth
involvement in the public outreach phase of the process, though
this will be
concluded within the next several weeks.
Committee Chairman Douglas
Mwonzora of the Movement for Democratic Change
formation led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said UNICEF has agreed to
work with his panel in
principle.
The outreach process has been hampered in recent weeks by
financial
difficulties, with key donors like the United Nations Development
Program
said to be expressing concern about spending.
Mwonzora told
VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that the agreement was
in response to
the low level of turnout by young Zimbabweans in the outreach
process.
Select committee members and district administrators in
Matebeleland South
held a meeting in Bulawayo on Friday to reschedule
outreach team meetings
through the end of the process.
COPAC Deputy
Co-Chair Gladys Dube Gombami told reporter Brenda Moyo that it
was decided
during the meeting to conduct outreach on September 18 in
Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second-largest city, and finish the process on
September 19 in
Beitbridge, on the border with South Africa.
http://www.voanews.com
South
African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma gave assurances
his
government was not planning random deportations
Benedict Nhlapho |
Johannesburg 03 September 2010
Human rights activists are slamming
the South African government for
scheduling resumption of deportations of
undocumented Zimbabweans after a
December 31 deadline for immigration
compliance, saying the move was based
on a false belief conditions in
Zimbabwe have improved sufficiently in
political and especially economic
terms to allow for large-scale
repatriation.
Zimbabweans living in
the country under an uncertain status have applauded
the Pretoria government
for promising to grant them permits to work, run
businesses or study in
South Africa. But the decision to resume deportations
next January has been
widely criticized.
South African activist Braam Hanekom of the People
Against Suffering
Suppression Oppression and Poverty or Pasop said branding
Zimbabweans as
potential candidates for deportation could ignite another
wave of xenophobic
attacks against them.
"An announcement of this
nature can lead to people thinking that Zimbabweans
do not have a right to
be hear and lead communities to go on the witch
hunt," Hanekom
said.
Chairman Solomon Chikowero of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Movement said
that while
the decision to give Zimbabweans proper permits is welcome, he is
worried
those working in the informal sector will not qualify for work
permits,
leaving them subject to deportation at any time.
Under the
new arrangement, the Zimbabwean government has agreed to issue all
of its
undocumented nationals in South Africa with proper documents, laying
the
groundwork for Pretoria to provide them with work, business and study
permits. But some worry that the Zimbabwean government does not have the
capacity to provide documents to the many thousands who need them in the
next three months.
South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana
Dlamini Zuma gave assurances
Friday that government was not planning random
deportations.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Sidney Saize
Saturday, 04 September
2010 17:36
MUTARE - Copac co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana has
lashed out at
journalists for only highlighting bad stories on ongoing
national
constitutional outreach work.
Mangwana, a former cabinet
minister, speaking at a workshop held Saturday in
the eastern border city
with journalists and civic organizations had no kind
words for the media in
Zimbabwe telling them they must be "re-educated".
He blamed the media for
not doing enough to write positively on the
achievements of the outreach
teams in the ten provinces where they are
getting the people's views on the
proposed new constitution
"Media have taken a deliberate policy for
political reasons or otherwise to
hate COPAC. You just hate COPAC, maybe you
wanted to write the constitution
yourself, because I can't understand
you.
"Either you are insulting us, denigrating us or you will simple
decide not
do anything if we have done a good thing," fumed
Mangwana.
He said it was sad that the journalists acted like they hated
their country
by the kind of stories they wrote.
He said the media in
the country dwelt much on the negative stories leaving
out the good work
outreach teams had achieved.
He cited the sacrifices made by the team
members within COPAC of going for
days without allowances as testimony for
their desire to work for their
country.
He said a total of 560 000
people had attended meetings through-out the
country and contributed
meaningfully to the outreach teams while in
Manicaland 91 000 people had
attended the 434 meetings held so far.
"The media is behaving like it's
the workers' committee for COPAC people
where you disregard the national
sacrifice done by the individuals who are
spending days away from their
families to work where they are being paid
very little. You do not realize
such sacrifice but simply denigrate them.
"The truth of the matter is
that you need re-education to realize that there
are some successful
national programmes. The mere fact that 560 000 people
have participated is
not news to you," Mangwana said.
But, Salatiel Mutasa a seasoned
journalist said COPAC officials were not
forthcoming with information since
most of the senior officials at COPAC
were only lawyers.
He said some
journalists had faced resistance from COPAC personnel who do
not want media
people near them.
Douglas Mwonzora, a co-chairperson at COPAC said that
outreach work for
Harare and Bulawayo would be done on 18 and 19 September
and by the 20th of
September, they would be through. He said thereafter
there were plans to
have a separate outreach programmed targeting the
youths.
He said the youths totalling about 20 percent had taken part in
the process
while 39 per cent adult males and 42,2 percent adult females had
participated.
Mwonzora said about 0,6 percent of the participants
were people with
disabilities.
"We are naturally unhappy about the
small figure of our youths who took part
in the process. We therefore plan
to have a separate outreach programme
targeting our youth in schools,
colleges and universities so that they can
speak on their rights which they
want included in the constitution," said
Mwonzora.
http://www.businessday.co.za/
Sapa
Published: 2010/09/04
05:56:45 PM
It is not necessary for Zimbabweans to go back home in order
to legalise
their stay in South Africa, Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie
Mamoepa said on
Saturday.
"There is no requirement for Zimbabweans to
go back home. They can approach
the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria or
consulates in Johannesburg and Cape
Town," he said responding to NGO's
concerns about the withdrawal of the
special dispensation for Zimbabwean
nationals.
"Since the announcement on Thursday, there has been
misinformation about the
issue in the NGO sector and immigration experts,"
he said adding that at no
stage did the Cabinet or Home Affairs Minister
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
mention that Zimbabweans have to cross to Zimbabwe to
be documented.
