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Push for Mujuru exhumation

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 19:23
Faith Zaba

ALMOST a month after the mysterious death of retired army general Solomon
Mujuru in a fire, an international human rights organisation has offered the
Mujuru family, at the behest of his friends and relatives, specialist
forensic assistance that may result in his remains being exhumed Mujuru’s
friends have sought assistance from the international organisation after new
compelling evidence emerged suggesting foul play. Investigations by the
Zimbabwe Independent, which included talking to relatives, friends, allies
and people at his Alamein Farm in Beatrice, have revealed that keys to the
front door of the farmhouse went missing prior to Mujuru’s death. In
addition to the missing keys, people interviewed said the driver’s door to
Mujuru’s white Isuzu double cab was found open and parked near the front
door whose keys were missing, which they found unusual considering that the
late retired army general had been parking near the kitchen door, whose
entrance he had been using since the front-door keys went missing. The
friends and relatives said if the police investigation report is vague and
inconclusive, they are going to demand an inquest into Mujuru’s death which
would ensure thorough forensic tests are done. The international
organisation would only come in to assist the family if it is unhappy with
the police findings. If asked to assist, it will offer a forensic
pathologist to do a second postmortem to establish the cause of death. One
close friend said: “Family and friends have sought help from an
international organisation because indications are that there is going to be
a cover up and we will not be convinced that he died in a fire accident.
“But first, we will have to identify a close family member who can request
an exhumation order and equipped with that we can then bring in a
specialised forensic pathologist to do a second postmortem. “We also believe
that because of the circumstances surrounding his death, President (Robert)
Mugabe should order an inquest into his death. But where is the police’s
preliminary report, which we believe should be out by now?” When contacted
through her office, Vice-President Joice Mujuru refused to comment saying
she has said everything that needed to be said and now awaited the police’s
report. A week after her husband’s death, Mujuru disclosed that she
suspected foul play.Speaking out on the mysterious death of her husband,
Mujuru said she wanted the truth to be told on what caused his death. She
said she would never rest until she was furnished with details of what
really transpired. “It was closer (for him) to use the window than the door.
So for a military man, it’s so weird that he could have failed to escape the
fire,” she said. “They should tell us what happened from 20:30 hours when he
arrived home to when the fire was seen. This is where the story is…it’s only
when they give us satisfactory answers surrounding his death (that) my heart
will rest.” Indications from the police are that their report was likely to
say that he died in a fire accident, possibly caused by a candle. A ground
study of the house by the Independent showed Mujuru could have escaped
through the three exit doors in the bedroom or four windows next to where he
was sleeping. Mujuru’s bedroom has four windows – two double and two single.
None of the four had burglar bars. The single windows are about 42 cm from
the ground and 30cm wide, while the double windows are about 1,1 m from the
ground. There are also three exit doors to the outside and two other doors –
one leading to the small lounge where his body was found and the other to
his daughters’ two bedrooms, which did not catch fire. office,
Vice-President Joice Mujuru refused to comment saying she has said
everything that needed to be said and now awaited the police’s report. A
week after her husband’s death, Mujuru disclosed that she suspected foul
play. Speaking out on the mysterious death of her husband last week, Mujuru
said she wanted the truth to be told on what caused his death. She said she
would never rest until she was furnished with details of what really
transpired. “It was closer (for him) to use the window than the door. So for
a military man, it’s so weird that he could have failed to escape the fire,”
she said. “They should tell us what happened from 20:30 hours when he
arrived home to when the fire was seen. This is where the story is…it’s only
when they give us satisfactory answers surrounding his death (that) my heart
will rest.” Indications from the police are that their report was likely to
say that he died in a fire accident, possibly caused by a candle. A ground
study of the house by the Independent showed Mujuru could have escaped
through the three exit doors in the bedroom or four windows next to where he
was sleeping. Mujuru’s bedroom has four windows –– two double and two
single. None of the four had burglar bars. The single windows are about 42
cm from the ground and 30cm wide, while the double windows are about 1,1 m
from the ground. There are also three exit doors to the outside and two
other doors –– one leading to the small lounge where his body was found and
the other to his daughters’ two bedrooms, which did not catch fire.


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Mugabe paralysed

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 19:18
Dumisani Muleya

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is paralysed over what to do following explosive
WikiLeaks releases which show senior Zanu PF and government officials,
including Vice-President Joice Mujuru, have been secretly meeting American
diplomats to discuss sensitive issues, including that he should go, behind
his back. The dramatic revelations in Cablegate are bound to cause a sea
change in Mugabe’s relationships with his advisors and senior party
officials named in the disclosures. The unprecedented situation could also
reconfigure the matrix of the simmering Zanu PF succession issue, which
features prominently in the secret cables dispatched from Harare to
Washington by successive United States ambassadors and diplomats, mainly in
the past decade, fuelling infighting and setting off seismic shifts and
realignment of factions within the party. Mugabe, reeling from old age and
ill-health apparently due to prostate cancer which has metastasised
(something which creates tumours in different parts of the body), remains
under growing pressure to quit ahead of the Zanu PF national conference in
Bulawayo from December 6-10, particularly before the next critical elections
either next year or in 2013. Off the record briefings of the Zimbabwe
Independent by senior officials close to Mugabe, including cabinet ministers
and Zanu PF politburo members, this week show that the veteran ruler is in a
state of shock and paralysis due to the leaks which have left him exposed
and cutting a lonely figure on shifting political sands. “These revelations
have gutted the president and left him in a state of disbelief, shock and
anger,” a senior government official said. “They have put him in a serious
dilemma about what to do. Because his close advisors and officials are
involved, he is paralysed and incapacitated on what to do. The trouble is he
is damned if he reacts and damned if he doesn’t.” One cabinet minister
recounted how Mugabe last week tried to mend fences with his close courtiers
through meetings until Thursday, the day before further explosive leaks were
released. The minister said Mugabe was initially inclined to ignore the
WikiLeaks scandal until revelations of meetings with Americans involving
senior Zanu PF officials and cabinet ministers. “After the new releases he
was terribly upset and devastated,” the minister said. “Over the past few
days he seems to have come around to accepting the difficult situation
instead of being in denial, hence he was mellow during the official opening
of parliament on Tuesday and during the dinner afterwards. He delivered
statesmanlike addresses.” Official sources said while Mugabe is bound to
accept the situation and do nothing in public because a backlash against
those involved could further divide Zanu PF and government, he was under
pressure from senior members of the Joint Operations Command (JOC), which
brings together army, police and intelligence chiefs, to crack down on his
“betrayers”. “The president realises that reprisals won’t work considering
the high profile nature of people involved and the scale of the problem, but
he is under extreme pressure from senior JOC members, mainly from the army
side, to take strong measures against those involved in this act of
betrayal,” an intelligence source said. “Some top army commanders see this
situation as a tale of traitors, betrayal and treachery and hence they want
him to act swiftly in response.” WikiLeaks exposed a long list of senior
Zanu PF and government officials, including Mujuru and serving and former
cabinet ministers, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nicholas Goche, Saviour Kasukuwere,
Jonathan Moyo, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Dumiso Dabengwa and Walter Mzembi who
secretly met United States diplomats to discuss sensitive issues around the
political and security situation in the country. Some of the issues which
featured prominently in the secret meetings include Mugabe’s succession and
national security matters. Other government officials who met American
diplomats include Gideon Gono and top army commanders Major-General Fidelis
Sakutu and Brigadier-General Herbert Chingono. The late Edison Zvobgo also
met US diplomats. Most of the officials spoke about Mugabe’s succession
issue and the need for him to quit because of old age and ill-health.
WikiLeaks cables show that most Zanu PF, including the late vice-president
Joseph Msika, Zvobgo and retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru who
died in a mysterious fire last month, co-vice-presidents Mujuru and John
Nkomo, Kasukuwere, Moyo, Mzembi, among many others, wanted Mugabe to go. In
fact, most Zanu PF senior members and even his close allies want Mugabe to
quit although he has resisted this, saying he feared his party would
disintegrate if he goes. One of the cables, marked secret, shows Dabengwa
actually tried to challenge Mugabe during the 2007 extraordinary Zanu PF
congress but withdrew at the last minute because the process was rigged.
This resulted in Dabengwa quitting Zanu PF in 2008. After that Dabengwa and
his close ally the late General Mujuru initiated the Simba Makoni project to
challenge Mugabe from outside. A senior retired army commander said while
Mujuru and other senior Zanu PF officials are relatively safe, the army
officers who described Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine
Chiwenga as a “political general” with “little practical military experience
or expertise” were in “hot soup”. Efforts to get comment from Mugabe’s
spokesman George Charamba yesterday were unsuccessful.


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MDC-T probes intra-party violence

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 19:07
Paidamoyo Muzulu

THE MDC-T has set up a five-member commission headed by Mutare-based human
rights lawyer Trust Maanda to investigate cases of intra-party violence and
factionalism which almost derailed the party’s congress in Bulawayo. The
commission was first mooted by party leader Morgan Tsvangirai at the
congress after party members protested against outcomes of provincial
elections in Bulawayo, Masvingo, Chitungwiza, Mashonaland West and Midlands
North provinces. Disgruntled party members in the five provinces complained
that the provincial congresses were fraught with irregularities, which
included political violence, voting buying, factionalism and participation
by unaccredited delegates. Maanda’s commission is expected to start its work
as soon as an official announcement has been made. Party insiders confirmed
this week that Maanda would lead the commission which would include a
veteran trade unionist and a leading civil society practitioner. Tsvangirai’s
spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka confirmed the establishment of the commission.
“Investigations into the violence started soon after the commission was put
in place but I cannot give further comments since it is not my portfolio,”
said Tamborinyoka. MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said the party was
finalising the processes of setting up the commission in line with the party’s
resolution. “We are working on the names of individuals and an announcement
would be made soon,” Mwonzora said. The divisions and violence which rocked
the party had become so intense such that fears abound that the party was in
danger of splitting after the congress. The party’s former national
organising secretary Elias Mudzuri confirmed at the congress that the party
was in a fragile state. In Masvingo, the party had to rerun the provincial
congress after a faction allied to Youth and Indigenisation deputy minister
Tongai Matutu had boycotted the initial congress. It cited irregularities in
the holding of the congress and questioned the authenticity of some
delegates who attended the congress. Three districts in Mashonaland West
also protested against the congress results saying some genuine delegates
had been barred from attending. Delegates from Chegutu, Chinhoyi and Zvimba
had been barred from attending the congress.


