Leaders say success is within reach

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3799

September 10, 2008

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Zimbabwe's rival political parties inched towards reaching an
agreement to share power Wednesday, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the
post-March 29 election crisis that has been the subject of frustratingly
slow negotiations.

In another sign a deal was within reach, a Zimbabwe crisis meeting for the
SADC troika on Politics, Security and Defence was postponed from Wednesday
amid reports President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa had given assurances that
a deal could be struck before the close of this week.

Mbeki, the SADC-appointed talks facilitator, is currently in Harare
presiding over what could be the final stages of the negotiations.

Mathendele Dlamini, the Foreign Affairs minister for Swaziland - which
chairs the SADC troika stated Wednesday that Mbeki had said he expected to
complete work on a settlement before the end of this week.

A power-sharing agreement would be a major breakthrough in the political
deadlock gripping the country since the June 27 run off ballot boycotted by
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in which Mugabe claimed to have won a landslide
victory after a sham one-candidate election that foreign and local observers
say was flawed. The violence prior to that poll was cited as one of the many
reasons why Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off vote.

A senior Zanu-PF source said the protagonists had no other choice and said,
"We can expect celebrations very very soon. We have agreed that the solution
is in a political settlement. There was no other choice."

Earlier, an opposition lawmaker on the negotiating team claimed a
power-sharing deal had been reached. He said, "Zanu-PF has made a dramatic
climb-down" and the two sides still were discussing what roles each party
would play. He did not elaborate.

Mugabe told reporters as he arrived for the talks Wednesday: "We are
optimistic, we are never pessimistic."

Earlier negotiations to form a unity government stalled over who should
wield the most power, the main sticking point in the two months of political
wrangling.

But Mugabe said after several hours of meetings on Tuesday that progress had
been made in some areas - and that he had conceded significant ground in
shedding off some of his sweeping powers to Tsvangirai.

The leader of the breakaway MDC faction, Prof Arthur Mutambara said he hoped
"the party will bring finality and closure of the dialogue today".

While prospects of a power-sharing deal initially looked remote, several
hours of marathon meetings Tuesday, which were attended by bankers from
multilateral financial institutions, raised fresh hopes on Wednesday of a
deal being within reach. In a sign of a shift in positions, Tsvangirai for
the first time acknowledged Tuesday that a deal was imminent yesterday.

"As you are aware these talks have been dragging on for some time now, but I
must say that there is a positive development," Tsvangirai told reporters as
he emerged from the last round of the day.

'We almost did it' - negotiator says as rivals near deal

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/mbeki150.18740.html

By Lebo Nkatazo
Posted to the web: 10/09/2008 18:54:28
TOP leaders from Zimbabwe's three main parties stayed locked in delicate
power sharing talks on Wednesday night with South African President Thabo
Mbeki mediating.

President Robert Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
faction leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara were still holed up
in a Harare hotel at 18:00 GMT - over nine hours after the talks began.

Teams of senior officials who are consulted at intervals were also present
at the Rainbow Towers Hotel, but in separate rooms from the leaders.

One MDC negotiator communicated by text message with a New Zimbabwe.com
correspondent, saying briefly: "We almost did it, but experiencing
 problems."

Further attempts to seek a clarification on his comment were unsuccessful.

Arriving for the talks in the morning, a jovial sounding Mugabe told waiting
reporters: "We are optimistic, we are never pessimistic."

A day earlier, Tsvangirai told journalists as he left the hotel: "As you are
aware these talks have been dragging on for some time now, but I must say
that there is a positive development."

President Mbeki sent a message to regional leaders through Swazi King Mswati
III on Wednesday, advising them that he expected to end his mediation in
Zimbabwe this week.

Mbeki asked for the postponement of a meeting of the regional Southern
African Development Community (SADC)'s defence and security committee which
was due to meet on Wednesday and listen to Mbeki's report on the Zimbabwe
dialogue.

Mbeki has been in Zimbabwe since Monday, trying to commit the leaders to a
power sharing settlement.

With Zimbabwe's economy in its 8th year of recession, and the country facing
international isolation, a power sharing deal to smooth tensions over flawed
elections in June is seen as the first step to getting the country on a
recovery path.

Distrust between Mugabe and his main rival Tsvangirai has been seen as a
major stumbling block to securing a deal. If the deal is signed, Mugabe is
seen remaining as President with reduced powers in an "inclusive
government", while Tsvangirai takes over the post of Prime Minister, with
Mutambara becoming his deputy.

Leaders hopeful over power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe

Times Online
September 10, 2008

Jan Raath in Harare
President Mugabe and Zimbabwe's opposition leader said that there had been
progress in power-sharing talks, with the Government indicating that an
agreement could be reached today.

"These talks have been dragging on for some time now, but I must say that
there is a positive development," Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the
opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, said. "Nothing has been
concluded yet but we are hoping that tomorrow we will be able to look at the
outstanding issues."

"We are still going to talk. We are finishing tomorrow," Mr Mugabe said.
"There is progress - and lack of it - in some areas," he added. Arthur
Mutambara, head of a smaller faction of the pro-democracy party, also voiced
optimism. "There a few issues left. We hope to bring finality and closure to
the talks."

But sources in the delegations cautioned that there still had been no
substantive breakthrough since the talks resumed on Monday on the principal
issue of how to distribute power between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai.

The negotiating teams spent most of yesterday in discussions, and were
joined at sunset by the three leaders. The talks, mediated by Thabo Mbeki,
the South African President, broke down three weeks ago when Mr Tsvangirai
refused to accept proposals that would have kept Mr Mugabe as executive
president, leaving Mr Tsvangirai as a prime minister with no authority over
his cabinet and no control over the security services.
Observers were speculating that Mr Mbeki has changed his tack with Mr
Mugabe, and has been trying to wring significant concessions from him for an
agreement that represents equal power sharing.

Southern African summit deferred amid hopes of Zimbabwe pact

http://www.canada.com

AFP
Published: Wednesday, September 10, 2008
JOHANNESBURG - A southern African security summit due to begin Wednesday was
deferred by a day amid speculation that Zimbabwe's political rivals could
finally ink a long awaited power-sharing deal.

The politics and security committee of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) was supposed to meet in the Swazi capital Mbabane but the
summit was postponed, South African foreign ministry spokesman Ronnie
Mamoepa said in a statement.

"We have been advised that the SADC Troika Summit of the Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Co-ordination scheduled for Wednesday in Mbabane,
Swaziland, has been postponed," until a day later, Mamoepa said.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, appointed by the SADC to mediate an end
to Zimbabwe's ruinous political crisis, was due to brief the summit on "the
ongoing SADC mandated facilitation work in Zimbabwe," Mamoepa said.
The move came after Zimbabwe political rivals meeting in Harare hinted they
could sign a power-sharing deal Wednesday.

"We are finishing tomorrow (Wednesday), hopefully. We are still going to
talk, there are one or two areas of disagreement," Zimbabwe's veteran leader
Robert Mugabe said late Tuesday after negotiations.

A government source had earlier said that there was "room for optimism that
this deal would be signed tomorrow (Wednesday) and that President Robert
Mugabe will form a government anytime from tomorrow or this week."

Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai has
faced heavy pressure to sign a deal throughout different stages of talks.

Swaziland foreign minister, Mathendele Dlamini, told AFP Wednesday in
Mbabane that the start of the Troika meeting was dependent on the outcome of
the Harare talks.

"His majesty will be advised by the mediator who is (the) South African
President," he said.

"When I called Harare they advised me that the talks were still going on and
there was hope for a breakthrough," Dlamini said.

He did not rule out the possibility of King Mswati III flying to Harare to
witness the signing of a power-sharing deal between the negotiating parties.

"I will wait for royal command... once His Majesty has been duly advised by
the chief mediator. They may decide to come and report to him or the king
may decide to go to Harare," Dlamini said.

The stalled power-sharing talks involving the ruling ZANU-PF, Tsvangirai's
MDC and Mutambara's splinter faction resumed on Monday after being adjourned
for more than two weeks.

The talks had been deadlocked on the allocation of executive power between
Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

Mbeki expected to brief SADC as pressure builds for signed deal

By Alex Bell
10 September 2008

South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to travel to Swaziland on
Thursday to brief the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of
state on the Zimbabwean power sharing negotiations.

The meeting had been expected to get underway on Wednesday after reports
emerged that a breakthrough to end the political impasse was imminent. But
the meeting was then postponed until Thursday amid allegations that Mbeki
wants to bring a signed deal to the SADC troika of the Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security.

Mbeki's mediation efforts in the Zimbabwe crisis have been severely
criticised as being biased and politically passive. SADC at the same time
recently came under fire after reportedly endorsing a power sharing deal
last month that would have seen Robert Mugabe retain a majority share of
power. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai also came under heavy pressure from SADC
to sign the deal that effectively would have left him as ceremonial Prime
Minister.