The special dispensation implemented in April last year,
allowed Zimbabweans
crossing into South Africa the right to live, work,
attend education
facilities and access basic health care for a period of 6
months.
The special dispensation would come to an end on December
31.
NGO's advocating for refugees said the decision to withdrew the
special
dispensation would result in mass deportation for those who do not
have the
means to gain legal permit.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JFS)
spokeswoman Jeanette Lesisa said they were
also concerned about the time
frame offered to Zimbabweans.
"The time frame is four months. In this
time, Zimbabweans must cross back
into Zimbabwe, apply and obtain documents,
re-cross into South Africa and
apply again at Home Affairs for the relevant
permit," she said Lesisa in a
statement.
She said there were some
questions on whether it was realistic to expect
this to happen legally
within a four month period.
"This process also does not address the fears
and safety concerns of those
who have fled from persecution in Zimbabwe,"
she said adding that returning
to the country to obtain documents might be a
life-threatening exercise.
In addition to this, some who have left
Zimbabwe due to economic hardship
may not be able to afford the processing
fees, now posted in United States
dollars.
Lesisa said the
implication of a straight application or exchange under an
amnesty, in terms
of turning in counterfeit documents for work or study
permits, does not
address the fact that under South African legislation many
Zimbabweans do
not qualify for work visas.
This means that the plan to end the special
dispensation would result in
mass deportation of vulnerable individuals who
do not have the means to gain
a legal permit, but who have no support or
survival strategies back in
Zimbabwe.
She said the JRS would support
initiatives that allow Zimbabweans to move
more freely between South Africa
and Zimbabwe, stimulating both economies
through trade and investing their
productive skills in building up
socio-economic resources as a
region.
Mamoepa explained that the process obtaining proper document
would be
facilitated in South Africa.
Pretoria and Harare would
establish a joint monitoring and evaluation
committee to oversee
implementation of the process.
Issuing of various permits would commence
between now and December 31, and
the deportation of undocumented Zimbabweans
would resume after this date.
http://www.cricket365.com/
Saturday 04-September-2010
09:51
Zimbabwe are smarting over the British government's advice
to Scotland that
they should not travel to Harare for their
Inter-Continental Cup fixture in
October.
Campbell said: "We have 10
Englishmen playing cricket and coaching in
Zimbabwe, including our national
coach Alan Butcher, and apart from anything
else the decision is an insult
to them."
But in a cautiously worded statement Bvute said that sport was
a great
healer and "strained relations will eventually be restored for the
common
good".
Those strained relations are primarily with England,
Australia and New
Zealand, while Zimbabwe gets its main (and majority)
support from India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and to some extent South
Africa and West
Indies, helping to maintain their status as a full ICC
member.
After consultations with the International Cricket Council and
with Indian
and Sri Lankan authorities in June during a triangular series,
it was agreed
that Zimbabwe could make a return to Test
cricket next
May or June.
That series could be against Bangladesh in Harare and
Bulawayo and would end
Zimbabwe's six-year Test exile.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
04 September, 2010 07:58:00 by David Smith and
agencies
The UN has called an urgent meeting on rising global food
prices in an
attempt to head off a repeat of the 2008 crisis that sparked
riots around
the world.
Seven people, including two children, were killed
in Mozambique this week
during three days of protests triggered by a rise in
the cost of bread.
There has also been anger over increasing prices in
Egypt, Serbia and
Pakistan, where floods destroyed a fifth of the country's
crops.
The UN's announcement came after Russian prime minister Vladimir
Putin
extended the country's ban on grain exports. The ban has been partly
blamed
for a 5% increase in global food prices worldwide over the last two
months,
hitting their highest level in two years. The price of wheat has had
its
biggest monthly rise for 37 years. "In the past few weeks, global cereal
markets experienced a sudden surge in international wheat prices on concerns
over wheat shortages," the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation
said.
"The purpose of holding the meeting is for exporting and importing
countries
to engage in constructive discussions on appropriate reactions to
the
current market situation."
Agency spokesman Christopher Matthews
said the meeting of the
inter-governmental committee on grains will be held
on 24 September, most
likely in Rome. He added a large number of member
countries had expressed
concern about a possible repeat of the food crisis
two years ago. But agency
officials and other experts have stressed that
conditions are different from
2008, when high oil prices and growing demand
for biofuels pushed world food
stocks to their lowest levels since
1982.
The tense atmosphere in developing countries, where food costs up
to 70% of
family income, erupted in Mozambique this week in three days of
riots that
left seven people dead, hundreds injured and millions of dollars
of damage.
"This was the worst rioting I have ever seen in my life,
people can really
turn very violent and lives are at risk, instead of a
peaceful
demonstration," said Felizmina Fabia, a resident of the capital,
Maputo. As
violence continued today, with police firing tear gas and rubber
bullets,
opposition parties and human rights groups criticised the
government, saying
it failed to gauge the anger that would be unleashed by
the 30% bread price
increase and hikes in water and electricity
tariffs.
Alice Mabota, head of the Mozambican League of Human Rights,
told Portugal's
Lusa news agency: "The government underestimated the
situation and can't
understand or doesn't want to understand that this is a
protest against the
higher cost of living."
The government-imposed
price rise took the cost of a bread roll - the staple
of Mozambicans - to 20
US cents (13p) in a country where the average worker
earns around $37 (£24)
a month.
Egyptians have also protested over food prices in recent months,
and
analysts have warned that riots could follow the jump in prices in
Africa
and the Middle East. The trend comes after the global recession
already put
a squeeze on household budgets and intensified the risk of
malnutrition.