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Mnangagwa’s double dealings exposed

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 19:01

Wongai Zhangazha

WIKILEAKS has exposed Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s double dealings
in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s protracted civil war with factions
aligned to rebel leader Laurent Kabila and politician Kalaa Mpinga at the
turn of the last century.

Although Zimbabwe had taken a unilateral stance to support and consolidate
Kabila’s reign after overthrowing the dictatorial regime of Mobutu Sese
Seko, the US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks said Mnangagwa was also
speaking to Mpinga who was plotting to overthrow Kabila.

Efforts to  get comment from Mnangagwa and Mpinga this week were in vain.
The cable from Harare was dated April 15 2000 and titled “Mpinga: Mnangagwa
plays both ends against the middle”.

It recounts Mnangagwa’s meeting with the then US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tom
McDonald. Mnangagwa, who was Justice and Parliamentary Affairs minister at
that time, is quoted confirming meeting with Mpinga over political
developments in the vast mineral rich DRC. Mpinga is a businessman with
close links to Anglo American Corporation and a nephew of the then DRC
Minister of State for Petroleum, Pierre Victor Mpoyo.

Mnangagwa is understood to have encouraged Mpinga to form a political party
to contest elections and Zimbabwe would support him if he won. “He
counselled Mpinga to seek unity, because by excluding key figures he won’t
get far,” the leaked cable reads. “He advised Mpinga to form a party and
contest elections, and noted that Zimbabwe would accept their results, even
if Kabila were removed by them.”

Mnangagwa is further said to have warned Mpinga “not to entertain the view
of seeing the Zimbabwean government going against Kabila. Rather, he
counselled Mpinga to seek unity, because by excluding key figures he won’t
get far”.

The cable said Mnangagwa told McDonald that Mpinga’s plan was to create a
new national leadership that was going to exclude both Kabila and another
warlord, Jean Pierre Bemba.

Mnangagwa told McDonald that Zimbabwe intervened in the DRC crisis in 1998
to “safeguard its investments” through a joint mining investment company,
Cosleg.

Cosleg was a joint venture between the “economic arms” of the Zimbabwean and
the Congolese armies. According to a 2001 UN report, the late Kabila used
the vast mineral resources of his country as an incentive to court the
support of the Zimbabwean government in his bid to ward off rebels
challenging his regime.

The cable further says that Mnangagwa passed on comments about Mpinga to
Kabila although he did not inform him that Mpinga harboured presidential
ambitions.

“Mnangagwa then told me that he had not revealed to Kabila that Mpinga is
against him, but rather informed the Congolese president that the younger
man was like a university student, full of “wild dreams and ready to riot
against anything,” reads the cable.

The cable shows Mnangagwa’s disdain for Mpinga. He described him as a
“political infant” who claimed to be the head of 600 Congolese professionals
and intellectuals in the Diaspora who constitute his body politic.

McDonald concluded: “In our judgment, Mnangagwa keeps his door open to
Mpinga because he does not view him as a threat to interests of Zimbabwe or
his own. By continuing to receive him, he keeps Mpinga visible and easier to
monitor.

“If Mpinga someday amounts to something in the Congo (not an impossibility
given his lineage), Mnangagwa will have the inside track to him. In sum,
Mnangagwa is doing the politically prudent thing with Mpinga, but to the
extent we can determine, he is not playing ball.”

In another WikiLeaks-related development, co-Home Affairs minister Kembo
Mohadi reportedly stormed out of a courtesy meeting with US ambassador James
McGee in April 2009 after being confronted with questions surrounding the
government’s attitude towards violent farm invasions.

According to cables released by WikiLeaks, Mohadi was infuriated by McGee’s
questions and launched a tirade of attacks on the ambassador telling him
that his ministry did not need American assistance, before storming out.

Mohadi had attended the meeting along with his then co-minister Giles
Mutsekwa and senior ministry officials. During the meeting McGee is reported
to have told the Zimbabwean delegation that America would give Zimbabwe only
humanitarian assistance and that non-humanitarian assistance was dependent
on the government’s progress in restoring the rule of law.

The cable says Mohadi responded in the form of a lecture. “Zimbabwe wanted
the international community to help it succeed, he said, but not tell it how
to succeed.  Zimbabwe resented the bullying tendency of the West,” reads the
cable. “He continued that he had left Zimbabwe at a young age to fight in
the liberation struggle and had received training in the USSR.”

The cable further quotes Mohadi as saying: “His life was devoted to the
received training in the USSR.  His life was devoted to the continuing
liberation struggle and he had lost his youth fighting the British, US and
Australians.”

As a parting shot, Mohadi was quoted saying in Zimbabwe ownership of the
land resided in the state and if it was a sin for the state to decide the
disposition of land “then let us die”.

After Mohadi had stormed out of the meeting, Mutsekwa is said to have
apologised. “He (Mutsekwa) said Mohadi had expressed personal feelings which
did not represent the government.

The policy of the government was to open up and look ahead. He noted that
during the negotiations leading to the formation of the government, there
had been extremists on both sides (implying this was also true of the
current government) and it was necessary to persevere,” the cable said.

“Since the formation of the government, Mutsekwa emphasised, he and Mohadi
had been able to work collaboratively.  He reiterated that Mohadi’s remarks
were “unfortunate” and “uncalled for”.

The meeting took place soon after disturbances at the Etheridge farm in
Chegutu where Senate president Ednah Madzongwe wanted to “forcibly” occupy
the property.

In the same cable, McGee said unlike Mohadi who was more representative of
Zanu PF in government, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi had acknowledged that
Zimbabwe’s brand had “suffered” and that his ministry lacked capacity and
needed help.

“This will make progress more difficult.  But it is significant that Mzembi
has Mugabe’s ear, and that there are a significant number of reformers in
Zanu PF.  We continue to believe there will be fitful advances; we should
not expect too much too soon,” read the cable.


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Anti-corruption work dangerous — Mangwana

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:58

Wongai Zhangazha

FORMER Anti-Corruption minister Paul Mangwana said his tenure was fraught
with political interference, lack of resources and even threats to his life
and family.

Mangwana made these startling revelations in an interview with the Zimbabwe
Independent yesterday focusing on the Anti-Corruption Commission. President
Robert Mugabe recently swore in a nine-member Anti-Corruption Commission to
fight graft, which has stalled foreign direct investment and contributed to
the country’s economic meltdown.

Mangwana said the job came with a lot of challenges, which included threats
to his life. He recalled incidents of gunshots being fired at his house in
Mabelreign.

“The newly appointed commission must have the necessary resources and
passion to deal with corruption,” said Mangwana. “They must try to build a
strong confidence with the public and protect those who reveal corruption.
It should not take long to investigate matters and the commissioners must be
blind to politics and favouritism,” he said.

“There was an exchange of gunfire between my security personnel and some
unknown assailants in 2006. I was at the farm but my children were at home.
I obviously linked that attack to my work in the anti-corruption drive.”

The previous anti-graft team was led by former comptroller and
auditor-general Eric Harid and also included attorney general Johannes
Tomana. Mangwana, who is now the co-chairperson of Copac, said the previous
commission could be applauded for successfully achieving 60% of its
objectives though it faced a lot of challenges.

He said the commission received numerous reports of smuggling of precious
stones and minerals such as copper and ivory into neighbouring countries.
River Ranch diamond company was once investigated for allegedly smuggling
diamonds to South Africa.

Mangwana said: “There was a lot of whistle-blowing that was going on and in
one of the cases we asked the commission to look into allegations that
diamonds from River Ranch were being smuggled into South Africa. These were
just allegations which required intensive investigations.

“There were also extensive investigations on hunting rights, particularly in
areas around the Hwange area.  The way some people who owned Safaris were
operating was allegedly against the law.”

Mangwana said smuggling of copper, including Zesa copper wire, was also an
issue the commission looked into. “There were allegations of rampant
corruption among the magistrates, prosecutors as well as clerks at the High
Court.

As far as magistrates’ cases were concerned, most of the accused magistrates
were in Bindura and Chinhoyi. One incident I am clear of is a   Kadoma
magistrate who was convicted of corruption after he was caught red-handed by
our team,” he said.

Last year at a Joint Judicial-Legal profession colloquium, Anti-Corruption
Commission investigations manager Sukai Tongogara said they had recorded at
least 1% of bribery and corruption among the judges.

Mangwana said lawyers were also involved since most were just as guilty as
their clients. Former Grain Marketing Board acting chief executive Samuel
Muvuti appeared in court on 508 counts of corruption and fraud allegedly
committed while holding public office.

Muvuti faced 507 counts of criminally abusing his office and one count of
fraud. He allegedly instructed the GMB administration manager to sell him
and his friends a total of 124 453 litres of fuel at subsidised prices
ranging between Z$650 and Z$65 000 per litre.  Muvuti was, however,
acquitted by the courts.

Mangwana said investigations against the police were numerous with the force
accused mostly of demanding bribes and refusal to investigate cases
involving their friends and relatives.

Mangwana said the major challenge that the anti-corruption commission also
faced was the lack of financial and material resources. “The commission didn’t
have operating units in all the cities, except for Harare and Bulawayo, and
this hindered investigations. By the time our officers got to certain areas
after a tip off, evidence would have been removed, so there is a need for
the decentralisation of the commission,” he said.