The talks again reached stalemate after Tsvangirai refused to give in to
regional pressure to add his name to the deal. The talks resumed on Monday
and Mbeki was back in Harare apparently with a new deal that has sparked
rumours of a breakthrough deal.

Elinor Sisulu from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition based in South Africa
told Newsreel on Wednesday that Mbeki is clearly determined to 'deliver
something successful,' because of the criticism levelled against him in his
role as mediator. She said celebrating a signed deal would be premature as
SADC needs to ensure that 'the deal on paper is a deal in reality.' Sisulu
questioned how the regional body will 'ensure that people respect what is
signed,' explaining that ZANU PF historically does not respect such deals.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

ZANU-PF fast-tracking land grabbing exercise ahead of GNU

http://www.hararetribune.com

Tuesday, 09 September 2008 03:05 Kevin Blunt

Privy disclosures leaked from the AG's Office reveal that the regime is
trying to hurry through unresolved land grabbing cases.

Fearful of a regime change the hierarchy is seriously worried that many of
their actions will be found to be improper or illegal, and have later
serious consequences. Hence the Gono coercive presents were doled out to
further bribe the already corrupt, biased and incompetent judiciary.

The reliable leak continues that in as much that the Zanu PF hierarchy are
anxious about facing future proper justice, the judges are equally concerned
about their own futures and the security of their gained loot. (36 present
and past judicial officials are already being monitored).

There is Supreme Court Appeal Case set down to be heard on 9th Sept 2008 re
case LA6941/96 (Stand 1 of Gletwyn)

This pending case is as a result of a grab of urban houses and land and all
improvements thereon by Divine Homes (aka Valleyset Properties) in
conjunction with the hierarchy of the Police force including the main
plunderers Commissioner of Police Augustine Chihuru and the infamous
Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai. Other fellow-travelers and enablers
were / are also explicitly involved.

Note that the property concerned is URBAN (City) and not farmland as often
misreported.

It was integrated into Greater Harare many years earlier (1996). Plans to
subdivide it by the lawful owner for a housing development were thwarted by
an obstructive directive from Ignatius Chombo to the Harare City Council.

There were / are seriously irregularities regarding this GLETWYN asset grab
that are again being legally challenged.

No compensation has ever been offered or paid.

The outcome of this forthcoming appeal is likely to be a foregone
conclusion - especially after Gono's recent generous bribery awards to the
biased and incompetent judiciary.

These above and below entities or persons then purported to be members of a
Police Housing Co-operative, or aide's and abettors thereof.

All the names of other main abettors are already known.

Some others include :-

Assistant Commissioner Munzvenengwi (Mrs) -Police Co-op Chairman - Tel: 011
872 973

Assistant Police Commissioner Nveremwe - female

Assistant Superintendent Murambwa (Secretary) Tel: 011 773 888

Deputy Commissioner Matabiri

Inspector Mbaringa - Highlands Police Station

Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai

Barbara Chiguta (Retired Major ZNA) - (Now occupies a stolen house and has
"acquired" its contents)

Henry Chakaipa (CIO) - (Now occupies a stolen house and has "acquired" its
contents)

"Killer" Moyo (CIO) - (Now occupies a stolen house and has "acquired" its
contents)

Superintendent Mandanda - was in charge of the forced Gletwyn evictions and
for grabbing keys from urban house occupants who were summarily evicted off
the property

Assistant Police Commissioner Mugumira - (Now occupies a stolen house and
has "acquired" its contents)

Other leading participants include:-

District Administrator Musavaya Reza was also involved as was Godfrey
Tanyanyiwa (Vice Chairman) (then at the DA Offices of of Harare
Province) --> Tel: 011 763 663 / 738258

Mrs Ethel Mlalazi (under Ignatius Chombo) - The Director of Physical
Planning, 15th Floor, Mukwati Building, Corner 4th Street and Livingstone
Avenue, Harare is also implicated for approving the illegal or "stolen" Jogi
compiled flawed subdivision plan.

After the unlawful property grab the houses were doled out to CIO, Army and
Police officials (names known).

Divine Homes (David Chapfika and Nhamo Chikweka Tutisani and more) then
started subdividing the looted land and selling it off to a naive public so
as line their own pockets.

Divine Homes were assisted by Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban
Planning (Zirup) President Sasha Jogi, who is also still a Mugabe / Chombo
selected Harare City Commissioner.

Jogi's other fronting office is the local office of Stuart Perry , Managing
Partner , Ove Arup & Partners , Physical Address , Astra Park , Cnr Ridgeway
North & North End Roads , Highlands , Postal Address , P.O.Box 984 , Harare
, Tel: + 263 4 882250 , Fax: + 263 4 882698 , Stuart.Perry@arup.comThis
e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled
to view it

Sasha Jogi has allegedly plagiarized and violated some copyrighted
Intellectual Properties to assist Divine Homes. Another Case in this regard
is said to be in the pipeline.

More details re Divine Homes / Valleyset Properties are known and available.
This includes earlier records of their various High Court appearances re
Property matters that they were answerable to.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Unsubstantiated rumours are in circulation that Tutisani has fled in the
face of alleged threats by stand buyers who have been conned - i.e paid up
in deluded expectation but got nothing.

Title Deeds are not usually available for stolen land, or purported "State
Land".

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Note that Divine Homes has rightly been added to the latest US Governments
Sanctions List

See Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and Companies Supporting the
Mugabe Regime

(The text is also appended below near the end of this document)

Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and Companies Supporting the
Mugabe Regime

July 25, 2008HP-1097

Chapfika and his family members have already been widely sanction listed
before.

----End

3 Some Background Introductory Reference Material

3.1 2004 01 09 - Collateral scuttles housing development - (Nhamo Tutisani)

http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com:80/index.php?view=article&catid=28%3Azimbabwe+business+stories&id=14336&tmpl=component&print=1&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=56

Business

Friday, 09 January 2004 02:00

Conrad Dube

RIGID collateral requirements set by financiers and a sluggish market have
seriously affected land and housing development in the country, secretary
for the Land and Housing Developers Association Nhamo Tutisani has said.

Tutisani said there was need for the government to also look into the issue
of security to help developers access productive sector finance from the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

Land and housing developers have made representations to government for
developers to access land for housing development under the government's
National Housing Delivery Programme, according to Tutisani.

"This is a realisation by the government that there is no housing
development that can take place without land and housing developers and that
developers are important stakeholders in housing delivery," he said.

Tutisani said the association was working with the Housing Directors Forum
which is made up of housing directors from local authorities and the Local
Government and National Housing ministry for the provision of housing.

He said the partnership was expected to address the perennial housing
shortage in the country.

Land and housing development, according to Tutisani, is an integrating
process which demands teamwork from conception to completion.

He said the strengthening of relationships between developers and local
authorities would result in the efficient provision of housing to the
people.

He said the property development profession was coming out of the discovery
stage therefore active and progressive minds are at liberty to define and
shape it in the manner they may see fit.

"The role of developers is always mischievously confused with that of a
contractor and jealously scoffed at by estate agents and yet the developer
is an essential catalyst in property development," Tutisani said.

The Land and Housing Developers Association, a grouping of land and housing
developers, has drafted a Land and Housing Developers Bill which is still
being considered by the drafting section in the Ministry of Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.2 2005 12 22 - Item Title - Zimbabwe police boss evicts farmer to build
houses for officers

See - Zim Online

Thu 22 December 2005

Harare

Zimbabwe Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has ordered a white farmer to
close down his agro-export business because the police want to use the
farmland to build low cost houses for its officers, ZimOnline has learnt.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.3 2006 01 13 - Police invade Harare farm

(URBAN LAND AND HOUSES)

Augustine Mukaro

The Zimbabwe independent

2006 01 13

Police invade Harare farm (Urban Land)

Local News

Friday, 13 January 2006

POLICE officers have reportedly expropriated Gletwyn Farm, a private
property worth US$ 10 million in the Greater Harare area, and are currently
subdividing it into residential stands for high-rankings officers.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.4 2006 01 19 - Gono allegedly 'Pleads for Gletwyn'

Gono Pleads With Mugabe To Restrain Top Police Officers From Invading
Peri-Urban Farms

Zim Daily

Thursday, January 19 2006 @ 12:04 AM GMT

Contributed by: correspondent

Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono has made an impassioned plea to President
Mugabe to restrain top police officers from seizing peri-urban farms amid
reports that senior assistant commissioners were circling on flower
exporting farm Gletwin [ GLETWYN ] in Mandara.

Zimdaily heard that owners of the farm have been ordered to vacate the farm
by top police officers who visited the farm weekend accompanied by senior
officers from Police General Headquarters, district officials and Zanu PF
supporters. Government-backed seizures of white-owned commercial farms for
redistribution to landless blacks largely halted a year ago, but there have
been new farm invasions in the periphery of Harare.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.5 2006 01 20 - Chapfika in farm dispute

The Zimbabwe Independent

2006 01 20

Local News

Friday, 20 January 2006

News Analysis Eric Bloch Column Muckraker Comment

Augustine Mukaro

CONTROVERSY surrounding the expropriation of Gletwyn Farm has sucked in
Finance deputy minister David Chapfika's Divine Homes - the company that is
developing the property into residential stands although the acquisition is
not yet finalised.