In Mauritania in west Africa, rice prices doubled over the
first three
months of the year, according to the World Food Programme. Over
the same
period, the price of corn rose 59% in Zimbabwe and 57% in
Mozambique.
Niger is suffering severe food shortages and price rises of
up to 30%. Save
the Children reported last week that the number of severely
malnourished
children visiting its clinics in Niger has gone up fourfold
since the start
of the year.
In Russia itself, the price of some
essential food products soared 30% in
August. Officials have blamed panic
buying.
Susannah Nicol, a regional spokeswoman for the World Food
Programme (WFP),
warned that its operations could soon be affected. "Any
food rise means that
donations to the WFP will buy less for the hungry and
the poor," she said.
In 2007-08, severe food shortages and resulting
price rises led to worldwide
demonstrations and violence. But analysts say
global grain supplies are more
abundant this time after bumper harvests in
2008 and 2009.
Daniel Sinnathamby [CORR], regional humanitarian
coordinator for Oxfam in
southern Africa, said: "There is food around, which
was not the case in 2000
and 2003 when production failed. Most countries in
the region except
Zimbabwe seemed to have had fairly good
harvests.
"The question is how does it get around and into the hands of
poor people.
Governments need to take a look at internal distribution and
see who is poor
and marginalised."
In June a UN report warned that
food prices will rise by up to 40% over the
next decade due to growing
biofuel production and demand from emerging
markets.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Animal conservation group, World Wide
Fund for Nature
(WWF), on Saturday called for stiffer penalties for rhino
poachers to
respond to an escalating crisis that has seen more than 180
rhinos killed in
southern Africa by ruthless syndicates believed to be on
the payroll of
Asian traditional medicine manufacturers.
WWF said it
was pursuing a new strategy to galvanise national and
international action
against illegal rhino horn trade.
The strategy includes pushing for more
deterrent penalties for poachers and
their masters.
South Africa and
Zimbabwe lost close to 190 rhinos to poachers since the
beginning of the
year, reaffirming the two southern African neighbours'
status as the
epicentre of the world animal poaching crisis.
Sophisticated criminal
syndicates have killed over 182 rhinos in South
Africa between January and
August and at least six more in Zimbabwe.
South Africa, which holds 90
percent of Africa's rhino population with over
20,000 white and more than
1,500 black rhinos, is losing rhinos to poaching
at a rate of 20 rhinos per
month since the start of 2010.
The killings are allegedly fuelled by
consumer markets for rhino horn in
China and Vietnam where traditional
medicines containing rhino horn are in
high
demand.
JN/ad/APA
2010-09-04
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Friday, 03
September 2010 08:50
HARARE – The European Union (EU) has approved a €16
million (US$20.4
million) aid package to assist Zimbabwe cope with the
impact of the global
financial crisis and economic downturn.
In the
first sign of thawing relations between Brussels and Harare, Zimbabwe
was
listed among 19 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that were
allocated a total of €264 million (US$338 million) by the EU last Thursday
under the European bloc’s so-called Vulnerability Support for Fluctuations
in Export Earnings (V-FLEX)
mechanism.
The V-FLEX mechanism is the
EU's swift response to help countries most
affected by the economic downturn
due to their poor resilience to external
shocks.
The EC announced last
Thursday that it would provide “upon their request”
support to Antigua &
Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic,
Grenada, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Lesotho, Liberia,
Malawi, Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), Samoa, Sierra Leone, Togo,
Tonga, Tuvalu and
Zimbabwe.
"Developing countries continue to face important difficulties,
including
funding gaps in their government's budgets, as a direct
consequence of the
global financial crisis. This year, this EU mechanism
will help 19 ACP
countries maintain their level of public spending in
priority areas, and
therefore mitigate the social impact of the economic
downturn," EU
Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs said.
The
cash-strapped Harare regime received the fifth largest allocation after
the
DRC which got €50 million, Haiti €26 million, Lesotho €21 million and
Malawi
€19 million.
The V-FLEX mechanism is a demand-driven facility that targets
countries with
a high degree of economic, social and political
vulnerability, the right
policies in place to fight the crisis and
sufficient absorptive capacity as
well as a financing gap in
their
budgets.
All amounts are paid in form of budget support which
would enable the 13
countries to maintain their levels of public spending in
priority areas,
including in the social sectors, without jeopardising
macroeconomic
stability.
The instrument against vulnerability works
pre-emptively, based on forecasts
of fiscal losses and other vulnerability
criteria, helping to ease the
impact rather than acting after the damage is
done.
The V-FLEX facility provides rapid and targeted grants and acts as
a
complement to the loan-based assistance of World Bank, International
Monetary Fund and other regional development banks with whose support it was
developed.
Based on the criteria for assistance, Zimbabwe qualifies
for aid under the
facility, given that the southern African country is
currently facing
problems financing its economic reconstruction
programme.
The 2010 national budget unveiled by Finance Minister Tendai
Biti exposed a
US$800 million funding gap that the Harare regime is supposed
to plug
through elusive foreign budgetary support.
This was the
second package of financing decisions in the framework of a
€500 million
(US$640 million) V-FLEX mechanism which was adopted in March
2009 as a
response to the economic crisis for ACP countries.
15 countries have
previously benefited from €236 million funding under
V-FLEX: Benin, Burundi,
the Central African Republic, the Comoros, Dominica,
Ghana, Grenada, Guinea
Bissau, Haiti, Malawi, Mauritius, the Seychelles,
Sierra Leone, Solomon
Island, and Zambia.
Zimbabwe was left out of the first round of
disbursements in December last
year due to the country’s protracted
political dispute.
The snub by the EU came in the wake of deadlocked
talks to break a stalemate
between President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) and
the MDC-T of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai over outstanding power-sharing
issues.
