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Govt to meet over Zim dispensation row

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had been withdrawn.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


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SA strike is a nightmare for Zim teachers

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.


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Fear, Zim scribes' enemy no.1 - Saidi

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.


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Govt told to focus on luring investors

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

 


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Zimbabwe Government Said to Seek Ban on Foreign Investment in Retail Sector

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.


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Zimbabwe Constitution Panel Seeks to Boost Youth Participation In Outreach

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.


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Rights Activists Slam Pretoria for Plan to Resume Zimbabwean Deportations

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.


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Mangwana attacks negative media coverage

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.


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No need to panic about special dispensation

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.


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Campbell insulted by Scotland snub

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.


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UN calls for crisis talks on food prices as instability threatens poor nations

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.


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Conservationists call for tougher penalties as poaching escalates in southern Africa

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


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EU approves US$20m aid package for Zim

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.


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We need a credible budget: Biti

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.


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Massive job cuts loom

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.


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Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 4th September 2010

Most of us at the Vigil have relatives or friends who have taken refuge in South Africa. This is hardly surprising given that an estimated 1 in 4 Zimbabweans have fled the Mugabe meltdown. We know of the hardships refugees in South Africa have suffered but we were shocked to hear that the Zuma government has now announced measures which could see many of them sent back to Zimbabwe at the end of the year (http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article638337.ece/End-of-the-line-for-illegal-Zim-nationals).            

 

Explaining the decision, government spokesman Themba Maseko said ‘We believe that some form of stability has returned to Zimbabwe’. The Vigil believes that people sent home to poverty, starvation and abuse will not thank the schizophrenic MDC which has been telling two contradictory stories: complaining at home of victimisation while proclaiming to the outside world that things are getting better.

 

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 South Africa that passes without negative comments about Zimbabweans (http://www.swradioafrica.com/news030910/zumaput030910.htm). So it is not surprising that the government there grasps at MDC fantasies and looks to get rid of unwanted refugees despite the manifest failure of the interim government to end human rights abuses and revive the comatose economy. 

 

We in the UK are also fearful of being dispatched to the mercies of this dysfunctional government and we urge South Africa to think again before sending Zimbabweans back to Mugabe. Our view is that Pretoria’s persistent failure to stand by its proclaimed democratic principles has betrayed Zimbabweans. We warn them that if they do not deal honestly with us South Africans will face the same fate as Zimbabweans.  Can they seriously think that things are going alright in Zimbabwe when the regime has resumed jamming of outside broadcasts? (see: http://www.cathybuckle.com/index.php?id=7).  

 

Other points

·       The BBC rebroadcast a moving documentary about the plight of children in Zimbabwe: ’Zimbabwe’s forgotten children’. Many passers-by said they didn’t realise how bad things were.

·       Our partner organisation in Zimbabwe, Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR), is involved in a new peace building initiative launched on 31st August. It is to be spearheaded by ROHR and three other civil society organizations, Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and Victims Action Committee under the banner ‘You and I can make peace happen’. (See: http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/Latest-News-from-ROHR-in-Zimbabwe/).

·       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 Zimbabwe.

·       Thanks to Anthony Webb-Martin who gave us an archive of past issues of the Zimbabwean.  They were gratefully received by Vigil team member Patson Muzuwa. We are often asked for past copies of the newspaper.

·       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 Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe.

·       ROHR Manchester general meeting. Saturday 11th September from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: The Salvation Army Citadel, 71 Grosvenor Road, Manchester, M13 9UB. ROHR Founder, National Chairperson and executive members present. Contact Fenny Nyatsanza 07886310005, P A Karimanzira 07538534375, Charter Madzivanyika 07747141835 or A Mungoyo on 07939913688

·       Ministering to the Diaspora: a case study of Zimbabweans in Britain. Wednesday 15th September from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm. Venue: Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, SS Philip & James Church, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HR. A conference to help identify unique needs, the services Christian organizations are offering and can offer (but are not), identifying what more needs to be done and how this might be achieved, and drawing up a co-ordinated action plan. For more information, contact: Clayton Peel, capeel@ocms.ac.uk or phone 01865 882 421.

·       Vigil protest to mark the second anniversary of the signing of the Zimbabwean Global Political Agreement. Saturday 18th September from 2 – 6 pm outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, London.

·      ROHR Bristol demonstration. Saturday 18th September from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol BS1 5TX. ROHR President attending. Contact: Ronald Oputeri 07799893695, Bridgita Mubaiwa 07789084534, Emelia Sydney 07733816947,Cecelia Ndhlovu 07545118593, Agnes Chidhakwa 07838773268, P Mapfumo  07915926323.

·       ROHR Derby general meeting. Saturday 18th September from 2 – 5.30 pm. Venue: St Augustine’s Church, Upper Dale Road, Derby DE23 8BP. ROHR National Executive present so those with questions here is your chance. Contact: Tsitsi Razawe 07773649330, Wonder Katurura 07858699224, P Chibanguza 07908406069 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070

·       ROHR Stoke-on-Trent general meeting. Saturday 18th September from 2 – 6 pm. Venue: Christ Church, Tunstall High Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 5XG. ROHR executive members present. For info contact David R Mugwira 07833943494, Maxwell Dube 07533349840, Pauline Mtema 07850462301, Faith Pemba 07780594852, P Chibanguza 07908406069/07534626040 or P Mapfumo on 07915926323/07932216070

·       ROHR Yorkshire general meeting. Saturday 18th September from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Dock Green Inn, Ashley  Rd, Leeds LS9 7AB. Contact Chinofunga Ndoga 07877993826, Prosper Mudamvanji 07897594874, Wonder Mubaiwa 07958758568,Donna Mugoni 07748828913 or R Chifungo 07795070609

·       IOM Live Video Conference with Returnees in Zimbabwe. Wednesday 22nd September from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. Venue: International Organisation for Migration, 21 Westminster Palace Gardens, Artillery Row, London SW1P 1RR. Attendance is free, but registration is required. To confirm your attendance or for more information about the event, please call 020 7808 1083 or email infouk@iom.int.  Lunch will be provided.

·       ROHR Coventry general meeting. Saturday 25th September from 1 – 5 pm. Venue: 90a Paynes Lane, Coventry CV1 5JH. ROHR National Executive and a well known lawyer present. Contact V.J Mujeye 07534034594, Matambanashe Sibanda 07886660392, Pauline Makuwere 07575265710, P. Mapfumo 07932216070/07915926323 or P Chibanguza 07908406069.

·       Zimbabwe Vigil’s 8th Anniversary. Saturday 9th October from 2 – 6 pm.

·       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 Takudzwa Mukiwa (takudzwa.mukiwa@tht.org.uk) if you are interested in taking part.

 

Vigil Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.


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What's going on?



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
 


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Inside Zimbabwe's security services (Part 11)

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.

 


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Bill Watch 35/2010 - 4th September [Constitution Amendment No. 19Re-Gazetted]


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 Reviser3-9-2010”.

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.

 

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

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