New occupants include senior police officers.

Farm owner Alexander Ross said the property was valued at US$ 10 million ($
900 billion).

The Zimbabwe Independent understands that Ross is contemplating a legal suit
against the invaders to get compensation for improvements and other
valuables on the property before he will surrender the title deeds.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.6 2006 01 28 - Zimbabwe - Gletwyn

(VOA)

January 2006

Zimbabwe begins nationalizing urban land

(VOA and Zimbabwe Situation, 2006-01-28):-

Six years after instituting a policy of nationalizing white-owned farms and
evicting their owners, Zimbabwe's government has begun to seize white-owned
land in urban Harare. Some 200 workers were rounded up by police and forced
out of their homes last week. The workers lived and were employed on
Gletwyn, a large property in the midst of several wealthy suburbs, 14
kilometers east of the city center. Many of them had lived there all their
lives. Gletwyn is an old farm, incorporated into the city of Harare in 1996.
The owners, two brothers, planned to subdivide the land into a new suburb,
but would continue to grow specialist crops, such as corn seed. Police
arrived before Christmas and said they were going to build houses for
themselves on Gletwyn. Ian Ross, 68, said the police started harassing and
evicting hundreds of workers from their homes. "They arrived to evict the
workers, which they did piece by piece, village by village, compound by
compound. They were loaded onto police trucks in the rain, which most of the
time arrived without fuel," he said. "They forced workers to buy fuel for
them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.7 2006 01 20 - Chapfika in farm dispute (Tutisani Quoted)

The Zimbabwe Independent

2006 01 20

Local News

Friday, 20 January 2006

News Analysis Eric Bloch Column Muckraker Comment

Augustine Mukaro

CONTROVERSY surrounding the expropriation of Gletwyn Farm has sucked in
Finance deputy minister David Chapfika's Divine Homes - the company that is
developing the property into residential stands although the acquisition is
not yet finalised.

New occupants include senior police officers.

Farm owner Alexander Ross said the property was valued at US$ 10 million ($
900 billion).

The Zimbabwe Independent understands that Ross is contemplating a legal suit
against the invaders to get compensation for improvements and other
valuables on the property before he will surrender the title deeds.

Government on the other hand has valued the improvements at $ 75 billion
(US$ 830 000). [ In reality the Government never did a valuation ].

The standoff means development on the property should stop but Divine Homes
has proceeded to subdivide the disputed land into residential stands.

Police Heights Housing Cooperative members, who occupied the farm on
December 13, have evicted former farm workers and other tenants from
Gletwyn.

Divine Homes chief executive Nhamo Tutisani confirmed that his company was
allocated land by government to develop residential stands.

"We confirm that we are developers of 587 low-density stands on Stand 1 of
Gletwyn which is a government acquired farm," Tutisani said.

"We are developing the stands on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe. The
stands will be sold to anyone who can afford and meet the purchase price and
other conditions stipulated in the agreement of sale to be entered into
between the consenting parties."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.8 2006 01 30 - Land grabbing exercise spills into urban areas

By Lance Guma

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

30 January 2006

The controversial policy of seizing white owned farms in Zimbabwe is now
spreading to white owned properties in urban areas. Gletwyn Estate,
incorporated under the City of Harare, has now been grabbed by police who
first invaded the area in December last year. The police say they want to
build houses for their officers but observers say the manner of the
acquisition remains outside the law.

Over 200 hundred farm workers have been forced off the estate. Most have
been bundled into police trucks and dumped in various parts of the country.
With operations at the farm having ground to a halt the welfare of farm
workers remains critical with many facing destitution.

The police have grabbed a section of the estate owned by Ian Ross while
Divine Homes, owned by a government minister, is selling stands on a part of
the property owned by Stuart Ross.

Deputy Minister of Finance David Chapfika is listed as Chairman of the
company which is already marketing 600 stands on the estate. The company
claims Gletwyn is public property because it is a white owned farm.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.9 2006 02 02 - Washington Jengaenga - Divine Homes re Gletwyn

http://gopvixen.blogs.com:80/gop_vixen/2006/02/eminent_domain_.html

GOP Vixen

February 02, 2006

Eminent domain, Mugabe-style

Now that he's basically done taking over farms from whites, Zimbabwean
pooh-bah Robert Mugabe is moving on to the cities, according to the Daily
Telegraph:

"... (Mugabe's) police last week evicted hundreds of people from their homes
eight miles from the centre of Harare.

Ian Ross, 68, the owner of Gletwyn farm, incorporated into the capital in
1996, could hardly control himself as he recalled how police turfed his
workers out into the rain.

'They arrived to evict the workers, which they did piece by piece, village
by village compound by compound,' said Mr Ross.

'The workers were dumped. They moved into sheds, into chicken runs. They
were living like rabbits.'

Mr Mugabe began violently evicting and dispossessing some 4,000 white
farmers and hundreds of thousands of their workers in 2000. The whites were
punished because the president said they supported and funded the opposition
which almost beat him in the election that year.

But the campaign against his people escalated last winter when he sent
bulldozers to flatten hundreds of thousands of small homes and markets in
opposition areas in cities.

... The police say homes will be built homes there. This will benefit a
property company, Divine Homes, whose chairman is the deputy finance
minister, David Chapfika.

Divine Homes says it is selling state land, Gletwyn, in 600 plots without
title deeds or planning permission. The 'problem over title deeds will sort
itself out when all this settles down', said Washington Jengaenga, a Divine
Homes executive."

Posted by Bridget on February 02, 2006 at 01:20 AM

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.10 2006 02 02 - Mugabe moves against city whites (Gletwyn)

The Telegraph

By Peta Thornycroft in Harare

(Filed: 02/02/2006)

President Robert Mugabe has begun confiscating and vandalising white-owned
property in Zimbabwe's cities, after taking over most farms in the
countryside.

His police last week evicted hundreds of people from their homes eight miles
from the centre of Harare.

Ian Ross, 68, the owner of Gletwyn farm, incorporated into the capital in
1996, could hardly control himself as he recalled how police turfed his
workers out into the rain.

"They arrived to evict the workers, which they did piece by piece, village
by village compound by compound," said Mr Ross.

"The workers were dumped. They moved into sheds, into chicken runs. They
were living like rabbits."

Mr Mugabe began violently evicting and dispossessing some 4,000 white
farmers and hundreds of thousands of their workers in 2000. The whites were
punished because the president said they supported and funded the opposition
which almost beat him in the election that year.

But the campaign against his people escalated last winter when he sent
bulldozers to flatten hundreds of thousands of small homes and markets in
opposition areas in cities.

The United Nations said 2.4 million people were caught in Mr Mugabe's "Clean
out the Filth" campaign. Now his cronies and the police are wreaking havoc
on a daily basis on Gletwyn.

The police say homes will be built homes there. This will benefit a property
company, Divine Homes, whose chairman is the deputy finance minister, David
Chapfika.

Divine Homes says it is selling state land, Gletwyn, in 600 plots without
title deeds or planning permission.

The "problem over title deeds will sort itself out when all this settles
down", said Washington Jengaenga, a Divine Homes executive.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.11 2006 02 17 - Yet another case for a Justice Commission (Gletwyn)

The Zimbabwe Independent

2006 02 17

Zim Independent Letters

HAVING destroyed commercial agriculture, education, the health sector, the
informal sector among others, the Mugabe regime has launched yet another
stage in its ongoing project to return the country to its pre-colonial
status.

The theft of property in the urban areas by executive fiat in the case of
those properties bordering President Mugabe's residence, or by outright
theft in the case of Gletwyn Farm, will prove to be a pivotal act in the
destruction of our cities. After all, cities are a colonial import and as
sites of resistance to tyranny (against Ian Smith as well as President
Mugabe) are anathema to tyrants from Pol Pot to our own home-grown example.

Operation Murambatsvina eliminated the supposed threat from the urban poor
and this latest onslaught will eradicate the middle class, or what is left
of it.

When the police force are the main agents of illegal activities, all
citizens must seriously consider their positions and responsibilities to
their society.

The ZRP is funded from taxes paid by ordinary citizens including whites.

Deputy Finance minister, David Chapfika, is paid from those same taxes.

Every Zimbabwean who pays taxes is therefore assisting the illegitimate
regime in its onslaught against the nation. Responsible citizens will refuse
to fund their oppressors.

This is yet another case for a Justice Commission in a liberated Zimbabwe.

A legitimate democratic government will hold those who have actively
participated in the looting of our national resources to account and will
confiscate their ill-gotten gains.

Let those who illegally occupy Gletwyn be advised accordingly.