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Stop playing politics with business — Khupe

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:56

Brian Chitemba

DEPUTY Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said the resuscitation of Bulawayo
industries required Matabeleland residents to stop playing politics in
business.

Addressing a KM Financial Solutions CEO Africa roundtable in Bulawayo
yesterday, she said the city’s business community should be proactive and
focus on turning around the fortunes of the collapsing manufacturing sector.

Khupe revealed that about 87 companies had closed shop in the city while
some relocated to Harare leaving more than 20 000 workers jobless. She said
the KM Financial Services’ vision of a US$100 billion economy by 2030 could
be achieved only on condition that Bulawayo was revived as Zimbabwe’s
industrial hub.

“Bulawayo is central to the economic development of this country and hence
its decline spells doom for all,” said Khupe. “I appeal for investment in
Bulawayo to help rebuild the city.”

Khupe  said the inclusive government was committed to the revival of the
economy as evidenced by a number of economic blueprints, such as the 100-Day
Plan, Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme and the Government Works
Programme.

“The success of all economic policy initiatives depends on, amongst other
things, the political environment, hence our continued efforts to bring
lasting peace to Zimbabwe. We cannot afford to bequeath to the coming
generations a legacy of poverty and hence the need for a US$100 billion
economy by 2030,” Khupe said.

Mines minister Obert Mpofu warned Bulawayo councillors against
over-dramatising the shortage of water in the region because this scared
away potential investors.

Participants at the meeting had been unanimous that Matabeleland political
leaders were shying away from the problems bedevilling the region but Mpofu
defended the politicians saying all they could do was to facilitate for
business to operate in a conducive environment.

Mpofu also apprised the captains of industry on the rich Chiadzwa diamond
fields saying the gems had contributed 50% more than several mining
companies had contributed to national Treasury.

Funds from the Chiadzwa fields were used to award civil servants a salary
increase in July. It emerged in July that mining syndicates bled the economy
of more than US$500 million through underhand dealings by state agents, but
Mpofu said the mining sector was growing tremendously.

“We have plans to exploit methane gas and other natural resources to improve
energy supplies as a way of fighting power outages that are negatively
affecting business,” Mpofu said.


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Zanu PF heavyweights close ranks ahead of indaba

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:51

Brian Chitemba

ZANU PF heavyweights in Matabeleland are making frantic efforts to close
ranks ahead of the deeply divided party’s crucial December conference in
Bulawayo. Zanu PF is expected to endorse the ageing President Robert Mugabe
as its candidate for the next election, which the party has been pushing for
the first quarter of 2012 in the hope that Mugabe would still be fit enough
to stand.

Mugabe has explicitly said he wants the elections in March by which time he
expects a new constitution to be in place. Serious divisions have rocked the
former liberation movement in Matabeleland threatening to split the party
and negatively affect preparations for what could turn out to be the most
important conference since Mugabe took over leadership in 1975.

Insiders told the Zimbabwe Independent on Wednesday that politburo, central
committee members and national consultative assembly members from
Matabeleland would meet at the party’s Bulawayo provincial headquarters for
a crisis indaba to try and mend the fissures.

The meeting comes against the background of damaging WikiLeaks revelations
which exposed senior Zanu PF leaders’ hypocrisy. Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial
chairman Isaac Dakamela confirmed the weekend meeting, which is expected to
be attended by ailing Vice-President John Nkomo, Zanu national chairman
Simon Khaya Moyo, Matabeleland South governor Angeline Masuku, Bulawayo
governor and deputy national spokesman Cain Mathema, Zimbabwe Defence
Industries boss retired Colonel Tshinga Dube and politburo members
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Joshua Malinga, Eunice Sandi-Moyo, and Youth Affairs
secretary Absolom Sikhosana.

Sources said Nkomo was expected to read the riot act to party officials
fanning factionalism. This would be Nkomo’s second attempt to address the
feuding factions in as many weeks after several top ranking officials
snubbed a similar gathering addressed by Nkomo and Khaya Moyo last weekend.

Only a handful of senior officials in Matabeleland turned up for the meeting
resulting in its postponement. Dakamela said after tomorrow’s meeting, Zanu
PF national commissar Webster Shamu and his delegation are set to visit the
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds, the venue of the December
conference, before giving the go-ahead to the preparatory committees.

Since the inception of MDC-T, Zanu PF has remained unpopular in the
Matabeleland region in what many believe is as a result of the Gukurahundi
atrocities and gross under-development and perceived systematic
marginalisation.


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Anti-Corruption Commission has mammoth task

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:49

Nqobile Bhebhe

THE newly sworn-in anti-graft watchdog, the Anti-Corruption Commission, has
little time to warm to its new role as its in-tray is packed with corruption
cases that need urgent attention.

The most immediate concern is the alleged abuse of the Constituency
Development Fund by parliamentarians.
However, the docile tag that dogged the previous commission still lingers
and the new commissioners face the daunting challenge  of embarking on
fruitful non-partisan investigations.

Analysts said the commission should establish and claim an independent
identity as a matter of urgency. Since its inception in 2005, the
Anti-Corruption Commission has not registered any strides in fighting graft.

The previous commission headed by former Comptroller and Auditor-General
Eric Harid was rocked by allegations that some commissioners were actually
involved in stifling investigations.

The nine-member commission, which comprises lawyers, a clergyman,
administrators and former senior police officers, has been tasked with
fighting corruption, which has  been partly responsible for the economic
meltdown.

It has to ensure that alleged offenders are prosecuted and necessary costs
are recovered or returned to victims, particularly the state. However, some
analysts believe that the major challenge for the commissioners would be
their capacity to declare their autonomy.

Harare-based analyst Trevor Maisiri said although some of the commissioners
were from civil society and churches, they were not directly nominated by
their representative organisations, but by political party leaders.

“This appointment mechanism is one of the weaknesses in our constitution. It
gives ultra powers to politicians, who themselves also need to come under
investigation and checking mechanisms” said Maisiri.

Among some of the publicly known graft claims that Zimbabweans would be keen
to have solved include the alleged misappropriation of US$1,5 million of
public funds by premier Morgan Tsvangirai, the controversial airport road
construction deal known as the Joshua Nkomo Expressway meant to link the
Harare International Airport and the city, and the unresolved War Victims
Compensation Fund.

Dumisani Nkomo CEO and spokesman of the Matabeleland Civil Society
Consortium, Habakkuk Trust, said there is need for local authorities to be
investigated in view of the continued decline in service delivery yet
municipalities were dolling out huge funds to top management for purchase of
luxury vehicles.

The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is mulling retrenching about 1 000 workers
as a cost-cutting measure, barely a month after management splashed over
US$2 milion on top-of-the-range vehicles for top management.

The council is presently saddled with a US$9,2 million Zesa debt while
service delivery is continuously crumbling. Nkomo said the alleged
fraudulent hiring out of vehicles loaned to legislators by the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe to the Constitution Select Committee (Copac) also called for
investigations and a lifestyle audit for parastatal executives should be
carried out.

President Robert Mugabe has on several occasions said probes into multiple
farm ownership would be instituted and culprits brought to book but nothing
tangible has materialised.

Last week, Mugabe said government would investigate reports of some
beneficiaries of the controversial land reform who are leasing farms back to
former white farmers.

Albert Sikhosana, an independent political analyst, said the new commission’s
task has been made a daunting one by the ineffectiveness of its
predecessors.

Sikhosana said the new commission should instill confidence in the public
and demonstrate resolve in tackling all issues brought to its attention.
“The Harid-led body operations were shrouded in secrecy hence the notion
that it was a toothless bulldog,” said Sikhosana.

“Therefore, the new team should be visible to the public and be proactive
while being wary of individuals with corrupt tendencies attempting to
speedily befriend them for ulterior motives” said Sikhosana.

Anti-corruption crusaders criticised the previous commission for not being
transparent in its line of duty resulting in speculation that it was being
controlled by politically-connected individuals.

The misuse of the CDF is an issue in many constituencies where members of
the public are calling for a probe. US$50 000 was available for each
constituency to spend on improving the lives of people, but a number of
legislators are unable to account for the funds, sparking outrage among
civil society over the apparent misuse of much of the US$10,5 million set
aside for development. Civil activists have called for the arrest of
legislators who abused the funds.

Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga told
parliament last week on Thursday that only 133 MPs had provided returns of
how they used the US$50 000 in their constituencies, and threatened to
expose the rest by naming those refusing to account for the money.

Maisiri said besides the CDF issue, the anti-graft body should also delve
into the currency change from the Zimbabwe dollar to the present multiple
currency era because many Zimbabweans lost huge sums of money.

“Imagine all that money which people lost when their accounts were wiped
out,” said Maisiri. “Some lost their pension and insurance contributions.
That is absolutely a case of some institutions having corruptly benefited
from a currency transition period,” said Maisiri.

In July, the Namibian-based Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa
reported that the Zimbabwean government had failed to combat graft because
investigators were often implicated in many of the cases.

Several senior government officials have been fingered in the looting of the
country’s resources for personal aggrandisement at the expense of the
impoverished masses.

To stamp out corruption, the report suggested that leaders at all levels
should be formally vetted before holding public office. It also called for
adequate funding for the police, the judiciary and anti-corruption bodies to
help make them more effective.


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Mugabe friends supping with the ‘devil’

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:44

Brian Chitemba

WHISTLEBLOWER website WikiLeaks has done it again releasing explosive
information on senior government and military officials gossiping with US
diplomats in a development likely to raise levels of mistrust and suspicion.

Founded by journalist and computer programmer Julius Assange in 2006,
WikiLeaks cables have revealed highly secretive conversations on sensitive
issues.

But the website has also gained much popularity in the last two years after
the leaking of the US Department of State diplomatic cables containing
information sent from US embassies around the world. WikiLeaks lifted a lid
on the extrajudicial killings in Kenya and exposed the dumping of highly
toxic waste on the coast of Ivory Coast.