Mugabe has dug in on demands by the West and the MDC-T to allow
far-reaching
reforms in a country devastated by a decade of political strife
and economic
meltdown.
Zimbabwe and the EU are presently engaged in
talks to normalise their ties
which soured after the Europeans and their
Western allies slapped visa
restrictions on Mugabe and 200 of his Zanu (PF)
lieutenants in 2002
following presidential polls allegedly stolen by the
Zimbabwean strongman.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by The Zimbabwean
Saturday, 04
September 2010 08:36
HARARE - Finance Minister Tendai Biti (Pictured) has
said that it is
critical that the government produces a credible budget for
next year that
will work as an instrument to buttress the nascent economic
recovery and
ensure Zimbabwe is on course to meeting its development
targets.
Biti, who has pursued frugal policies since taking over the
finance
portfolio at the formation of the unity government last year, is due
to
present the 2001 budget to Parliament next November.
He said his
ministry will consult all stakeholders over the budget to ensure
the
financial blueprint for the next year will have the backing of every
Zimbabwean.
"It is my sincere hope that all stakeholders will use this
consultative
platform to engage with the government on key policy
interventions for the
2011 national budget," said Biti, who doubles up as
secretary general of
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T party.
Biti
said his office would by next week issue a circular to all accounting
officers in government ministries to assist them in the formulation of
expenditure proposals.
"The Budget proposals by ministries should be
submitted by October 1, 2010.
The expenditure proposals by line ministries
will undergo scrutiny by
government at Ministry of Finance level as well as
other structures of
government, including the budget committee, ministerial
cabinet committees
and Cabinet itself," said Biti.
Zimbabwe's economy has
shown signs of recovery since the coalition
government came into office last
year.
The economy grew by 5.1 percent in 2009 - the first time in 10 years
that it
was expanding - and is expected to grow by 4.5 percent this
year.
However analysts say economic recovery remains fragile because of
Zimbabwe's
heavy dependence on imports at a time the country does not have
access to
balance-of-payments support.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Saturday, 04 September 2010
08:28
ZESA inadequacies blamed
HARARE -Zimbabwe's economic recovery
prospects are dimming as the country
grapples worsening power cuts and an
unpredictable policy environment, with
analysts warning of massive job cuts
unless conditions improve during the
next 12 months.
Struggling
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings has
extended power
cuts across the country, resulting in most of Zimbabwe
experiencing rolling
blackouts during the past few weeks.
The power cuts have seen some areas
going for days without electricity, a
development that has severely affected
businesses and home owners.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries
(CZI) said in July that factories
were sometimes going for as long as three
days without production because
there was no power, a situation the
organisation said could derail efforts
to revive the manufacturing sector
that is battling to emerge from a decade
of unprecedented
decline.
Leading gold producer Falcon Gold Zimbabwe last week announced
that its
operations and those of several other mining houses have been
severely
constrained by erratic power supplies.
Ageing power
stations
In a shareholder trading update, the company said it was "cautiously
optimistic" about the overall recovery of the country's mining sector
against the backdrop of the rolling blackouts.
ZESA has attributed
the power cuts to constant breakdowns at its ageing
power
stations.
CZI president Joseph Kanyekanye urged the cash-strapped Harare
government in
July to allow private investors to operate some of its
electricity plants to
help boost generation and end power cuts hampering
manufacturing sector
production.
Zimbabwe requires at least 2 000
megawatts for domestic and industrial
consumption, but the country is
currently generating around 1 100MW.
The country has over the years
failed to attract independent power producers
despite having several power
projects on the cards, which if implemented
would make the country a net
exporter of electricity.
An unstable political environment and lack of
policies that encourage
private sector investment in the sector has kept
potential investors away.
ZESA has struggled to raise revenue from
customers since the introduction of
multi-currencies early this year as part
of reforms to lift the southern
African country from a deep economic
crisis.
Low growth prospects
The energy utility is seeking an
independent power producer to develop its
Gokwe North power plant to produce
1 400MW at a cost of US$1.6 billion.
To guarantee adequate supply,
Zimbabwe has long planned to add two more
units at Hwange, generating 300MW
each, and expand its Kariba hydro power
plant with two generators, adding
150MW each by 2012 at a total cost of
US$800 million.
Zimbabwe could
also put on its grid 300MW from Lupane Gas project, a
Greenfield project at
a cost of US$300 million while ZESA jointly owns with
Zambia the Batoka
power project with potential to generate 1 600MW at a cost
of US$1.8
billion
Respected Harare-based economist John Robertson said Zimbabwe's
growth
prospects from 2011 are likely to "remain low, partly because of
power cuts
and partly because longer-term bank finance will remain scarce
and
expensive".
"These constraints have prompted the IMF
(International Monetary Fund) to
set its forecast for 2011 at 2,2 percent
and it suggests that, if current
policies are not changed, the growth rate
will fall to zero in 2012,"
Robertson said.
The IMF, which has sent
at least two review missions to Zimbabwe since the
beginning of the year,
has urged Harare's coalition regime to implement
radical changes in economic
policy without delay before it can access
concessionary
financing.
Companies downsizing
"At present, given its power
shortages, high operating costs and political
uncertainties, Zimbabwe will
not readily attract foreign investment funding
into any project that seems
likely to take some years to show a return,"
Robertson said.
Local
funds for such projects are not readily available because bank
liquidity
remains low.
Substantial project registration fees and new provisions
that require some
registration procedures to be repeated in two years have
further discouraged
business promoters.
He said many companies are
"known to be making strenuous attempts to
downsize their
operations".
"Reports indicate that, but for the costs of funding
severance packages,
many more people would have been retrenched," the
economist warned.