Mandebvu,

Harare.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.12 2006 03 23 - Zimbabwe - Gletwyn

(Zim Online)

March 2006

Dispossessed white landowner sues Mugabe

(Zim Online, 2006-03-23):

A dispossessed white landowner is suing President Robert Mugabe in a case
that will test how far the government is prepared to abide by its own laws
empowering it to seize only agricultural land for redistribution to landless
blacks. In an application to the High Court earlier this month, Alexander
Stuart Ross, wants the court to compel Mugabe to reverse the acquisition of
his land by the government, arguing that the land, known as Gletwyn Farm or
Gletwyn Township, is part of Harare municipal land. The government's Land
Acquisition Act and Constitutional Amendment No 17 passed last year exempt
municipal land from seizure by the state under its controversial land reform
programme. According to Ross, Gletwyn, which is registered in his name, was
incorporated into the Harare municipal area by statutory instrument 41 of
1996. The government seized the property in November 2004 and gave it over
to the police to develop into residential stands for members of the law
enforcement agency. A private company that is said to be chaired by Deputy
Finance Minister David Chapfika was supposed to have started work together
with the Police Heights Housing Co-operative trying to develop Gletwyn into
a residential suburb. The land developer has however not done so yet. Ross
argues in papers filed at court that it was illegal for the government to
acquire Gletwyn because the Land Acquisition Act upon which it based its
actions does not permit the state to acquire municipal land for purposes of
redistribution. "A piece of land under municipal area cannot be acquired
under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act applicable to agricultural
land, as all land within any municipal area is expressly excluded from such
provisions," Ross states in his papers. Section 2, Chapter 20:10 of the Act
stipulates that "agricultural land required for resettlement purposes" means
any rural land the acquisition of which is reasonably required for
resettlement purposes and which is identified in a preliminary notice as
being required for those purposes - rural land means any land other than
land which is in a municipal area or local government area. Last August's
constitutional amendment bans citizens from contesting in court seizure of
their land by the state but the controversial amendment also makes it clear
that the government can only take farmland for purposes of resettlement.
Mugabe and his senior officials have also made clear at various public fora
that they will only seize farmland for redistribution to black villagers who
do not have adequate land to grow crops and raise animals. Ross says in his
court application: "If the state were to start seizing urban land by
'selective nationalisation', it is possible the property market, upon which
the state depends for many revenues and many people depend for their
livelihoods, would collapse." It was not possible to get comment from State
Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, who oversees land redistribution or from
Attorney General Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, the government's chief lawyer. Up to
10 government ministers and heads of department are cited as respondents in
the application. Among the respondents are Mutasa, Chapfika, Local
Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, Lands and Agriculture Minister Joseph
Made, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) governor Gideon Gono. Gono, who has strongly spoken against land
seizures, is named as a respondent because he allegedly financed the
unauthorised subdivision of Gletywn by Divine Homes. The RBZ boss has called
for an end to land seizures saying continued disturbances on farms was
hampering efforts to produce food and more agricultural exports, vital to
efforts to end a severe economic crisis that has seen inflation shooting
above 700 percent while every basic commodity is in critical short supply.
Critics blame the government's farm seizure programme for destabilising the
mainstay agricultural sector, causing food shortages and worsening the
economic crisis.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.13 2006 03 24 - 'Farmer' (AS Ross) puts Zanu PF laws to court test

The Zimbabwe Independent

2006 03 24

Augustine Mukaro

A DISPOSSESSED white landowner is suing President Robert Mugabe in yet
another test case of laws hastily promulgated to facilitate land seizures.

In an application to the High Court, Alexander Stuart Ross is seeking an
order to compel Mugabe to reverse the acquisition of his property by
government, arguing that the land - Gletwyn Farm - is part of Harare.

The papers filed on March 8 cite Mugabe as the first respondent and 10
others, including ministers and other high-ranking government officials, as
respondents.

The government's Land Acquisition Act and Constitutional Amendment Act No 17
passed last year exempt municipal land from seizure by the state under the
land reform programme.

According to Ross, Gletwyn, which is registered in his name, was
incorporated into the Harare municipal area by Statutory Instrument 41 of
1996.

Gletwyn has been targeted for acquisition since 2002 with a flurry of Zanu
PF-inspired invading groups moving in to grab the prime property.

First it was the Sally Mugabe Housing Cooperative, before government seized
the property in November 2004 and gave it to Divine Homes to subdivide into
low-density residential stands.

Police Heights Housing Cooperative earlier this year invaded the farm,
forcibly evicting more than 200 people on the pretext of developing
residential stands for senior law enforcement officers.

Divine Homes, a private land developer chaired by Deputy Finance minister
David Chapfika, has already started work, subdividing Gletwyn into 600
residential stands.

Ross argues in the court papers that it was illegal for the government to
acquire Gletwyn because the Land Acquisition Act upon which it based its
actions does not permit the state to acquire municipal land for purposes of
redistribution.

"A piece of land under municipal area cannot be acquired under the
provisions of the Land Acquisition Act applicable to agricultural land, as
all land within any municipal area is expressly excluded from such
provisions," Ross states in his papers.

Section 2, Chapter 20:10 of the Act stipulates that "agricultural land
required for resettlement purposes" means any rural land the acquisition of
which is reasonably required for resettlement purposes and which is
identified in a preliminary notice as being required for those purposes.
Rural land means any land other than land which is in a municipal area or
local government area.

Last August's constitutional amendment bans citizens from contesting court
seizure of their land by the state but it also makes it clear that
government can only take farmland for purposes of resettlement.

"If the state were to start seizing urban land by 'selective
nationalisation', it is possible the property market, upon which the state
depends for many revenues and many people depend for their livelihoods,
would collapse," Ross said in the court application.

Respondents in the application include Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement
minister Didymus Mutasa, Chapfika, Local Government minister Ignatius
Chombo, Agriculture minister Joseph Made, Police Commissioner Augustine
Chihuri, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono.

Gono, who has strongly spoken against land seizures, is named as a
respondent because he allegedly financed the unauthorised subdivision of
Gletywn by Divine Homes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.14 2007 01 28 - Zimbabwean gov't warns corrupt civil servants on land
matters (Gletwyn)

Google News Alert for: gletwyn

Zimbabwean gov't warns corrupt civil servants on land matters People's Daily
Online - Beijing,China He added some whites, including former owners of
Gletwyn Farm, had adopted a belligerent posture, resorting to all sorts of
moves, including legal ...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.15 2007 06 11 - Chapfika and Tutisani (Divine Homes) (Gletwyn) - Land
Grabbing Crooks (Alleged)

* 2007 06 11 - David Chapfika and Nhamo Tutisani defrauds poor citizens in
housing Scandal

Source: Zim Daily

[ The ORIGINAL HEADLINE IS AS BELOW: ]

*

Minister (David Chapfika and Nhamo Tutisani) defrauds poor citizens in
Zimbabwe's biggest housing Scandal

2007 06 11 - Minister (David Chapfika) (and Nhamo Tutisani) defrauds poor
citizens in Zimbabwe's biggest housing Scandal

ZimDaily

www.zimdaily.com/news/

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:32:00

Jona Bute

The newly appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture, David Chapfika is
alleged to have duped hundreds of unsuspecting citizens and companies
millions of dollars in one of Zimbabwe's worst housing scandal since
independence.

Chapfika, recently appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture by President
Mugabe after serving as Deputy Minister of Finance is believed to be one of
Zimbabwe's richest politicians.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.16 2007 07 20 - Google News Alert for Tutisani

Google Web Alert for: "Tutisani"

Minister defrauds poor citizens in Zimbabwe's biggest housing Scandal

In 2004 Chapfika's Divine Homes, through its chairman Nhamo Tutisani
received ... The minister is reported to have committed the offences with
Tutisani and ...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.17 2007 10 28 - Case Against David Chapfika and Nhamo Tutisani by Chisipo
Consultancy (Case No. 2283/06)

DEPUTY MINISTER CHAPFIKA DRAGGED TO COURT FOR DISHONESTY

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Plaintiff(s):- Chisipo Consultancy - owner: Eng. Fumai Bhiza

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Respondents:- Chapfika, five other defendants, Nhamo Tutisani, E.T Danda,
Stanley S. Mufara, James Khoffi Phiri and Devine Homes Pvt Ltd

(Devine Homes' managing director - a E.T Danda)

http://www.zimafricanews.com/news281007.html

Sijabuliso Dube

DAVID Chapfika-the controversial Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Mutoko
North Member of Parliament (MP)-who was in June accused of defrauding
millions of dollars from prospective home-seekers in a bogus housing scheme
has again appeared in court for failing to pay ZW$ 22 billion to Chisipo
Consultancy for a service rendered to him and five others.

Chisipo Consultancy which suffered prejudice, offers consultancy services in
Civil and Structural Engineering and according to high court papers is cited
as the plaintiff in the matter.