WikiLeaks has published damaging cables around the globe with Assange
claiming that his website had more classified documents than the rest of the
world press combined and at its peak the website received £85 000 in daily
donations.

But it is the cables’ Zimbabwean revelations that are likely to cause
fissures in political and military circles here. They are likely to have a
Tsunami effect, particularly in Zanu PF where President Robert Mugabe’s
close confidants have been exposed as supping with US diplomats under the
cover of darkness.

According to WikiLeaks, Vice-President Joice Mujuru clandestinely met US
ambassador Charles Ray in December 2009 while Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor Gideon Gono is said to have met former US ambassador to Zimbabwe
James McGee and told him that doctors had revealed that Mugabe was likely to
die of prostate cancer in 2013.

Co-Vice President John Nkomo is also quoted in the cables saying the
problems bedevilling Zimbabwe could only be solved if Mugabe leaves the
political landscape while politburo member Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the US
embassy the party was quietly discussing Mugabe’s exit as early as 2002.

If the cables are an accurate record of the conversations the named
officials had with US diplomats, then it would seem Zanu PF officials want
the 87-year-old Mugabe to go but no one has the guts to tell him directly.

The cables have also exposed the hypocrisy in Zanu PF because party
officials denounce the US in public yet they wine and dine with their
supposed “enemy” under the cover of darkness.

In the MDC-T, national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa and Justice and
Legal Affairs deputy minister Obert Gutu reportedly uttered denigrating
statements about their leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whom they described as
indecisive and inconsistent.

On the other hand, Brigadier-General Herbert Chingono, the Inspector General
of the Zimbabwe National Army and Major General Fidelis Satuku, the ZDF
Director General for Policy and Personnel, attacked Zimbabwe Defence Forces
commander General Constantine Chiwenga as a “political general with little
practical military experience or expertise”.

The cables also revealed that there is serious mistrust at the three levels
of party, government and military. What the cables have thus far shown is
the number of gossipers occupying senior government, military and political
party positions.

All officials quoted in the WikiLeaks cables are denying making such remarks
but none have threatened to take any action against the US embassy like they
usually do when dealing with the privately-owned media in the country. Any
such litigation would anyway fail as diplomats enjoy immunity.

Renowned political scientist Professor Eldred Masunungure said the dramatic
revelation of the sensitive dealings of top government and military
officials was a reminder of the 1975 era when Zanu PF almost collapsed due
to a reign of terror which saw the mysterious deaths of leaders such as
Hebert Chitepo and Josiah Tongogara.

Masunungure said the impact of the revelations showed that critical issues
discussed in the politburo, the MDC-T’s standing committee, and cabinet were
not deliberated in good faith.

“Mugabe is obviously highly sceptical of his lieutenants,” said Masunungure.
“He cannot trust anyone and these WikiLeaks revelations make working
relations, be it in government or military, dysfunctional.”

Musunungure said the WikiLeaks are also likely to strengthen both Mugabe and
Tsvangirai’s hands since those quoted in the cables may want to exonerate
themselves by demonstrating their loyalty.

Masunungure said the revelations could damage the Mujuru faction and give
advantage to the Mnangagwa camp which would accuse Vice-President Mujuru of
secretly enjoying the company of US diplomats, who are known for their vocal
opposition to Zanu PF.

Another political observer, Chamu Mutasa, dismissed Gono and other named
senior officials’ attempts to deny ever having met the diplomats saying the
diplomats could not have possibly created fiction.

“If the officials are denying and trying to wriggle out of this mess, no one
can ever take them seriously because we know the meetings have dates and
times as well as locations,” said Mutasa.

Zanu PF has said the cables were mere US propaganda and would not divide the
party. Last year, Attorney-General Johannes Tomana set up a committee to
investigate Tsvangirai over briefings he made to US diplomats exposed by
WikiLeaks.

State media and officials were all clamouring for Tsvangirai to be charged
with treason after it emerged that he had told US diplomats that the MDC-T
was not genuine in calling for the removal of sanctions. It would be
interesting to see what effect the latest cables would have on political
parties, the government and military.


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Homelink writes-off US$4,3m property

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 19:32
HOMELINK Private Ltd has written off property worth US$4,3 million that the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe bought for members of the judiciary, a KPMG
valuation report says. The report shows that the amount written off on
property comprised 43 houses in Westgate and Prospect which the RBZ bought
from Homelink in 2008 for judges. “The balance sheet presented as at
September 30 2009 accounted for the write offs on the basis that the RBZ
does not have the capacity to pay for the houses,” the report said. Homelink
has total debtors of US$20,3 million but has a high rate of default of 70%.
KPMG estimated the debts to be valued at US$6,9 million after making a
provision for default. The company may not be in a position to recover from
its debtors because of the flaws in the company’s IT system and geographical
location of the debtors who are mainly expatriates. ”The debtors figure
maybe over or understated because the IT system of Homelink has flaws and
cannot reverse errors. We understand that a third party debtor’s
confirmation exercise has been performed at least four times without success
due to the debtors being located overseas,” further revealed KPGM in the
report. Homelink has contingencies worth US$596 438 being outstanding
project payments, CBZ bank loan repayments, Costain Construction claim,
Zimra obligations and rental arrears. Costain Group Plc is claiming a loss
of value for payment made in Zimbabwean dollars in 2008 worth US$93 434. In
September 2009, Homelink arranged a three-month revolving loan facility of
US$250 000 to finance working capital expenditure from CBZ Bank, and the
amount plus interest of US$260 649 is still outstanding. KPMG also
highlighted that Homelink has bank balances with Barclays Bank UK worth
US$69 391 and £50 708 which were closed by the bank for no reason in October
2009. “Management are making efforts to recover the said amounts,” KPMG
indicated. The RBZ is currently in the process of disposing of Homelink
Private Ltd. KPMG says the company is valued between US$6,7 million based on
a discounted free cash flows and US$9,8 million based on an adjusted net
asset value as at September 30 2009. “The range of values that Homelink may
expect to receive in the event of a sale of 100% of the shares may be
between US$6,7 million and US$9,8 million,” KPMG said. The RBZ has already
received bids for Homelink and it is widely believed that valuations made by
KPMG would be used to consider the taker. To date, the results of the tender
have not been released by the central bank.Homelink was incorporated in
February 2005 as a wholly owned RBZ subsidiary mainly as a source of foreign
currency from Zimbabweans living in the diaspora. Homelink concentrated on
mortgage provision and housing development from foreign currency remittances
from expatriates. In its portfolio of properties, 87% of inventory accounted
for housing stands valued at US$2,2 million as at September 30 2009. This
includes 150 stands in Parklands Bulawayo, 95 stands in Norton, 24 stands in
Masvingo, 16 stands in Tynwald, Mutare with 9 stands and Kadoma 8 stands.
The bulk of these are unserviced. –– Staff Writer.


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‘MDC at 12: We see a new Zimbabwe’

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:28

By Nelson Chamisa

THE pursuit of happiness, victory and freedom is the character of all
struggles, the people of Zimbabwe’s struggle included.  On September 10
(tomorrow) the people’s great party, the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), celebrates 12 years of survival, resilience, a happy life, single
mind and good health at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare.

All roads will lead to Gwanzura to celebrate the party’s birthday which
shall be characterised by music, dance and speeches from the leadership and
the civic partners.

The National Working People’s Convention was held in Harare on February
26-28 1999. It gathered patriotic people from all walks of life in Zimbabwe
to identify problems bedevilling the nation and to sculpture and fashion a
way out, locating exit points to the crisis gripping our country.

This epoch-making gathering was host to over 40 civic organisations which
included trade unions, students, women, the disabled, the unemployed,
professionals, academics, business people, residents associations, human
rights watchdogs, war veterans, peasants and informal traders. Forty percent
of the participants were women.

The people’s party of excellence — the MDC — was born at the post-convention
meeting held in Harare from May 7-9 1999. The MDC was then launched before a
bumper crowd of over 20 000 at Rufaro Stadium on September 11 1999.

The MDC is a united and indomitable front of all peace-loving Zimbabweans
representing various interests and organisations coming together to pursue
common objectives and principles that advance the interest of our
motherland, Zimbabwe. A strong, democratic, popularly driven and organised
party to deliver on the mandate of uniting all Zimbabweans for real
political change locates the ancestry of this evergreen party.

The MDC stands for government decisions and policies that are in the
interests of the people, from whom sovereignty and legitimacy is derived.
The fight for democratisation of all institutions and processes defines the
character of this great and glorious people’s movement.

The MDC stands for the supremacy of the nation and its people, and rejects
systems that prioritise the defence of leadership interests at the expense
of the defence of the people’s interests.

It advances the participation of citizens and civil society in nation
building through organs of participatory democracy that complement the
existing forms of representative democracy within parliament and executive.

Freedom of expression and after expression are the lifeblood of the society
we seek to build. We believe in free-running conversations on the Zimbabwe
we want to inspire fresh departures, changing of the rules of engagement and
operating values.

The MDC signifies development policies that invest and develop the
capabilities and opportunities of all Zimbabweans, their national resources
and infrastructure towards real sustainable long-term growth. Our key goal
is to govern differently and democratically.

Our principal task is to keep the hope and deliver real change to the
peaceful and peace-loving people of Zimbabwe. Through our yet to be
published strategic, New Zimbabwe Blueprint, Vision 2030, our vision is to
build a country and people of a global leadership position in all the
various fields of endeavour—in business, education, health, tourism,
technology and sport.

Yes, an unbeatable national team in soccer, cricket to mention but a few! It
is in the context of this background that the MDC will celebrate 12 years of
people’s struggles in pursuit of real change at Gwanzura stadium. While
celebrating the journey so far traveled, we are not unmindful of the
leadership burden we carry to complete the struggle as we finish the last
and final mile to a New Zimbabwe.