Any further job losses would worsen the economic and
social crisis in a
country already suffering unprecedented unemployment
estimated at more than
70 percent and where low disposable incomes are
impacting negatively on
business profitability.
Most of us at the Vigil have
relatives or friends who have taken refuge in
Explaining the decision, government
spokesman Themba Maseko said ‘We believe that some form of stability has
returned to
Take the case of Tsvangirai’s
beautician Theresa Makone, promoted from make-up and hair-styling to the
dizzying depths of co-minister of Home Affairs. Now she is trying to make the
police look beautiful. The police, she
told the Zimbabwe Independent, were now executing their duties in a professional
manner. Continuing her cosmetic wizardry, she went on ‘I can assure you that
everything has been looked at and there is no more hiding behind a finger of
someone powerful. As I speak right now everything is being effected – all court
orders are being implemented, work is being done as the country moves forward.
We are doing our job . . . The Zimbabwe Republic Police is doing what it was
mandated to do’ (see: http://www.theindependent.co.zw/local/27867-police-have-turned-over-new-leaf--makone-.html).
We are told that – now the World Cup
is over – there is hardly a day in
We in the
Other
points
·
The BBC
rebroadcast a moving documentary about the plight of children in
·
Our
partner organisation in
·
A
benefactor has made available copies of Zimbabwean human rights activist Judith
Todd’s acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe ‘Through the Darkness’ (see review: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article2510767.ece).
See
our ‘Event and Notices’ section for how to obtain a copy. All proceeds will be
donated to the Budiriro Trust, which
provides bursaries to
needy A Level students in
·
Thanks to
·
Our Swazi
friend Thobile Gwebu is still in detention.
We are helping to secure bail for her and hope she will be free soon.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check the link at the top of the home page
of our website. For earlier ZimVigil TV
programmes check: http://www.zbnnews.com/home/firingline.
FOR THE RECORD: 163
signed the
register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
The Restoration of Human Rights in
Zimbabwe (ROHR) is
the Vigil’s partner organisation based in
·
ROHR
·
Ministering to the Diaspora: a case
study of Zimbabweans in
·
Vigil protest to mark the second
anniversary of the signing of the Zimbabwean Global Political Agreement.
Saturday
18th September from
· ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
IOM Live Video Conference
with Returnees in
·
ROHR
·
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts
·
Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil
·
‘Through the Darkness’, Judith
Todd’s account of the rise of Mugabe.
To
receive a copy by post in the UK please email your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk
and
send a postal order or cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to Emily
Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA.
·
Workshops aiming to engage African
men on HIV testing and other sexual health issues. Organised by the Terrence Higgins
Trust (www.tht.org.uk). Please contact
the co-ordinator
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil,
outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429
Dear Family and Friends,
Its been a long
time since the news broadcasts on Short Wave Radio
Africa have been
deliberately jammed by loud, repetitive electronic
noises but suddenly,
alarmingly, its back.
The jamming of SW Radio Africa began at 7.20pm on
the night of the
1st September 2010. The news bulletin was by then more than
two
thirds completed and a report on the need for extra funding for
the
constitutional outreach programme was just about to be aired. A
loud
interference broke into the broadcast, the repeated tones
continuing
until 8.00 pm, making it impossible to hear the remainder of the
news
reports or the following half hour programme.
Suspicions were
immediately raised and the automatic question is:
Whats going on? What is it
that the Zimbabwe government doesnt want
us to know?
Its been over
ten years since the fight for political dominance in
Zimbabwe destroyed
agriculture and business, chased 4 million people
out of the country and
turned our lives upside down; ten years during
which we all learned what
signals to look out for when something is
up. The jamming of SW Radio Africa
is one of those very clear signs
and eyebrows are up.
You would think
that that with the explosion of cell phone lines in
the country and the
return of an independent daily newspaper there
wouldnt be a need for radio
jamming anymore, but thats not the
case. For the vast majority of
Zimbabweans a newspaper is a luxury;
computers, emails and internet access
are a remote dream and sitting
listening to a short wave radio station for
two hours a night is the
only way to get information thats not blatant
propaganda.
So what is that they dont want us to know?
Could it
be the news that a Bulawayo artist is facing charges with a
20 year prison
term for an art exhibition?
Or the fact that the former education
minister and Mashonaland East
Governor is in a renewed land grab on the few
remaining farms in and
around Marondera ?
Perhaps its the continuing
reports of intimidation and harassment
surrounding the constitutional
outreach programme.
Maybe its the 24 point document outlining action to
be taken to
apparently resolve issues outstanding from the tri party
political
agreement - issues which are 18 months overdue.
Or maybe,
the jamming of SW Radio Africa is being done so that we
cant hear the voices
of ordinary people trying to live ordinary
lives in a country where fear,
intimidation and harassment are still
all around us all the time and the only
real change we see from our
huge government is food in our shops.
When
SW Radio Africa asked MDC Information minister Nelson Chamisa
what was behind
the radio jamming, Mr Chamisa said he didnt know the
station was being
jammed. His response was a mirror image of MDC co
Home Affairs minister
Theresa Makone, When asked about the arrest and
detention of a Bulawayo
artist, Mrs Makone said she didnt know about
it. How soon theyve forgotten
that SW Radio Africa was their only
voice before they got into Zimbabwes
massive government a voice
they dont listen to anymore?
Ironically
the jamming of SW Radio Africa doesnt make less people
listen to the
broadcasts, but exactly the reverse because now even
more people want to know
what the government are trying to hide.
Until next time, thanks for reading,
love Cathy.
Copyright � Cathy Buckle. 4 September 2010. www.cathybuckle.com
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
05/09/2010 00:00:00
by Paul
Sorenson
In the second of a two part series, Southern Africa defence
analyst Paul
Sorenson concludes that rather than overseeing an evolution
toward
democracy, Tsvangirai and his party may be elongating Zanu-PF's
disastrous
rule - and losing touch with a young and impatient generation
that has until
now been its core constituency.