Confidential High Court papers leaked to Zimafricanews this week revealed
that the Minister together with five other defendants, Nhamo Tutisani, E.T
Danda, Stanley S. Mufara, James Khoffi Phiri and Devine Homes Pvt Ltd are
jointly ordered to pay the sum of ZW$ 22 437 687 477,72 together with costs
and interest at the rate of 30 percent per annum from the 5th of January
2006 to the date of the full payment.

The claim, according to the High Court papers relates to consultancy
services offered by Chisipo, through its owner, Eng. Fumai Bhiza for work
they did at Gletwyn Housing Development Project from 2003 to 2006.

"On or about the 8th December 2003, the plaintiff (Chisipo Consultancy) and
the 1st defendant (Divine Homes Pvt Ltd) entered into a contract in terms of
which the 1st defendant appointed the plaintiff as consulting engineers for
the development of 650 low density residential stands and the related
infrastructure. The material terms of the contract were that the plaintiff
(Chisipo) would design the water reticulation, including off site
infrastructure such as water treatment works and storage reservoirs to cater
for the 650 units. Designing roads and storm water drainage where the roads
were to be surfaced provide the civil and structured designs for other
ancillary service centres such as office park, shopping centre, medical
centre, and retirement village. The payment terms were be based on the
Zimbabwe Association for Consulting Engineers Form 1 of 1999 or any other
subsequent Zimbabwe Association for Consulting Engineers forms," read part
of the Court papers, Case No. 2283/06 dated April 19th 2006.

Through their lawyers-Magwaliba, Matutu and Kwirira legal practitioners,
Chisipo said despite performing and providing services required by
Chapfika's company-Devine Homes and submitted an invoice for its services on
the 5th of January last year, Chapfika who is the company's chairman refused
to meet the costs.

Despite claims and refusal by Chapfika that he never entered into a contract
with the plaintiff, a letter, a copy of which leaked to Zimafricanews dated
5 December 2003 confirmed that the minister indeed commissioned Chisipo
Consultancy to carry out consultancy services.

Part of the letter written by Devine Homes' managing director, a E.T Danda
addressed to Eng. Bhiza read: "We are pleased to commission your firm to
carry out consultancy services on the proposed residential development on
Stand 1 Gletwyn Township of Gletwyn Salisbury. Please submit us your
requirements that is contract documents that make is necessary for a speedy
implementation of the design process."

In response to Chapfika's request, Chisipo on the 8th of December
acknowledged receipt of the letter commissioning their firm to carry out the
job. "We confirm our acceptance of this offer on the following terms that
payment terms and conditions shall be based on ZACE Form 1 of 1999 document
for your signing and please return a copy for our records," wrote Eng.
Bhiza.

Efforts to get comment from Chapfika and his deputy chairman, Nhamo Tutisani
at their 31 Kensington Road Offices in Highlands (land line numbers
498735/52 or 442502/04) proved futile as they were both said to be out of
Harare on business trips.

Eng. Bhiza confirmed to Zimafricanews that his firm has taken the Minister
and his firm to court, but could not give more details about the case on the
basis that it is subjudice

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3.18 2008 07 25 - USA - Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and
Companies Supporting the Mugabe Regime

From: "U.S. Department of the Treasury"
subscriptions@subscriptions.treas.govThis e-mail address is being protected
from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:20:03 -0500 (CDT)

Subject: Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and Companies Supporting
the Mugabe Regime

Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and Companies Supporting the
Mugabe Regime

July 25, 2008

HP-1097

Treasury Designates Zimbabwean Parastatals and Companies Supporting the
Mugabe Regime

Washington, DC

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) today designated seventeen entities, including several Zimbabwean
parastatals, and one individual whose support for Robert Mugabe's regime
contributes to the undermining of democratic processes and institutions in
Zimbabwe.

"In light of the continued intransigence of the brutal Mugabe regime, the
U.S. is imposing further sanctions against this regime and its supporters,"
said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "These actions send a clear warning to
those who would protect Mugabe and his assets at the expense of the
Zimbabwean people."

Today's designations include a number of Zimbabwean parastatals and entities
that are owned or controlled by the Government of Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe,
his senior officials, and regime cronies have used these entities to
illegally siphon revenue and foreign exchange from the Zimbabwean people.
Treasury's designations today include the Minerals Marketing Corporation of
Zimbabwe (a.k.a MMCZ), the sole marketing and export agent for all minerals,
except gold and silver, mined in Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation (a.k.a. ZMDC), involved in investment in the mining industry in
Zimbabwe, and in planning, coordinating and implementing mining projects on
behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe; the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company
(a.k.a. ZISCO), Zimbabwe's largest steel works; the Agricultural Development
Bank of Zimbabwe (a.k.a Agribank), a commercial bank owned by the Government
of Zimbabwe; the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe Ltd, a
state-owned enterprise that owns a large number of companies operating in
the industrial sector, including the chemical, clothing and textiles,
mineral processing, and motor and transport sectors; the Infrastructure
Development Bank of Zimbabwe, a financing entity; Zimre Holdings Limited, an
investment and reinsurance entity; ZB Financial Holdings Limited, a holding
company for a group of companies involved in commercial and merchant
banking; and 4 major subsidiaries of ZB Financial Holdings Limited: ZB Bank
Limited (a.k.a Zimbank), ZB Holdings Limited, Intermarket Holdings Limited,
and Scotfin Limited.

Also designated today are Thamer Bin Saeed Ahmed Al-Shanfari, an Omani
national with close ties to Mugabe and his top officials, as well as his
company, Oryx Natural Resources, which Al-Shanfari uses to enable Mugabe and
his senior officials to maintain access to, and derive personal benefit
from, various mining ventures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the
"DRC"). OFAC has also designated OSLEG (a.k.a. Operation Sovereign
Legitimacy), an enterprise that is a commercial arm of the Zimbabwean army
representing its interests in the DRC and elsewhere, and which is controlled
by various senior officials in Zimbabwe. The activities of OSLEG and
Al-Shanfari's Oryx Natural Resources, benefiting Robert Mugabe and his
regime's senior officials, have been widely documented by various
non-governmental and human rights organizations.

Finally, OFAC is designating the following companies that are owned or
controlled by a number of Specially Designated Nationals ("SDNs"): Divine
Homes, a property company whose Chairman is SDN David Chapfika, Zimbabwe's
Deputy Minister of Agriculture; COMOIL (Pvt) Ltd., a petroleum importing
company, owned by SDN Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe's Deputy Minister of
Youth Development and Employment Creation; and Famba Safaris, a registered
Zimbabwean safari operator, whose Director and major shareholder is SDN
Webster Shamu, Mugabe's Minister of State for Policy Implementation.

As a result of Treasury's action, any assets of the individual and entities
designated today that are within U.S. jurisdiction must be frozen.
Additionally, U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting financial or
commercial transactions with the individual or entities.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

4 Particulars - Divine Homes / Valleyset Properties

4.1 2008 08 24 - Divine Homes / Valleyset Properties / Nhamo Tutisani
Particulars

.

Valleset is another Chapfika / Tutisani front for Divine Homes (with
different listed management)

Valleyset has until recently advertised extensively on its website via the
Herald. By innuendo he is trying to sell stands on Gletwyn. He has been
advertising in the printed form of the Herald for several years under the
guise of certain other fronts and selected individual purported estate
agents.

Their Claims

Company Registration

Valleyset Properties is a subsidiary of Valleyset Investments (Pvt) Ltd a
company which was incorporated under the Companies Act [Chapter 24:03] and
registered with the Registrar of Companies on the 3rd of January 2006.

Purports to be Registered with the Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe

Estate Agents Registration

Valleyset Properties is also a Registered Estates Agent as it is a member of
the Estate Agents Council, a statutory body which regulates and governs the
professional conduct and operations of all estate agents in Zimbabwe. It
became a registered Estate Agent on 22nd September 2006 and was duly issued
a Compensation Fund Certificate No. 155/2006 on the same date thus ensuring
that all clients' funds are safe.

http://www.valleyset.co.zw/

Directors: N. Tutisani (Chairman), E. James (Managing Director)

ADDRESS - 31 Kensington Road, P O Box 3685, Harare.

"contact our professional and efficient sales team on 498735 or 442504"

2008 08 24 - Physical Address:

31 Kensington Road,

P O Box 3685

Harare

Zimbabwe

Telephone:

442504 498735

Cell 091 709 191 / 091 600 605

Fax: 498752

Email: tuts@divinehomes.co.zwThis e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ALSO AT:-

12, Meredith Drive

Eastlea

P O Box 3685

Cell 0912 709191 / 0912 600 800

e-mail: tuts@divinehomes.co.zwThis e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

4.2 2007 10 28 - Divine Homes Officials

.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapfika, five other defendants, Nhamo Tutisani, E.T Danda, Stanley S.
Mufara, James Khoffi Phiri and Divine Homes Pvt Ltd

(Divine Homes' managing director - a E.T Danda)

Washington Jengaenga, a Divine Homes executive." - February 02, 2006 at
01:20 AM

Reference:- 2007 10 28 - Case Against David Chapfika and Nhamo Tutisani by
Chisipo Consultancy (Case No. 2283/06)

DEPUTY MINISTER CHAPFIKA DRAGGED TO COURT FOR DISHONESTY

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

5 Some Particulars - Gletwyn

5.1 2008 08 24 - There are actually TWO Gletwyn's

Often misunderstood is that there are actually TWO adjacent Gletwyn
Properties starting from about 13 km east of Harare just off the Enterprise
Road on the right hand side. Both properties are classified as Urban rather
than Agricultural land.