We are also fully aware that if you can’t carry the cross you can’t lift the
crown. The last mile is full of snares, hurdles and replete with landmines
of risks and dangers to life. We are ready for the mission. Peace never
fears any weapon, we are under heavenly protection.

The journey so covered has been excruciatingly painful. Bodies were harmed
and maimed, ailments incurred, property destroyed, tears shed, sweat oozed
and blood lost in the search for a lasting solution to the problems bleeding
our beautiful country.

We lost great comrades, young and old, like  Gibson Sibanda, Isaac  Matongo,
Learnmore Jongwe,Tonderai Ndira, Tichaona Chiminya, Talent Mabika,Getrude
Mthombeni — to mention but a few. The movement lost some of the finest and
most gifted sons and daughters our land has ever known.

We dare not disappoint these beloved departed cadres. Indeed it has been a
dozen years of joy and sorrow, pain and gain, ups and downs, denied
victories, deprived wins and stolen successes.

The people and party were cheated in 2002 but recovered, robbed in 2005 but
survived and divided in October but renewed and strengthened with the 2006
Congress to deliver a sucker punch to Zanu PF in March 2008. We are bigger,
better, stronger and wiser.

A helicopter assessment and survey of our journey gives testimony to the
fact that we have together built a party of excellence, choice and a party
people are proud of. A 21st century party with grassroots energy and
national footprint — the MDC is ubiquitously present in almost every home,
village, street, office and farm within the land between Zambezi and
Limpopo. Internationally, the mere mention of the name Zimbabwe invites the
thought of the name MDC to the people’s mind.

Our struggle is now a global struggle to stop  violence and decay to save
Zimbabwe.  Thanks to the able and wise stewardship in the MDC cockpit— the
people’s president, Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai and the  leadership at all
levels.

The story is incomplete without the due mention and acknowledgement of the
courage, tenacity and resilience of the people of Zimbabwe which have been
major ingredients in the building of the foundation and walls of the people’s
party of excellence. MDC is a team winning together.

The celebration of 12 years of courage, hope and sacrifice is a significant
milestone in our journey to the great promise of a New Zimbabwe. The number
12 has a meaning, has great symbolism and is pregnant with meaning from the
context of the bible and arena of governance. Twelve symbolises a turning
point.

From  literature and established wisdom, the number 12 signifies authority,
strength, conviction, absoluteness and finality. The struggle for real
change is entering its final phase.

The MDC  has demonstrated its strength through the resilience of the people
by relegating Zanu PF to a second best position in the March 2008 harmonised
election. The beating, harassment and embarrassment of Tsvangirai, other MDC
leaders, party members and members of the civic society, clearly stand as
statements and testaments to the conviction of the actors in the struggle
for real change in Zimbabwe.

At 12, we make the clarion call to all Zimbabweans 18 years and above to
take charge of our collective destiny by doing something during our
life-time. The nation perishes when good citizens do nothing when the bad
ones are in charge of the affairs of men. One of the penalties for refusing
to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your
inferiors.

    Nelson Chamisa is the organising secretary of the MDC-T and a cabinet
minister.


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Zim keeps landing on wrong side of history

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:23

THERE must have been a wry chuckle in Brussels with the news that Zimbabwe
had given the EU two weeks to furnish it with reasons for “clandestinely”
imposing “illegal” sanctions on Zimbabwe or face litigation before the
European Court of Justice.

“The EU and its allies imposed sanctions on the Zanu PF government when it
implemented agrarian reforms to redress colonial land imbalances,” the
Herald told us.

Its front-page story was headed: “Sanctions: EU gets 2-week ultimatum”. It
is difficult to know which lie will cause the most derision in Brussels. The
EU’s common position on Zimbabwe was the product of consensus among EU
states. There was no dissent and the EU’s common position was renewed every
year in February.

The member states are obviously familiar with the circumstances in which
sanctions were imposed on what was widely regarded as a rogue state. They
were the direct product of political violence and electoral manipulation,
not land reform as the Zimbabwe authorities dishonestly pretend.

There was nothing “illegal” or “clandestine” about the sanctions. They were
fully publicised and linked to the expulsion of EU elections supervisor
Pierre Schori in 2002.

The government has communicated its intention to Greece which is currently
the president of the EU. Let’s hope it gets the response it deserves.  The
Zimbabwe authorities have been in denial about their shocking record of
violence and abduction over the years. Anybody with doubts abut violence and
torture should consult Jestina Mukoko.

What we find particularly interesting is that government, which is
constantly bellyaching about the need for sovereignty, seeks to deny to the
27 EU states the sovereign right to adopt policies of their own including
sanctions against states that are seen as undeserving of international
support because of their human rights violations. Zanu PF is currently still
refusing to implement key provisions of the GPA. Perhaps they think
political recalcitrance is a good way to promote engagement!

Remarks  by Libya’s rebel ambassador to the UK, made during a discussion
programme on Japanese TV two weeks ago, confirmed something most observers
already knew. The Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, used to travel to
African states carrying large suitcases of cash which was generously
distributed to the leaders receiving him.

This perhaps explains why the African Union is having difficulty recognising
the rebel government.  The ambassador was responding to the AU’s decision to
withhold recognition made at a recent summit in Addis Ababa. South Africa’s
Jacob Zuma was among those leaders who opposed recognition.

The ambassador denounced African leaders who preferred to listen to their
regional colleagues rather than the will of the Libyan people. Anybody
watching TV over the past few weeks will know that Col Gaddafi is a brutal
tyrant hated by the Libyan people.

The murder of his opponents speaks volumes for the nature of his regime. But
Africa’s leaders would prefer to maintain their loyalty to their one-time
sponsor rather than listen to the cries of Libyans for liberty.

It is therefore good to hear that the new Libyan government will favour
their friends who have supported their struggle and not the self-serving
Brics countries –– Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. They could
lose out on lucrative oil deals.

‘Gaddafi’s fall will reopen the taps to Africa’s largest oil reserves and
give new players such as Qatar’s national oil company the chance to compete
with established European and US oil companies,” Business Day reported.

“We don’t have problems with Western countries like the Italians, French and
UK,” Libya’s Arabian Gulf Oil spokesman, Abdeljaliel Mayouf., said. “But we
may have issues with Russia, China and Brazil.”

Brics countries either abstained or voted against sanctions at the UN.
Russia has now switched sides and the Libyan ambassador to Moscow has
remained at his post with the consent of the Russian government. When the
Libyan ambassador to Harare tried to do the same thing he was given 72 hours
to leave by the Zimbabwean authorities who have remained loyal to the tyrant
of Tripoli.

Zimbabwe keeps landing on the wrong side of history with its warped
Ceausescu-era foreign policy. Another predictable hold-out is Cuba. The
Cuban regime, like its Zimbabwean counterpart, insists on pretending that
Libya is the victim of Western aggression.  I

t is obvious the people of Cuba don’t have access to cable TV. If they did,
they would be able to see the jubilation in Tripoli following its fall to
the rebels. They would also be able to see the luxury in which the Gaddafi
family lived and their cruelty towards their victims.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are still living in the ‘60s. They believe in the
redundant policy of nationalist solidarity regardless of misrule. They are
deliberately ignoring the solidarity which Africa should be expressing
towards the people of Libya. South Africa is also out of step and, like the
Zanu PF regime in Zimbabwe, will go on getting it wrong on foreign policy
just as it will on its domestic policies.

The antics of Julius Malema is the price Zuma pays for not acting earlier
and decisively. Instead of doing the right thing by recognising the new
government in Libya, Zuma and his ministers dither, eternally grateful to
Gaddafi who no doubt handed over suitcases to the ANC in the 1980s. They
have also dithered over Malema hoping the problem will go away.

Of course it won’t, it will just get worse. Nationalising the mines is a
recipe for disaster which both South Africa and Zimbabwe will be condemned
to share. Zambia has spelt out the cost of mines nationalisation but none of
our –– or South Africa’s –– demagogues are listening.

To what extent are South Africa and Zimbabwe helping the people of Libya by
protecting Gaddafi from the consequences of his misrule? ‘THERE was a time
when Lindiwe Zulu, a member of President Zuma’s facilitation team on
Zimbabwe, had almost outgrown his (sic) boss to become the ‘facilitator’ to
the Global Political Agreement,” writes Munyaradzi Huni in the Sunday Mail.

“Zulu became so excited and so carried away that she made reckless and
inflammatory statements regarding succession in Zimbabwe,” Huni claims in an
article entitled “Lindiwe Zulu cut to size”.

Huni rambles on about the Zanu PF officials who had criticised Zulu for
being a “reckless willing friend of Zanu PF’s enemies”. “Still, poor Zulu
thought she was untouchable,” Huni muses, “but those familiar with
international relations knew that the ‘little girl’s wings were about to be
clipped’ in a decisive way that would surprise even President Zuma who
seemed hesitant to whip her into line.”

Muckraker was intrigued by the fictitious clipping of Zulu’s wings.  “At its
31st Ordinary Summit of Sadc Heads of State and Government in Luanda,
Angola, last month, Sadc decided to silence Zulu by declaring that President
Zuma should take full charge of the mediation efforts,” Huni told us, having
been fed this fanciful tale by one of the main obstacles to GPA fulfilment.
“It indeed was a deflating blow to the confused Zulu who seemed not to know
what had hit her. Since Angola there has been a deafening silence from the
blabbermouth.”

We thought the “deflating blow” was felt by President Robert Mugabe and his
cohorts after the summit reaffirmed President Jacob Zuma as facilitator
despite the fact that he was now Sadc Troika chair of the Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security. This was notwithstanding spirited attempts by Zanu PF
hardliners to have Zuma removed from the facilitator’s role.

What about the public rebuke Mugabe received by long-time ally, Angolan
strongman and new Sadc chairperson, José Eduardo dos Santos? “We are taking
up the issues in Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the DRC,” Dos Santos said.
“Countries need to put in place democratic mechanisms and understand that
power can (only) be held through free and fair elections,” he said.