THESE conclusions are
reinforced by the views of respondents on the
implications of the political
deadlock that occurred following the elections
of 2008.
Asked about
the possibility of a repeat after the next elections, most
expressed a
strong preference for mass violence.
It was felt that Zimbabweans should:
"Strategise well before it happens,
mobilise the people and resources and
fight back . demonstrate, fighting
together as one. The main problem with
Zimbabweans (is that) they're
civilized - sometimes maximum force is
needed.
"Speak with one voice and do the unthinkable, rioting and
demonstrations
around the country. Because there will be no further solution
for (the
generals) to understand that they are no longer wanted . call for a
massive
strike so as to raise the eyebrows of the international
community.
"Or unite and fight for our rights. Revisit the Defence Act
and be united
and remove the generals violently if any . will not leave the
system. (React
by) killing those generals . and do the same to their
relatives and
families.
To the extent that divisions within the
security forces are thought to have
any relevance to the possibility of a
popular uprising, observers often
point to widespread disenchantment and
suggest that a large proportion of
servicemen would be content to take a
passive role.
It is less often suggested that the junior strata of the
service - or even
ex-servicemen - might take an active, aggressive and
potentially leading
part in any popular challenge to the established
order.
The African nationalist struggle against colonialism not only
created
enduring links between those who went on to become political leaders
in
different countries, it forged strong international relations between
people
(and institutions) directly involved in the physical conflict with
white-ruled states. Nowadays, these bonds are regularly reinforced through
official regional and bilateral exchanges and meetings, and through
unofficial social contact.
But after thirty years of Zimbabwean
independence, how close is the ideology
of senior regional security
officials to Mugabe's men? And what are their
specific views on the future
of Zimbabwe's security forces?
When asked about the validity of Zanu-
PF's conspiracist outlook - and its
deeply held belief that MDC is
essentially a tool of the West - interviewees
were sharply
divided.
The deputy commander of one of the region's national armies
ridiculed the
idea as 'rubbish' and said it was 'bound to come from a
retrogressive clique
which has run out of excuses to cling to
power'.
Likewise, a former deputy director-general of intelligence
remarked that the
claim was 'nonsense' and that Zanu-PF 'would grope at any
excuse to maintain
and remain in power'.
Regional
Perspectives
A serving director-general of a neighbouring intelligence
service noted that
the opposition 'enjoys a lot of support and sympathy from
the Zimbabweans of
Western descent internally, and directly from the West',
but added that
'mobilisation for change is by educated locals supported and
to some extent
funded by "whites" . who are active members of the
opposition'.
However, others insisted that Zanu-PF was merely stating the
obvious: But of
course (MDC is a party of the West]) All you need to do is
look at how many
whites are in the opposition as against those in the ruling
party.
The same person - a national police commissioner - commented that
the
refusal of Zimbabwean service chiefs to accept a non-liberation
president
was to be expected, though he pointed not to ideology but to a
utilitarian
rationale: "Their resistance is understandable because Mugabe
has taken very
good care of his senior defence and security chiefs by
empowering them with
businesses. (Our country) and Africa at large should
emulate Mugabe if they
want to consolidate their reign."
These
sentiments were echoed by an army commander: "The problems in Zimbabwe
revolve around how well the military top brass have been looked after by
their Commander-in-Chief. It is . scratch my back and I'll scratch
yours.
"The opposition can scream all it can but nothing will happen as
long as
Mugabe looks after his own well."
Another explained that the
demand for a liberation figure as head of state
was 'common' in 'armed
forces across Africa . because of senior defence and
security officials'
fear of being retired once the presidency changes hands',
yet he asserted
that '29 years after independence is rather too late to
expect a freedom
fighter to contest the presidency'.
Those critical of Zanu-PF's racial
stereotypes and anti-imperialist rhetoric
developed this theme
further.
The director-general of intelligence said that dogmatic calls
for a
liberation president: could hold water only in the first two terms of
a
post-independence administration for understandable reasons that the
freedom
fighters who ultimately emerge as liberation heroes at independence
should
naturally be expected to constitute government including the
Presidency.
To insist (that) a President should be a former freedom
fighter thirty years
down the line is being static . If at independence the
average age for the
freedom fighters turned liberators was say 40 years old,
going by this
condition, only those in their 70s would be eligible to
contest the
Presidency! It's simply unworkable.
He also averred that
nationalists were usually 'denied the opportunity to
advance their education
as they were . always on the run internally or in
exile'.
It follows
that the first post-independence politicians 'are of humble
academic
credentials' and, though 'Mugabe is a rare exception', it is
'suicidal' in
the modern world to 'allow semi-literates to occupy the
Presidency' given
the need for heads of state to engage counterparts
internationally.
In terms of the future, regional security officials
were (like the
ex-servicemen) asked how a replay of Zimbabwe's political
crisis of 2008
could be averted or navigated.
The air force deputy
felt that the best preventative measure was for the
opposition to 'exert
constant pressure' on the government to 'strictly
observe retirement age for
security personnel long before elections'.
The intelligence chief shared
this view, feeling that Zimbabweans needed to:
Depoliticise the armed forces
by strictly adhering to the statutory
retirement age.
This in turn
would gradually usher into the command structure younger,
energetic and
educated officers who understand global political trends and
respect human
rights and do not constantly remind their juniors how the
country owes them
for the immense suffering they endured in the liberation
struggle.
A
crop of young educated officers appreciate and interpret democracy
better.
A command that belongs to the old school operates in constant
fear of being
replaced and displaced by any political leadership that may
emerge as a
result of a transparent democratic process. So they will
perpetuate a
dictatorship at all cost.