Chikurubi to the south has a common boundary with both properties.

In 1997, the Gletwyn property was partitioned into two units as per
Subdivision Permit SD/223.

Both of these properties were earlier defined as urban land and not
agricultural land.

The reality is that these properties were invaded and looted as another
consequence of Mugabe's instigated kleptomania that translated to keeping
his ever hungry and patronised support base satisfied by benefiting from
on-going state enabled looting and handout programs.

One Property is Stand 1 of Gletwyn (to which this report / case relates).

The other is the remaining extent of Gletwyn - a part of which is the
Shawasha Hills development.

The Police have also grabbed what is left of the so far undeveloped section
of the remaining extent of Gletwyn (that is not not part of the current
Shawasha Hills).

Sasha Jogi is also and again said to be complicit by doing layout planning.

Clearly there is also another story to tell on this property at some later
date.

Using Google Earth one can see the state of both properties as at May 2007.

The entry to the property at the Enterprise Road junction is at latitude
31.152980° and longitude 31.139656°

The near centre point of Stand 1 of Gletwyn is at latitude -17.769991° and
longitude 31.152257°.

From the said approximated centre, the ~ 1.5 kilometre radiuses surrounds
are the western smaller section is Stand 1 of Gletwyn. (~ 256 hectares)

All of the durably unfinished and substandard roads (~ 5 years) shown are
consequential to the "grab and invasion" by Divine Homes and their
supporting police hierarchy.

There is no water or Zesa articulation, nor is there any foreseeable
prospect of the same being installed in the next 15 years. This fact
supports the contention that the Cops and Tutisani are kleptomaniacs
conjuring up and still implementing a self-serving scam.

At latitude -17.770645° and longitude 31.161779° is the large 585 square
metre house grabbed by Assistant Police Commissioner Mugumira. He drives a
luxurious Police BMW. From about this point westwards (towards Harare and
the neighbouring Grange Township) are primitive and incomplete roads as
implemented by Jogi's "Subdivision Plans" and Divine Homes.

At latitude -17.770804° and longitude 31.160724° is the house grabbed by
Barbara Chiguta (Retired Major ZNA)

At latitude -17.770236° and longitude 31.159525° is the house grabbed by the
gun-wielding Henry Chakaipa (CIO)

At latitude -17.766030° and longitude 31.152980° is the modern house grabbed
by "Killer" Moyo (CIO) where he has installed a number of "sheltered
freeloaders - (aka - clingons). More recent satellite images show that Moyo
has got a free Gono donated tractor hidden in the back yard. To try and hide
himself and his loot he has had erected a primitive high wall surrounding
this grabbed house.

The Right sided eastern bigger section is the r/e of Gletwyn - part of which
is now Shawasha Hills, with the rest having been plundered by the police
Mafioso.

The r/e of Gletwyn (including the Shawasha Hills development ) starts at
about latitude -17.771174° and longitude 31.163907°and extends eastwards up
to Chishawasha.

A careful on-site visit and review of the property would be constructive.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

6 Media Sources and Coverage

The shenanigans regarding Gletwyn and events related to it have, over time
been widely covered in numerous local and external publications. This will
be seen to continue.

ZimDaily and ZimAfricaNews are normally not considered as reliable news
sources. However they occasionally hit the jackpot with a newsworthy item.
Other publications were at that time encouraged to follow up on these
reports to no avail. Some extracts from these two sources are included above
since there is a real belief that these reports were factual. Unfortunately
these two sites have poor archiving methodologies. Fortunately the full text
of these reports have been retained and are available if required.

Of lateral interest is that Augustine Mukaro, an Editor / writer for the
Zimbabwe Independent who had earlier reported on the Gletwyn matters appears
to have been suspended / fired allegedly for leaking information to CIO
Operatives. This event was reported in the ZimOnline

2008 03 27 - Journalist suspended over leak to spy agency - (Augustine
Mukaro) - (Happyton Bonyongwe)

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2934 by Tawanda Chiweshe
Thursday 27 March 2008 - HARARE

Zimbabwe to allow goods to be sold in foreign mone

Reuters

y
Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:53am BST

HARARE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will license 1,000 retailers and 200
wholesalers to sell goods in foreign currency to ease shortages and clamp
down on a thriving currency black market, central bank Governor Gideon Gono
said on Wednesday.

"With immediate effect there will be foreign currency licenced warehouses
and shops and we are doing this for an initial period of 18 months, as an
experiment," he told reporters.

Motorists would also be allowed to buy fuel in foreign exchange, he said.
The most used foreign currency in Zimbabwe are the South African rand and
U.S. dollar. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe)

Final humiliation for Zimbabwe dollar as foreign currency legalised

The Telegraph

Robert Mugabe's government has bowed to financial reality and legalised the
use of foreign currency in Zimbabwe's shattered economy.

By Sebastien Berger, Southern Africa Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:33PM BST 10 Sep 2008

It is the final humiliation for Zimbabwe's battered currency, which was
worth more than the US greenback at independence in 1980.

Even after two revaluations that have knocked a total of 13 zeros off it, it
was trading on the black market on Wednesday at around 6,000 to the USD - or
60,000,000,000,000,000 to one in terms of the original Zimbabwe dollar.

Gideon Gono, the reserve bank governor and a key player in the ruling
Zanu-PF party, said that 250 wholesalers and 1,000 retailers would be
licensed to accept foreign currency as an 18-month "experiment".

"These reforms are essentially a pragmatic response to the realities in the
economy," he said. "We have watched and observed with heavy hearts the
suffering of fellow Zimbabweans as they wait and continue to wait in long
queues at the borders as they bring in basic commodities.

"We have also seen desperate mothers, youth and the elderly spending cold
nights in foreign lands as they seek for basic commodities."

But while Mr Mugabe and his officials lament the country's woes, they
consistently blame them on foreign plots and profiteering businessmen,
rather than their own mismanagement, typified by the seizure of white-owned
land from 2000 onwards, which destroyed commercial agriculture, the mainstay
of the economy.

Since then the country has spiralled downwards, with millions leaving in
search of work abroad, particularly in South Africa, and officially
inflation in Zimbabwe is now running at 11.2 million per cent - unofficial
estimates put it far higher.

The imposition of price controls failed to dampen inflation and instead
merely saw goods and commodities vanish to the black market.

Even banknotes are in short supply - the most recent revaluation last month
was accompanied by the issue of a new currency, but prices have kept soaring
and the government's standard fallback position of recent times, printing
ever more currency to meet its needs, has been stymied by the German company
that supplied its banknote paper stopping its shipments.

"Some of you may ask, 'are we now trying to dollarise the economy?' No, the
Zimbabwe dollar remains the legal tender," Mr Gono insisted.

But de facto dollarisation has been under way for weeks and months. Carrying
ever-larger bundles of increasingly worthless Zimbabwe dollar notes is
inconvenient for shoppers, let alone businesses, and the US dollar and South
African rand, along with fuel coupons, are far more useful alternatives
which will not lose half their value in a matter of days.

The move is also partly an attempt to bring more foreign currency into the
government's own depleted coffers - by legalising the trade, it hopes to
move business from the black market to official channels, where it will
collect 25 per cent of private companies' export earnings and 15 per cent of
domestic traders'.

John Robertson, an independent economist in Harare, said: "They can't
physically print enough Zimbabwean money, I think this is what's caught them
out. They seem to have run out of other options so the use of somebody
else's money seems a good idea.

"Any normal person would be embarrassed at failing so badly but they have
failed in so many ways and they are still denying they got anything wrong.
They actually do believe their plans are brilliant, so the fact they are not
working has got to be somebody else's fault."

The move is an indication of the difficulties Zanu-PF will face if talks
over power-sharing with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
collapse and it tries to go it alone.

Both sides have made optimistic comments in recent days, but the MDC is
insisting that it will not agree to any deal that does not give real
authority to its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Government Desperate For Cash

Reconciling the past for a stable future

JOHANNESBURG , 10 September 2008 (IRIN) - Zimbabwe's stop-start talks, stalled negotiations and the lexicon of logjam and political impasse have all conspired to consign the issue of transitional justice to the back burner.

The country's history since independence, as well as its colonial past, makes it ripe for considering transitional justice measures to find a political solution that range from doing absolutely nothing to the prosecution and punishment of those involved in human rights abuses, a recent research paper by the South African think tank, the Institute for Security Studies contends.