How does Huni explain Mugabe’s decision to shift elections to next year when
he has spent the whole of this year laying down the law on the importance of
holding elections in 2011? Did the Mutare conference not take place? Was it
a figment of our imagination?

Apologists are sometimes put in a fix by having to explain the somersaults
of their sponsors.  What about the futile attempt last year to investigate
Morgan Tsvangirai’s “treachery” when just a few months later WikiLinks
exposes overeager “blabbermouths” beseeching the US embassy to hear their
views on how Mugabe can be removed!

We are always baffled by how the state media as well as police suffer from
amnesia whenever Zanu PF orchestrates violence. This is in stark contrast to
the treatment of the MDC-T, which they are quick to accuse, and in the case
of the police arrest, at the drop of a hat.

“The official opening of the Fourth Session of the Seventh Parliament was on
Tuesday marred by violence as Zanu-PF and MDC-T supporters clashed,” the
Herald said on Wednesday.

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau, confirmed the
incident saying: “I can confirm that some youths attacked each other during
the ceremony.”

Sabau, however, said no reports were made and police did not arrest anyone
linked to the skirmishes. NewsDay reports that suspected Zanu PF youths
assaulted a police officer, a freelance journalist and scores of people they
suspected of being MDC sympathisers. The marauding youths chanted Zanu PF
campaign jingles and denigrated Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Suddenly they are just “youths” in Sabau’s eyes when he is quick to label
them if they are from a different party. If MDC-T youths were involved we
would probably have gotten the usual sound bite of “we will leave no stone
unturned until we bring those culprits to book”.

At least it was impossible to airbrush the injuries done to Glen View Ward
30 councillor Victor Chifodya (MDC-T) who was attacked by “hooligans”,
according to the Herald.

And which party might those “hooligans” be affiliated to? The Herald thought
it best to let readers reach their own conclusions! Meanwhile, we were
intrigued by an article in the new-look Herald headed “Zim: the greatest
transfer of property in Southern Africa”.

We rushed to read the article thinking it was an Obert Mpofu story. But it
turned out to be a lengthy piece on land by somebody called Paul T Shipale
who wants readers to know that his views “do not necessarily represent the
views of my employer (whoever that may be) nor am I paid to write them.”

A reader sent in this little story which he thought would appeal to
Muckraker readers. A man dies and goes to hell. There he finds that there is
a different hell for each country and decides he’ll pick the least painful
to spend his eternity.

He goes to the German hell and asks: “What do they do here?” He is told:
“First they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you on a
bed of nails for another hour. Then the German devil comes in and whips you
for the rest of the day.”

The man does not like the sound of that at all so he moves on. He checks out
the US hell as well as the Russian hell and many more. He discovers that
they are all similar to the German hell. Then he comes to the Zimbabwean
hell and finds that there is a long queue of people waiting to get in.
Amazed, he asks,“What do they do here?”

He is told: “First they put you in an electric chair for an hour, then they
lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. The Zlmbabwean devil comes in
and whips you for the rest of theday.”

“But that is exactly the same as all the other hells, why are there so many
people waiting to get in?” asks the man. A concerned fellow calls him aside
and says: “Because there is never any electricity so the electric chair
doesn’t work. The nails were paid for but were never supplied by the
contractor so the bed is comfortable to sleep on.

“And the Zlmbabwean  devil used to be a civil servant, so he comes in, signs
his time sheet and goes back home for other business!”
The message? It pays to be a Zimbabwean.


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Government must make economy fly

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:14

THE primary responsibility of a government is to do anything and everything
it is able to as will maximise the wellbeing and interests of the populace
that it represents. To that end, one of foremost endeavours must be to
ensure the existence of a virile, stable and growth economy.

Achieving such an economy requires diverse policies and actions, inclusive
of the creation and maintenance of a secure and conducive environment, and
ready access to all essential resources necessary for constructive and
effective economic activity.

The Zimbabwe government’s failure to assure these prerequisites for a robust
economy has been almost continuous since Independence in general, and since
the millennium in particular.  Instead of assuring investment security, it
has progressively and increasingly rendered almost all investment insecure.

It has condoned, and often facilitated, expropriation of investments (often
disguising that expropriation as lawful).  Concurrently it is tacitly
enabling activist seizure of properties and enterprises.

Its taxation and other fiscal and monetary policies have almost consistently
been investment deterrents. It has steadfastly alienated international
goodwill resulting in minimal developmental aid, a near total absence of
essential lines of credit, and creation of barriers to supplier funding
support.

Compounding these and other innumerable other destructive,
politically-driven acts of omission and commission, government has
steadfastly persisted in its entrenched ownership of essential service
providers. These include the only purveyors of the energy supplies essential
for the operations of commerce and industry, mining and agriculture, the key
rail transport provider, landline-based telecommunications and many others.

Its determined retention of absolute ownership and control of these and
other entities has not been accompanied by provision of financial and other
resources essential to their operational viability.  Concurrently, in most
instances, government has not ensured that those state-owned enterprises
have ongoing access to necessary managerial and technical expertise.

Almost without exception, the Zimbabwean parastatals are insolvent and
unable to fund adequately their day-to-day operating costs, let alone
service their huge accumulated debts.  Admittedly for some, such as the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa), their grievous fiscal
illiquidity is exacerbated by the magnitude of overdue settlement of
indebtedness of the population.

The tardiness in public settlement of debts to service providers is, in the
main, not attributable to deliberate intent to default in making timeous
payments, but is occasioned by inability to pay as a direct consequence of
the debilitated economy.

However, the far greater cause of the parastatals’ impecunity is the endless
failure of Zimbabwe’s successive governments to capitalise the enterprises
adequately.  No business can operate viably and successfully if it does not
have essential core capital.

No business can function effectively if its key source of funding has to be
by way of borrowings. On the one hand, loan funding is generally scarcely
available if the borrower is under-capitalised and, on the other hand, the
servicing of the borrowings, including the financing of attendant interest
charges, intensifies the demands upon cash and impairs the profitability of
operations. But government has been steadfastly and determinedly oblivious
to this fundamental facet of commercial undertaking.

Although Zimbabwe’s parastatals are struggling to operate in their
appallingly constrained financial circumstances (and which circumstances
also constrain their retention of skilled personnel, maintenance of their
infrastructures, and accessing and implementing technical upgrades), amongst
the most embattled and beleaguered state enterprises is Air Zimbabwe.

The national airline is to all intents and purposes defunct and moribund,
notwithstanding the endless and valiant endeavours of its management.  The
hard fact is that one cannot make bread without dough, and Air Zimbabwe is
devoid of any capital resources, other than a few obsolete, or
near-obsolete, aircraft and other aged equipment.

It is unable to pay salaries and wages, international landing and allied
fees, or to purchase essential operating inputs such as aviation fuel. For
more than six weeks the airline has been non-operational, and for several
previous months it was only able to provide spasmodic air services, it
recurrently having had to cancel scheduled flights.

It is indebted to its pilots, crews, and other staff for many months of
salary.  Understandably, but counterproductively, the pilots resorted to
strike action which is ongoing and further crippling the airline to such an
extent that all must ponder whether it will ever recover.  The downstream
economic consequences are horrific, severely prejudicing the economy as a
whole, and hence the populace.

Zimbabwe has an immense tourism resource, which millions of the world’s
tourists crave.  The splendour of  Victoria Falls, the grandeur of  the
Matopos, the mystic of Great Zimbabwe and the Khami Ruins, the astounding
wild life of Hwange National Park, Mutasadona, Gonarezhou and elsewhere, and
the beauty of Lake Kariba, Nyanga, Bvumba and Chimanimani are but few of
Zimbabwe’s array of unique tourist attractions.  But, without consistently
reliable air services, the tourist has no intent to patronise Zimbabwe.

It is far from surprising, albeit tragic and incomprehensible, that in the
WEF Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011, Zimbabwe fails to rank in
the top 10 African countries (ranked by tourism competitiveness).

Africa’s top 10 are, in ranking sequence, Tunisia, South Africa, Egypt,
Morocco, Namibia, Botswana, The Gambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Senegal.  Zimbabwe
does not figure in Africa’s key tourist destinations, and hence does not
enjoy the economic earnings, employment creation, fiscal inflows and other
huge economic benefits which it could, were it able to satisfy tourist
requirements.

In like manner, business in general is hard hit by the lack of air services.
Businessmen from Harare and Bulawayo have to expend at least 36 hours to
undertake business in the city in which they are not based because of
recourse to road travel, as distinct from previously requiring only 12
hours.  They are similarly constrained in engaging in business beyond
Zimbabwe’s borders, unless they use the services of non-Zimbabwe airlines
(who are currently exploiting the absence of Air Zimbabwe competition by
recurrently implementing increases in fares).

The tragedy is that, for many years, there were numerous international
airlines willing to acquire equity in Air Zimbabwe, but government
steadfastly rebuffed all their overtures, being determinedly opposed to even
partial privatisation.

Now, with the national airline virtually bankrupt, none are interested.
Equally tragic is the endless failure of government to grant operational
licences to other would-be operators on intercity routes.  (One such
operator has not yet received a response to a licence application submitted
to government almost 9 months ago!)

It is almost incomprehensible that government does nothing to address
Zimbabwe’s air travel needs, which are one of the many essential elements of
economic recovery and wellbeing.  Despite the magnitude of the state’s
deficit, Finance minister Tendai Biti should assume all Air Zimbabwe’s debt,
funding it by cutback of many non-essential expenditures, whereafter
government should very vigorously pursue the airline’s partial or total
privatisation.  Concurrently, other operators should now be rapidly
licenced.  It is time (nay, it’s overdue) for government to make it fly!


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Libyan debacle exposes archaic foreign policy

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:11

Paidamoyo Muzulu

ZIMBABWE’S rushed deportation of the Libyan ambassador and his officials
after they defected to the National Transitional Council (NTC) following the
fall of Muammar Gaddafi raises questions about the country’s foreign policy.