The retired deputy
director-general of intelligence differed somewhat,
believing that
incentives are required.
Resistance within security forces is because the
top brass are former
freedom fighters who are threatened with a bleak future
outside active
service.
The answer lies in ensuring an attractive
retirement package for command
staff that would lure them into retirement
thereby paving way for younger
blood who would embrace
democracy.
Another opined that: "neither laws, conventions nor
inducements would
suffice as another 'stalemate can only be resolved by the
UN on condition
that the sitting government is receptive to foreign
intervention, which in
the case of Zimbabwe is unlikely".
On the
other hand - and reflecting his very different ideology - the police
commissioner did not see the problem as particularly complex: Zanu-PF should
'campaign hard or rig convincingly so that the margins do not call for a
unity government'.
In a situation where measures to prevent a
post-election paralysis fail, one
security official suggested the opposition
should 'negotiate but never join
hands in a unity government which allows
crime to go unpunished'.
Others were more radical, offering solutions
remarkably similar to those of
lower-ranking Zimbabwean
servicemen.
The deputy air commander thought Zimbabweans should "incite
mutiny if
opposition is strong in (the) defence and security forces", while
the
intelligence director general said that: "In the case of resistance (by
security chiefs), international political pressure is not a dependable
option as has been demonstrated.
"Civil disobedience is the best
option though depending on the level of the
sitting administration's
brutality, this may come at great cost to the
populace in terms of loss of
life and human rights abuses".
Reflections
The limited scope of
the regional survey means that any conclusions must be
tentative.
At
the same time, it is apposite to note the marked differences in the
philosophies of respondents - especially the apparent lack of a middle
ground between advocates of liberal democracy and proponents of a more
traditional liberation-style authoritarianism.
Ostensibly, background
does not seem to have played a strong part: in fact,
the contrasts in
outlook are all the more striking in view of the solid
liberation
credentials of all the individuals and/or institutions from which
they
came.
Equally, generational factors are not palpable, as the age range is
relatively narrow.
Instead, it is possible that many senior security
officials in regional
countries have responded in contrary ways to the
spread of multi-party
politics in Africa over the last twenty
years.
Plainly, a simple dichotomy does not exist, but the notion of
divergent
trends is worth further study and points to levels of complexity
in regional
affairs that are not accounted for by popular
labels.
Such trends, if real, may also presage increasing conflict within
the
civil-military elite of some regional countries.
As far as
Zimbabwe is concerned, it is clear that Zanu-PF does not invoke
virtually
unanimous support in the region; the concept of undisputed backing
for
Mugabe minus Botswana is a caricature.
Nevertheless, there is no
consensus on what should be done to move Zimbabwe
toward stability or to
normalise interaction between the community and the
security
services.
Neither is there any suggestion that regional countries should
become deeply
involved in the crisis.
The region has little desire to
grapple with the crux of the problem - the
disabling effect wrought by the
collision between Zanu-PF's physical
dominance and its political
illegitimacy.
Even those well-disposed to the opposition and partial to
revolutionary
solutions repeat the familiar mantra: this is a Zimbabwean
problem that must
be settled by Zimbabweans.
Placed alongside the
Western approach - that Zimbabwe is a regional
catastrophe requiring
regional intervention - it appears probable that
internal dynamics will be
the key determinants of the country's future.
To the extent that this
proves true, there can be no question that the role
of the security services
will be a vital part of the equation.
The testimony of ex-servicemen
shows conclusively that Zanu-PF is more than
a one-man band.
The
death or removal of Mugabe will not, in itself, resolve the Zimbabwean
imbroglio.
The country's military and political veterans are too
ideologically and
materially committed to the status quo to step aside
without a fight - a
fight they could take to each other, to MDC supporters,
or to both.
Should they manage to suppress internal divisions - an open
question, but
one that is incentivised by an angry populace and an equally
agitated junior
corps - there is no indication that they will permit genuine
change.
Neither will the ageing process provide an early
salvation.
Unlike Zanu's politicians, many war veterans were in their
early twenties or
younger at independence. This means they can continue
their co-ordinating
role for many years to come.
Certainly, this is
the way ex-servicemen - and sympathetic regional
officials - view the
situation.
It is for this reason that they advocate mass mobilisation as
a solution.
If they read Zanu-PF and its war veterans correctly, the
'inclusive'
government is a chimera: it will exist only as long as it fails
to deliver
real transformation.
This is a hard reality with which MDC
has failed to come to terms.
To be sure, its willingness to enter
government with Zanu-PF and persist in
spite of the abortion of the reform
agenda appears to be a deliberate
attempt to ignore the unpalatable
reality.
Rather than overseeing an evolution toward democracy, Tsvangirai
and his
party may be elongating Zanu-PF's disastrous rule - and losing touch
with a
young and impatient generation that has until now been its core
constituency.
It remains to be seen if and when that generation takes
matters into its own
hands.
This is an abridged version of the
article published in the August/September
2010 edition of the Royal United
Services Institute (RUSI) Journal.
BILL WATCH
35/2010
[4th September 2010]
Constitution Amendment No. 19 Re-Gazetted
Yesterday’s Government Gazette contains a new version of the
Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) Act, 2009 (Act No. 1 of 2009)
published by direction of the Law Reviser.
[Electronic version of revised Amendment
No. 19 available.]
The
covering General Notice 244/2010 over the name of the Law Reviser reads as follows:
“STATUTE LAW COMPILATION AND REVISION ACT
[CHAPTER 1.03]
--------------
Publication of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment
Act
(No. 19), 2009, together with Interparty Political
Agreement
-------------
IT is hereby notified that the Law Reviser has, in terms of section
11B(1) of the Statute Law Compilation and Revision Act [Chapter 1:03],
directed the Government Printer to print and publish the Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No. 19), 2009 (No. 1 of 2009) together with, for the
information of the public, the Interparty Political Agreement as defined in
section 115 of the Constitution.