In 1980, after Zimbabwe won its independence from Britain, the country's founding - and current - president, Robert Mugabe, asked in his first speech "Is it not folly, therefore, that in these circumstances anybody should seek to revive the wounds and grievances of the past? ... The wrongs of the past must now stand forgiven and forgotten."  

The paper, Justice and Peace in a new Zimbabwe: Transitional Justice Options , co-authored by Max du Plessis, an associate law professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Jolyon Ford, of the Centre for International Governance and Justice at the Australian National University, argued that deliberately forgetting Rhodesia's excesses has had a debilitating influence on Zimbabwe's present.

"This passive form of response to Rhodesian-era abuses left many legacies still affecting Zimbabwe today, including a prevailing culture of impunity," Du Plessis and Ford said.

The authors disagree with the approach taken by the International Crisis Group (ICG) that Zimbabwe would need "a transitional justice mechanism at some stage to come to terms fully with and move beyond its long nightmare."

"But it is difficult to see how 'justice' can be separated from political issues during this stalemate, since fear of prosecution partly explains hardliners' resistance", Du Plessis and Ford commented.

"It is clear that these issues will be directly shaping political negotiations now, in the interim period - questions about what kind of justice strategy can secure the conditions for a transition to take place at all, and then to take place peacefully."

The details of negotiations between Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change have been shrouded in secrecy since a memorandum of understanding ushering in the talks was signed on 21 July, although history suggests that those who concede power seek certain guarantees.

Mugabe, along with loyal cabinet ministers and security chiefs, have been accused of a host of human rights abuses during their 28 years in power, which some commentators say could put them firmly in the sights of The Hague's International Criminal Court.

A catalogue of human rights abuses

In 1983, Mugabe unleashed the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade, under the command of Lt-Col Perence Shire and currently commander of Zimbabwe's air force, against alleged political dissidents in Matabeleland.

If a legitimate transition is accomplished in Zimbabwe, the 'singularity' of truth commissions - one-off, limited-purpose-and-lifespan institutions carrying a 'never again' message - commends them as highly visible and powerful mechanism to break with past troubles

At least 20,000 people were killed in this campaign, Operation Gukurahundi, which targeted members of the rival liberation movement, ZAPU, led by Joshua Nkomo and drawn mainly from Zimbabwe's Ndebele people in the southwest of the country.

Two security ministers presided over the operation: Emerson Mnangagwa, currently minister of rural housing, and Sydney Sekeremayi, who holds the defence portfolio. A human rights pressure group based in The Hague, Crimes Against Humanity Zimbabwe, is campaigning for Gukurahundi to be recognised as genocide.

Mugabe claimed the dissidents were trying to overthrow the government backed by apartheid South Africa. But in 2000, at the state funeral of Nkomo, he called the killings "madness", but stopped short of an apology.

In the winter of 2005 the ZANU-PF government launched Operation Murambatsvina, also known as Operation Drive Out Rubbish. It was officially described as a slum clearance programme that was also intended to flush out criminals.

More than 700,000 people were left homeless after houses and shacks were bulldozed, while informal traders' stalls were demolished and their goods confiscated, leaving them without a livelihood.

United Nations Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka visited Zimbabwe in the wake of Murambatsvina and said the operation had breached both national and international human rights law. General Constantine Chiwenga, chief of Zimbabwe's defence forces, and Augustine Chihuri, chief of police, were directly involved in the planning and execution of the operation.

2000 ushered in nearly a decade of political violence that began after Mugabe lost the February 2000 constitutional referendum and culminated in the recent 2008 elections, in which the opposition claims saw scores of people killed. Mugabe retained power in a ballot widely dismissed as flawed.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to restorative justice, "the broad shape of any future justice mechanism and process is something that will determine - and be determined by - present political machinations," Du Plessis and Ford noted.

Restorative justice

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Non-governmental Organisation Forum, which monitors abuses and assists victims, said in 2006 there was "considerable support" for human rights violators to be put on trial.

Photo:

Searching for the truth

"[Roman Catholic] Archbishop [of Bulawayo] Pius Ncube has said that cycles of abuse and impunity in Zimbabwe are 'cancerous', so that there is a need to avoid amnesties and simply prosecute persons in future, including to educate future generations," Du Plessis and Ford wrote.

Neighbouring South Africa set up a truth commission in the wake of apartheid's demise, with the objective of establishing an accurate record of past oppression to break the silence on human rights abuses and compensate victims.

Du Plessis and Ford argue that the formation of a truth commission should be at the forefront of Zimbabwe's negotiations, considering the levels of alleged state brutality, the politicisation of the judiciary, "the covert nature of both direct state abuses and indirect state-instigated action", the culture of impunity, and the lack of remedial options.

"If a legitimate transition is accomplished in Zimbabwe, the 'singularity' of truth commissions - one-off, limited-purpose-and-lifespan institutions carrying a 'never again' message - commends them as a highly visible and powerful mechanism to break with past troubles," Du Plessis and Ford said.

However, they also said it would be "naïve to deny" that "there still may need to be some privileging of 'peace' over 'justice' in the way those involved in negotiations choose to deal with past abuses."

Starvation Hovers over Zimbabwe

TIME

Tuesday, Sep. 09, 2008 By MEGAN LINDOW

Even in the best of times, food is scarce in Mutiusinazita. And these are
not the best of times in Zimbabwe. The farmers who eke out a living planting
drought-resistant crops like sorghum in the harsh, sandy soil this year
found that even when plentiful rains ended six straight years of drought,
not even those hardiest of crops would grow - because the farmers had no
fertilizer. Faced with starvation, villagers are now surviving off tree
roots and a porridge made from the fruit of baobab trees. "The baobab trees
are prevalent in this area and they are the main source of food now,"
explains Samuel Tsungirai Muzerengwa, a local senator for the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "People can't afford the staple maize
meal anymore. Some collect wild roots for consumption. [Some are] developing
outlandish diseases from indiscriminately eating wild fruits."

Mutiusinazita, like much of rural Zimbabwe, is hungry, and hostage to the
country's political stalemate. Years of economic free-fall and the
government's decision to expel humanitarian aid organizations ahead of the
controversial June 27 runoff presidential election have left farming
communities on the brink of starvation. Saving rural Zimbabwe from
starvation will require a political settlement that restarts the economy and
restores international assistance, but President Robert Mugabe remains
locked in a stalemate over how to share power with MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe in the first round vote on
March 29, but boycotted the runoff in the face of violent intimidation.
South African-mediated talks have sought to create a unity government, but
the two sides cannot agree on how to allocate power within such an
arrangement. (See photos of Political Tension in Zimbabwe here).
After a meeting between the two sides in Harare, Tuesday, Tsvangirai said
there had been a "positive development," indicating that a settlement might
be in the works. The talks had earlier appeared to be on the brink of
collapse, as both sides balked at a proposal by the South African mediator,
President Thabo Mbeki, for an equal power sharing arrangement. For villages
like Mutiusinazitsa, relief from hunger may depend heavily on the troubled
talks in Harare reaching a positive conclusion.

Although Mugabe has reversed the ban on aid groups delivering food since the
election, officials from those groups say the damage has already been done.
Both the U.N. Food Agricultural Organization and the World Food Program
expect that by early next year, more than 5 million Zimbabweans - about 45%
of the population - will suffer food insecurity. A separate report from two
human rights organizations says that nearly half the population now faces
starvation, and that poor families are resorting to such desperate measures
as marrying off their underage daughters to older men in exchange for food
security. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies has appealed for $26.6 million to help them deliver aid to 260,100
vulnerable people. The fact that the number of Zimbabweans at risk is
expected to rise to almost 20 times that number "gives a clear indication of
how severe the situation is and could become," said Peter Lundberg, the head
of the IFRC's delegation in Harare. "We are very concerned."

Around Mutiusinazita, the schools are empty and the clinics are filling up
with malnutrition cases, both children and adult. "We have cases of children
fainting because of hunger," says Samson Chauke, a teacher at a nearby
school. As growing numbers of students have dropped out due to hunger and
the inability of families to pay the fees, teachers - whose wages are
rendered pitiful by runaway inflation - are also abandoning the school in
order to work the illegal diamond mines in nearby Marange. At one market in
Mutisinazita, a bucket of maize meal was last week selling for 20 trillion
Zimbabwe dollars (about $13), four times the monthly salary of an average
civil servant. "We are also hungry," says Chauke. "We need to be paid in
foreign currency because every commodity is being imported." A senior nurse
at the local district hospital said that the number of children admitted
with severe malnutrition increased from 10 in March to 40 by the end of
July. "The ban by the government on humanitarian agencies shifted the burden
on us greatly," she told TIME, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Zimbabwean civil society briefed by MDC on Tuesday

By Violet Gonda
10 September 2008

The Tsvangirai led MDC briefed leaders of the civil society on Tuesday
regarding the inter party talks with ZANU PF and the Mutambara led MDC.
Party Spokesman Nelson Chamisa gave the civic leaders a progress report on
the negotiations saying there were a few minor issues that were left to be
discussed but were hopeful they could be resolved.