The decision, according to analysts, exposed the country’s archaic foreign
policy which seemingly swims against the tide whenever faced with any
unfolding political crisis on the continent.

Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi defended Zimbabwe’s position
on deporting Ambassador Taher Elmagrahi arguing that the country did not
recognise the NTC. The EU, the US and the Arab League have all recognised
the NTC in addition to nearly 20 African states.

The NTC’s legitimacy was further entrenched last week when France hosted a
Libya conference to look into financing the reconstruction of the North
African country after Gaddafi’s fall. Gaddafi was finally forced into hiding
after six months of fierce fighting between the NTC liberation forces with
the backing of Nato fire power.

Political analysts said Zimbabwe’s duplicity over Libya is exposed when one
looks at how the country readily recognised and defended the rebel forces of
Laurent Kabila when they ousted Mobutu Sese Seko.

In the DRC, as in Libya, people rose up and took up arms and waged a war to
drive out their tyrannical leader. The rebels were supported by foreign
powers in both cases.

The analysts said Zimbabwe’s stance on Libya could have been swayed by the
“Brother Leader”’s close relations with President Robert Mugabe and his
personal investments in the country over the last decade. Gaddafi and Mugabe
share their love of fiery rhetoric against the US and EU for their
“imperialist attitude”.

A close analysis of Zimbabwe’s foreign policy shows that the country has
more often been found on the wrong side of history. Prior to Gaddafi fleeing
Tripoli, Zimbabwe had also stood by Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo and Kenya’s
Mwai Kibaki even when they had overwhelmingly lost elections.

Zimbabwe also infamously stood by former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein and
backed Iran’s stance on nuclear power. Deputy premier Arthur Mutambara last
week defended Zimbabwe’s position in parliament saying its decision was
informed by Sadc and the AU.

“We are going to be guided by Sadc, the AU and our own national interest and
conscience, then we will make a decision,” said Mutambara. “At the moment
the position is that we have not recognised the NTC rightly or wrongly,”
Mutambara said.

Mutambara’s response, analysts said, belies Zimbabwe’s reasoning in
supporting tyrants and dictatorship on the continent by saying it conforms
to regional and continental decisions. The AU has established a well defined
trend in making decisions on political situations in its member states.

More often than not the AU claims that it takes its cue from regional blocs.
In the past, the AU has taken decisions that seem to support incumbent
regimes giving rise to credence that it is an old boys’ club.

Political crises in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast and now Libya stand as
testimony to these claims. In all instances the AU called for the creation
of governments of national unity. Interestingly, the AU acted against its
own policy of letting regional blocs take the lead by refusing to recognise
Alassane Quattara even when Ecowas had affirmed him as the legitimate Ivory
Coast leader.

The AU has of late been playing second fiddle to the EU and the US. This
goes without say that the AU’s position on governments of national unity
triumphed in Kenya and Zimbabwe though with varying success rates.

The recent AU’s reaffirmation that it did not recognise the NTC in Libya is
becoming hollower by the day as more individual African countries are acting
otherwise. Botswana became the latest state to join the growing bandwagon of
African states recognising the NTC last week.

Crisis Coalition Zimbabwe regional spokesperson Dewa Mavhinga said Zimbabwe
was refusing to acknowledge the obvious on the Libyan crisis.
“Certainly Zimbabwe is swimming against the tide by deporting the Libyan
ambassador for acknowledging the obvious, that the NTC, and not Gaddafi, is
now in control of Libya,” Mavhinga said.

Mavhinga said Zimbabwe’s position was based on personal relationships with
Gaddafi than pure political considerations.
“The difference is that Zimbabwe, Zanu PF in particular, has strong
political and economic ties with Gaddafi and therefore stands with him till
the very end. It is characteristic of dictators to fail to read the writing
on the wall,” Mavhinga added.

Political analyst Charles Mangongera agreed with Mavhinga that Zimbabwe had
dismally failed to  read the political developments in Libya when it made
the decision to expel the Libyan envoy.

“The decision was taken for political expediency and to maintain the
relationships that were there in the past instead of joining the rest of the
progressive world in welcoming the new dispensation,” Mangongera said.

The Libyan crisis had presented the country with an opportunity to correct
its battered foreign policy, but the bungling politicians continued with
their descent into abyss.

It’s high time Zimbabwe stopped and had a relook at its foreign policy to
align it with realities in geopolitics, the analysts said. The analysts
added that the country’s foreign policy should be shared and supported by
the majority of its people and the various constituencies of its political
parties.


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Polling station-based voters’ roll: Opportunities and risks

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:02

By Zesn

ONE of the major features of the proposed electoral reforms is the possible
introduction of a localised voting system which will be conducted using
polling station-based voters’ rolls. This means a voter will only vote at
the polling-station at which his or her name appears on the voters’ roll.
This is significantly different from the present system whereby voters can
vote at any polling station within the ward.

These changes will, however, only come into effect if the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission is satisfied that all polling-station voters’ rolls have been
adequately prepared. Given the imminence of the constitutional referendum,
it is highly unlikely that this system will be used in that plebiscite.

Supporters of the polling station-based voters’ roll argue that it will
prevent instances that have occurred in past elections when voters from
others areas have been moved to other areas in a bid to bolster the fortunes
of a particular party’s candidate in that area. If a voter can only vote at
a polling station where their name is registered on the voters’ roll, it
will mean those who are brought into the area to artificially inflate
support for a particular party or candidate will be prevented from voting at
that polling station.

Supporters of this system also argue that it will prevent double-voting
whereby a voter can move from one polling-station to another within the same
ward in order to vote more than once in the same election.

For these reasons, a polling station-based voters’ roll seems to be a
plausible move that would add credibility and transparency to the voting
system. This is a theoretical proposition, however, which must be measured
in the context of the realities of politics and voting in Zimbabwe. It is
therefore important to consider the risks inherent in this system.

The first risk is that such a system might make it easier to use the tactic
of pre-election displacement of voters from the areas where their specific
polling station is located.

If a person can only vote at a specified polling station, the easy way to
ensure they do not vote is to displace them or otherwise prevent them from
reaching that polling station. If displaced in advance of an election, it
may be proposed that such voters should be able to use the facility of
postal voting.

The problem however is that the facility of postal voting is restricted to
persons who are outside the country on government business. Zesn recommends
relaxation of postal voting rules, so that the facility is more widely
available to persons who cannot for any reason be at the polling station on
voting day. This will become more important if the polling station based
voters’ roll is used.

The second risk is that a polling station-based voters’ roll system
increases opportunities for post-election retribution. In the past, voters
have been targeted for punishment for voting for the wrong party or
candidate by losing contestants.

One approach was to target constituencies where a contestant would have
lost —  that gave rise to suspicions that the population in the constituency
had voted “wrongly” in that they would have voted for the opponent. Acts of
violence have been recorded in post-election periods.

Now, the risk is that with a more localised and specific polling-station
based voters’ roll, it would be even easier to identify voting patterns at
small local levels. It would be easy to see which villages or suburbs voted
for what candidate and therefore make the voters easy targets for
post-election retribution, ie punishment for having voted wrongly.

These negatives must be weighed against the positives of the polling
station-based voters’ roll. What makes sense in theory might not be the
right thing in practice. The first question to be asked is: do the
identified risks exist in the present system?

They do, which is why there has been pre-election and post-election violence
in the past. The second question may be: do the risks increase under the
polling station-based voters’ roll? It seems that they do escalate given the
localised character of the polling station-based voters’ roll. But there is
a third question, which is, would the opportunities for “bussing in” voters
and double-voting be reduced under the polling station based-voters’ roll?
The answer seems to be that those opportunities would be reduced.

If therefore the system of preventing election violence and intimidation
discussed last week is effective, it would seem that the benefits of polling
station-based voters’ roll outweigh the negatives. However, this is an
assessment that needs to be made seriously and voters must give their
informed opinions based on experience.

A further noteworthy point on the voters’ roll is that relatives of deceased
or absent voters now have a clear avenue to remove their names from the
voters roll, which would help to increase the currency of the voters’ roll
at any given time. We recommend however that people be given incentives to
ensure they take initiatives to have their deceased relatives removed from
the voters’ roll.

It is understood that Mozambique embarked on a campaign to update the
register by giving incentives in the form of state-assisted burials where
relatives would have informed the electoral authorities.

The authority responsible for the registration of deaths should also be
compelled by law to pass on information on deaths to the ZEC for purposes of
removing names from the voters’ roll. As a long term measure this is likely
to be more sustainable and effective as long as information is passed on
efficiently. There is the advantage that people are already compelled by law
to register deaths of their relatives before burial so there will be no
added obligation on the part of the voters.

The biggest shortcoming of the proposals is that the ZEC still does not have
sole and exclusive ownership and control of the voters’ roll. This is still
shared with the Registrar General’s office.

The office does not have a good record in keeping a clean, accurate and
up-to-date voters’ roll. This risks tainting the record of the ZEC. There is
no reasonable justification as to why the Registrar General’s office should
be involved in compiling the voters’ roll. The ZEC was created specifically
to take up the role of chief elections body and is constitutionally mandated
to manage the conduct of elections.

The creation of a voters’ roll is an essential part of the electoral
processes. As the body responsible for elections it should be given due
recognition by taking up the sole and exclusive ownership of the voters roll
including its compilation.

Finally, there is the proposal to compile a completely new voter registrat
ion exercise. This would greatly enhance the credibility of the voters’ roll
because the current version is highly discredited.

However, voter registration is probably the most resource-intensive
electoral exercise. If this exercise is to be done, then it should be
initiated without further delay otherwise it may not meet the terms of the
elections roadmap agreed by the parties to the current inclusive government.

It would need huge input of financial and material resources. One possible
way of getting around the problem of time is to encourage people to register
under the current continuous registration facility, which remains
uninterrupted.