J.B. ZOWA, Law Reviser, 3-9-2010”.
Note:
Section 11B(3) of the Statute Law Compilation and Revision Act provides that the
version of an individual Act printed in terms of
section 11B(1) shall, upon notification in the Gazette, “be accepted in all
courts as the sole version of the statute concerned as at the date of such
notification”.
So this is the
version of Constitution Amendment No. 19 that must be used from now
on.
Background
When Constitution Amendment No. 19 was originally gazetted as Act No.
1 of 2009 in February 2009 it was immediately observed that it was an abridged
version of the Bill that had been passed by Parliament in its entirety. The
last eighteen pages of the Bill were missing from the Act. [See Bill Watch
6/2009 of 24th February 2009.] This discrepancy became one of the
points of dispute between the three GPA parties.
The three GPA party principals agreed on 24 disputed points and an
implementation matrix [which was then approved by the recent SADC meeting].
Agreed point 20 in the matrix is that the Minister of Justice would immediately
arrange that “The full text of Constitutional Amendment No. 19 as approved
by Parliament should be gazetted and signed.” [For complete text of
implementation matrix see Bill Watch 33/2010 of 31st August.] It is
implicit in this agreement that Constitution Amendment No. 19 as gazetted in
February 2009 does not reflect the Bill as approved by
Parliament.
Comments
It is an
unsatisfactory response to the problem: A revision of Constitution Amendment No 19 by
the Law Reviser does not constitute compliance with the principals’ direction
that Constitution Amendment No. 19 as approved by Parliament be gazetted and
signed [i.e., signed by the President]. To comply with that direction the new
version of the Act should have been published by the President’s Office, like
any other Act of Parliament, with a General Notice stating that it had been
assented to by the President. Doubts over the authenticity of Constitution
Amendment No 19, whether in its original or revised form, may linger.
The new
text is still incomplete: There
are discrepancies between this new version of the Constitution Amendment No 19
Act and the Bill passed by Parliament in February 2009 – all of them involving
omissions of text that was in the Bill:
·
it leaves
out the provision that was in the Bill stating that GPA Article 6 will guide the
constitution-making process – nor does it set out Article 6 as a separate
Schedule
·
it leaves
out the provision that was in the Bill stating that GPA Article 14 will guide
the conduct of traditional leaders – nor does it set out Article 14 as a
separate Schedule
·
while the
General Notice states that, for the information of the public, the GPA is
published together with the new re-gazetted Amendment, in fact it is not
presented as it was in the Bill, i.e. as a separate Schedule 11 expressly stated
to be for the information of the public; it is just tacked on at the end of
Schedule 8 [but clearly not part of Schedule 8] without any explanatory
statement of its status.
The new
text is not clearly identified as a revised version: There
is nothing in the text of the newly published Constitution Amendment No. 19 Act
itself that clearly identifies it as different from the original 2009 version.
Nor is it stated that it is the official version from now on. This could cause
confusion in courts, in law libraries, for students and for anyone with an
interest in the contents of the Amendment. It would have been better to have
included a note on the first page of the new version clearly identifying it as
an official revised version of Amendment No. 19 and to have indicated where
revisions are made to the text.
Constitution of Zimbabwe Now Has to be
Updated
Unless/until further corrections are made, the effect of this new
version of Constitution Amendment No. 19 is that the Constitution itself must
now be brought into line with what the new version says. In other words, the
Constitution must now be read with the full text of the GPA added to it
immediately after Schedule 8 and with two minor corrections that have been made
to section 115. [Updated Constitution available on request.]
New
Amendment No. 19 has No Impact on Constitution-Making
Process
The
gazetting of this new version of Constitution Amendment No. 19 will have no
impact on the constitution-making process. In fact, it contains no special
provision for the process, as the original Bill’s provision about the process
has been omitted. [Even if this provision as worded in the Bill had been
included, it would not have affected the process, because it merely says that
GPA Article 6 would “guide” the process – which would not have given Article 6
and its time-frame the status of mandatory, legally binding rules to be strictly
applied. The GPA Article 6 itself uses mandatory language, e.g. “the following
time-frames shall apply”. So, if MPs considering the Bill in February 2009
thought that Article 6 and its time-frame should have full legal force to be
followed to the letter by all parties, they should have insisted on the Bill
being amended during its passage through Parliament to make that perfectly
clear.]
No Impact
on Law Relating to Traditional Leaders
The new
version of Constitution Amendment No. 19 will have no impact on the law covering
the conduct of traditional leaders, because the new version of the Amendment
contains no special provision on that subject. [And, as with the
constitution-making process, even if the original Bill’s provisions had been
included in the new version, they would only have been guides, not a legally
binding code of conduct for traditional leaders.]
Lessons to be learned
The undesirability of fast-tracking Bills: The controversy over Constitution Amendment No. 19 would
probably not have arisen if the Bill had not been fast-tracked through
Parliament under pressure from SADC and its then facilitator, South African
President Thabo Mbeki. Fast-tracking meant that time for debate and mature
reflection was limited. Had more time been allowed, it is possible that
amendments to the Bill would have been made in the normal way, resulting in
provisions of no legal force being either eliminated or being reworded so as to
be legally binding.
Proper Parliamentary procedures should always be
followed: Changes to a Bill should always be initiated by the normal
Parliamentary process of proposing appropriate amendments during the Bill’s
Committee Stage. If that is done, there will be no room for argument as to what
Parliament has passed, and confusion of the sort that has surrounded
Constitution Amendment No. 19 will be avoided.
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