This would make it easier to transfer voters from the old to the new voters’
roll without the need for re-registration. It is important to note also that
ZEC now has a wider option to accept as proof of identity and residence for
registration of voters what it would consider “acceptable”. If interpreted
flexibly and liberally, this would prevent problems faced by usually
unemployed youths, married women who have changed their surnames and other
persons who would otherwise be unable to prove identity and residence using
traditional means.

Send comments and feedback to: info@zesn.org.zw or zesn@africaonline.co.zw .


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Mugabe’s real enemies exposed

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:41

FIRST, let’s go back a bit. Backstabbing is nothing new. In Biblical times,
King David experienced astonishing betrayal by his own son Absalom and his
most trusted advisor, Ahithophel.

One way or another, we have all been betrayed or at least felt betrayed. It
may have been an employer, business partner or colleague who took advantage
of you. It may also have been someone close, a family member, brother,
sister, husband or wife. It might have been a friend.

In organisations, like political parties, backstabbing, greed and power
games are a sign of an unhealthy association. This brings to the fore the
issue of WikiLeaks, President Robert Mugabe, Zanu PF and his “loyalists”.
Other parties and their leaders are also affected.

Although WikiLeaks has its down side, its releases are a useful treasure
trove for historians, researchers, and journalists. More than anything else,
they provide a rare insight into the usually shadowy world of politics and
diplomacy.

In the case of Mugabe and his “loyalists”, WikiLeaks has exposed and sliced
open the false dichotomy inherent in Zanu PF’s authoritarian philosophy and
insidious propaganda which sought to impose a warped worldview on us to read
and understand politics through binary vision.

WikiLeaks exposed a long list of Mugabe “loyalists” including Vice-President
Joice Mujuru and ministers who secretly met US diplomats to discuss
sensitive Zimbabwean issues.

These revelations provided the public with a whole new perspective and
insight into the real world of politics and diplomacy. It gave a rare window
of opportunity for us to peep into what usually happens behind the scenes
and in smoke-filled rooms when officials, mostly Mugabe’s “loyalists”,
secretly meet foreign diplomats.

Before this we were often told by mainly Zanu PF demagogues and apologists,
that those who support Mugabe were “nationalists” or “patriots” with the
national interest at heart and had nothing to do with Americans or
Europeans. That was a fallacy.

Mugabe’s frank critics and those legitimately opposed to him, mainly
Tsvangirai and his people, were portrayed as apologists for imperialists or
stooges. This either-or-fallacy, or the black-and-white thinking was so
entrenched in the body politic and ingrained in the public imagination to an
extent that society and social processes were simplistically seen and
interpreted through this fallacy of exhaustive hypotheses.

The “us versus them” mentality was so dominant that if you criticise Mugabe,
you were automatically labelled pro-Tsvangirai or anti-Zimbabwe. By the same
token, if you criticise Tsvangirai you were seen as pro-Mugabe and
anti-democracy. The logical fallacy was that “if you are not with us, you
are against us”.

However, now we know the truth. Those who shout the loudest Mugabe’s name in
public claiming to support him and engage in breathtaking praise-singing are
actually his real enemies.

Now we know for sure under the cover of darkness, these same people
secretly meet foreign diplomats, representatives of the “imperialists”, to
wine and dine with them, while mercilessly lambasting Mugabe and demanding
he must to go. Some even go to the extent of disclosing state secrets,
including issues to do with national security issues, to foreigners. Yet
they bootlick Mugabe during daylight and insult his honest critics. It’s
called deception and hypocrisy.
But now these Zanu PF hypocrites have been exposed for what they are —
charlatans and sellouts, to use Jonathan Moyo’s favourite words! They are
wolves in sheep’s clothing, more dangerous to Mugabe than Tsvangirai or the
Americans themselves.

There is an African saying which best describes this situation. In Zulu they
say Imiphanda ibulawa yizakhelani (pots are broken by neighbours) — which
means those close to you are usually your real enemies and do the most harm.
Indeed, there is another African expression which goes “the ant-bear digs a
hole which it usually doesn’t lie in”— meaning be careful of plots around
you.

The exposure of Mugabe’s “loyalists” is a lesson, not only to them, but also
to the naïve in our midst, particularly within the state media, who clumsily
wanted to perpetuate the fiction of black-and-white thinking in our society.


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Candid Comment:Deal with second-hand clothing trade

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:38

LOOKING at the booming trade in second-hand clothing brought one back to the
unfortunate international trade arrangements in which developing countries
such as ours tend to always come out losers.

One would have thought that when the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) expired
some seven years ago, this would have ushered in an opportunity for
developing countries to increase their exports to Europe and the Americas.

Basically the MFA, which lasted for 30 years between 1974 and 2004, imposed
strict quotas on how much textiles developing countries could export to the
developed world. In this way, the industrialised countries were protecting
themselves against the industrialising nations which had competitive
advantage in producing textiles. It estimated that the system cost the
developing world 27 million jobs and US$40 billion a year in lost exports.

The MFA is supposed to have been superseded by the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (ATC). The ATC was an attempt to put an end to the constant
extensions of the MFA by agreeing to a phase-out plan after which the
textiles and apparel sectors would no longer be subject to quotas.

The ATC required the integration of a designated percentage of all imports,
not a percentage of the previously restricted imports by the MFA. According
to experts, this allows the importing countries like the US to “integrate”
products that were not restricted in the first place, which does not help
the exporting countries.

They say also, the ATC allows industrialised country producers to implement
“safeguard” measures under certain conditions (Article 6). This loophole
permits industrialised countries to increase trade barriers if they think
imports pose a significant threat to a domestic industry. Within a few
months of the ATC being signed, the US had initiated 24 “safeguard” actions
against 14 WTO members, the textile experts say.

These and other practices effectively delay the full implementation of the
ATC as long as possible. The net result is developing countries continue to
lose out. This loss is made more complex by the flooding of cheap second
hand clothes from the same industrialised nations while the authorities in
those countries stand akimbo.

The local clothing industry has in the past raised alarm bells at the effect
of the second hand clothing. We don’t know whether to describe actions that
have been taken against this as half measures or no measures at all.

While we know that the sale of second hand clothing that comes in huge bales
is supposed to be illegal, it has flourished beyond measure. It is common
cause that the Mupedzanhamo market in Mbare is the centre for the sale of
second hand clothes.

Obviously there is a tacit agreement with authorities somewhere that those
who sell these should be untouched. More worrying is the thought that some
bigwigs could be benefiting behind this at the expense of local industry,
especially given that these second-hand clothes are now being sold right
under the police’s nose at Harare Central Police Station!

-By Itai Masuku


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Editor's Memo:Pan-African initiative AMI on the move

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

Thursday, 08 September 2011 18:35

By Charlayne Hunter-Gault/Trevor Ncube

AS the United Kingdom continues to be rocked by a mega-media scandal and
media institutions in the US continue to grapple with their identity,
Internet challenges and dwindling resources, the African Media Initiative
(AMI) is having great success in moving confidently to create a new model
for media the world could emulate.

AMI, a Pan-African  initiative created to strengthen private and independent
media on the continent, has moved aggressively forward in providing African
media leaders and the practitioners they employ with tools to help  them
raise their  standards and provide their consumers with the tools they need
to create a vibrant democracy and participate in meaningful economic
development. That, in turn, will help the African people see the end to the
exploitation by others and the development they need to overcome the poverty
and its attendant handmaidens that exploitation has led to.

Working for two days in Dakar, Senegal, at a hotel in the shadow of a
gleaming bronze statue of a family hailing the African Renaissance, we, the
board of AMI, had a lot to encourage our belief that we are making huge
leaps on the road to Renaissance.

For example, we have recently embarked on projects we believe will have a
profound impact on the African media landscape in the coming months. They
include, in the first instance, a project aimed at instilling in all media
leaders ethics as our core principle.

Therefore, we have partnered with the Media Owners Association of Kenya  to
pilot an industry-led process that intends to anchor leadership and ethics
at the heart of African media. At the meeting of our flagship project —
African Media Leaders Forum — in Tunis later this year, we will ask all of
the media owners in attendance — and there were 300 at our last meeting in
Cameroon — to sign a pledge we have put together indicating they embrace the
highest ethical standards and are willing to be publicly exposed if they
fail to meet this goal.

Additionally, AMI has recognised the importance of mobile technology in
reaching all Africans, especially those in rural areas. So we have teamed up
with the Mail & Guardian (M&G) in South Africa and Joy Multimedia (Joy FM)
in Ghana to pilot innovative ways to collect and disseminate news and
information to larger audiences.

The Public Insight Network being implemented with the M&G in partnership
with American Public Radio allows journalists to easily find ordinary,
civically engaged people anywhere in the country to speak knowledgeably
about topical issues, adding new voices to the usual suspects, aka pundits.

Pin also allows citizens to proactively help shape the news agenda by giving
them a trusted and direct channel into newsrooms for tip-offs, suggestions,
and commentary.

To give incentives and reward pioneers in digital media across the
continent, in partnership with Omidyar Network, Google and the US State
Department, AMI will launch in November an African News Innovation Challenge
which will be the first continental showcase for home-grown solutions and
innovation in the media sector.

Moreover, in order to respond to rapidly changing market conditions, as well
as meagre funds, AMI is spearheading the establishment of a continental
network of “innovation laboratories” that bring together journalists and
technologists for low-risk, rapid-prototyping that experiments with new ways
to produce and disseminate news.

Pilot projects are set to launch in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya,
Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda within the next month.  We are
currently in discussions with mobile companies for material and technical
support.

Clearly, AMI is on the move and is inspired by the cooperation and support
we are getting from donors, as well as the media community we are
wholeheartedly committed to serve for the benefit of citizens around the
continent, as well as outside.

    Hunter-Gault and Ncube are co-chairs of the African Media initiative.

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