Civic groups that were present at the meeting included the National
Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwe
National Students Union, Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum and Women in Politics
Support Unit.

This is the second time that the main MDC met members of the civil society
in recent weeks. The other stakeholders have been pressing for a role in the
power sharing talks and condemned the exclusive nature of the negotiations
that began on the 21st of July.

In keeping with the "secret" manner in which the talks have been conducted,
it is reported the civic leaders were also gagged from briefing the media
about Tuesday's meeting. But sources at the meeting who talked on condition
of anonymity said the "minor issues" being discussed still revolved around
the sharing of executive powers.

It is said South African President Thabo Mbeki came back, when talks
reconvened on Monday, with an amended draft proposing that Robert Mugabe and
Morgan Tsvangirai co-chair the cabinet. According to sources at the civic
briefing, the draft proposes the Presidency for Mugabe with two Vice
Presidents - both from ZANU PF. Tsvangirai is expected to be Prime Minister
with two Deputy Prime-Ministers from his party. The third position of the
deputy premier was a suggestion from Mbeki for someone from the Mutambara
side.

It is reported there is still no agreement on which portfolios (Ministries)
the respective parties are going to take.

The other contentious issue is said to be the issue of a new constitution.
It's reported the MDC has been calling for an 18 month transitional period
that will also result in the drafting of a new constitution but ZANU PF is
said to be proposing a 5 year term.

Under the proposed agreement a Council of State will be set up comprising
the leaders of the political parties, to enable decisions to be made based
on consensus. It is this Council that will be expected to appoint
ambassadors, Commissions and the Reserve Bank Governor.

Under the proposed agreement there will not be any by-elections during the
transitional period in order to maintain stability. It is reported that the
affected party will appoint another representative if a member of parliament
or senate dies.

It is understood there were split opinions with some civic leaders saying
some issues have been compromised and will affect the whole idea of
democracy. They said the appointment of individuals by the Council of State
would be undemocratic and where a representative dies, the people should be
able to choose who should lead them. However there was a general acceptance
that negotiations are the way forward.

At the time of broadcast the political parties were still locked in
negotiations at a hotel in Harare on Wednesday.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Doctors Give Ultimatum

http://www.radiovop.com


Harare - Striking Zimbabwean doctors have given the government a two
month ultimatum to pay their salaries in foreign currency or face an
indefinite strike action.

The doctors are accusing the government of refusing to pay them in
foreign currency despite numerous pledges by several aid organizations to
establish a fund to cater for their remuneration.

The doctors have been on strike for the past two weeks pressing for a
salary review in United States dollars or South African rands.

"We are back at work as a principle because people are suffering and
need our help. We have given the government a two months ultimatum to work
out a figure in foreign currency or else we will undertake another strike
action which will be indefinite," said Amos Severegi, the President of the
Hospital Doctors Association (HAD).

"It is the government which does not want to pay us in foreign
currency yet there are non-governmental organizations and the European Union
which have pledged to donate funds to a medical pool to pay doctors. The
government is insincere they know we cannot survive on Zimbabwean dollars
which are easily eroded by inflation."

Severengi said a meeting which his association held with the
government on Monday did not produce any fruitful agreement with the
government insisting on pegging the doctor's salaries in Zimbabwean dollar's
equivalent of whatever amount the doctors are demanding.

The doctors said they are consulting members on a finally figure to be
presented to government.

Government doctors are paid a salary of Zd 4 000 (revalued), enough to
buy 10 loaves of bread.

State hospitals are used by the majority of Zimbabweans but are barely
functioning at the best of times due to an overload of HIV/AIDS cases made
worse by severe shortages of doctors, nurses, drugs and equipment.

For those who rely on public hospitals, the latest doctors' strike
probably only serves to highlight the rot in Zimbabwe's public health
delivery system that was once lauded as one of the best in Africa but has
virtually crumbled due to years of under-funding and mismanagement.

Zim health crisis worsening

By Alex Bell
10 September 2008

As all eyes remain focused on the political battle being waged in Zimbabwe,
a desperate crisis is worsening under the noses of the same leaders that
Zimbabweans hope will bring change to the country.

The deteriorating health system has left thousands without access to medical
treatment, while at the same time the economic meltdown has left Zimbabweans
choosing to spend what little money they have on food, rather than medical
treatment.

Another result of the economic crisis is a recent report from the Bulawayo
council that declared its clinics and the city's main TB treatment centre
will remain closed for at least three months. The situation has been
described as 'desperate' by city councillors as the clinics have become the
only alternative for residents who refuse to be treated at the poorly
resourced government referral hospitals. Private clinics are also now
charging in foreign currency, a luxury many of the cities residents do not
have.

Meanwhile, failing infrastructure as a result of the turbulent political
climate have also left thousands without access to clean water, as sewage
spills have contaminated most of the water reservoirs in the country. The
situation has seen a drastic increase in the number of reported cases of
serious diarrhoea. A recent outbreak of cholera in Harare's Chitungwiza
Township has left at least nine people dead and thirty more hospitalised.

At the same time, the ongoing doctors and nurses strike has further reduced
the already overworked medical staff around the country. Despite Zimbabwean
doctors and nurses being some of the best trained in the world, only the
most resilient have chosen to remain in the country as it continues to be
ravaged by political turmoil.

Dr Douglas Gwatidzo from the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human
Rights told Newsreel on Wednesday, the government's 'slow response' to the
health crisis means the country is 'sitting on a time bomb.' He said the
cholera outbreak was expected because of the dire conditions Zimbabweans are
living in, and emphasised that the nation's majority 'can no longer access
good health facilities.' Dr Gwatidzo also explained that with food and money
in severe shortage, medical treatment has become a luxury and people would
rather 'allocate their money looking for food.' He described the situation
as desperate and a 'worsening crisis,' where illness is rife, people are
starving and medical treatment is unattainable.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

WOZA leader Jenni Williams speaking in London

ZANU-PF claims it has a new energy policy

Wednesday, 10 September 2008 13:49 Pedzisai Ncube

 

Zimbabweans have endured countless days and nights without electricity

After years, long dark years during which the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) failed to provide electricity to most if not all parts of the country, one would think the minister responsible would be spending sleepless nights trying to find ways to provide people with adequate electricity supplies.

From the plush Gun Hill to the poor suburbs of Mabvuku and Tafara, the residents of Harare had been affected by constant, unannounced power cuts by ZESA that sometimes last for days.

Inefficient power supplies have even forced firms to close or to operate at less than normal capacity. Power shortage saw gold production declining again this year.

"The country is losing a lot of power through the use of inefficient lighting bulbs, inefficient electrical appliances and inadequate awareness campaigns to save power" Mike Nyambuya, a retired army officer who is also the Minister of energy claimed, preferring to put the blame on the suffering people rather on his shoulders.

Without offering specifics, Nyambuya further claimed that the ZANU-PF government was working in a new Energy Policy that will see the people provided with adequate power supplies.

"The final draft National Energy Policy in place seeks to, among other things, increase the access to affordable energy services to all sectors at the correct price, stimulate sustainable growth by promoting competition, efficiency and investment in the sector." said Nyambuya.  Why the draft talks about prices before electricity supplies are guaranteed is any body's guess.

Zimbabwe has huge coal reserves, but most power stations sit idle unable to generate power due to lack of spare parts or personnel. Over the years, skilled engineers have left the country in horde for 'greener pastures'.

On its part, ZESA has also been hit by manpower flight and vandalism of its obsolete equipment, in addition to general corruption, exacerbating its already precarious state.

Biomass Energy for Zimbabwe - Energy From Human and Animal Waste

What is biogas ? - Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the
biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen . One type
of biogas is produced by anaerobic (without air)  digestion or fermentation
of biodegradable materials such as biomass manure or sewage ,  municipal
waste and energy crops.

Background

According to a Herald report sometime in February , 2008  the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority (ZINWA) indicated that they were considering
reviving the biogas digesters that have been lying idle at Firle and
Crowborough waterworks in Harare to cut down on energy costs.

Studies done at Crowborough site in Kuwadzana revealed that the gas produced
has a chemical composition of 66,4 percent methane, 32,2 percent carbon
dioxide and the rest hydrogen sulphide.

"If revived, the digesters also have the capacity of producing enough energy
to drive several other industrial operations that require large amounts of
power. According to water experts Crowborough wastewater in Kuwadzana,
currently consumes almost 215 000 kilowatts each month, costing the water
authority billions of dollars yet it has the potential of producing about 12
500-cubic metres of biogas a day."

Example

An interesting success story on biogas technology deployment in Africa is in
Rwanda. This followed the exponential rise in prisoner population following
the genocides around mid 90s. With some of Rwanda's prisons holding five
times the intended number of inmates, it's not surprising that the original
septic tanks and settling pools were unable to cope. The appearance and
stench was just the beginning of the problem. Faced with these threats, the
Kigali Institute of Science & Technology - KIST - developed a way to convert
the human sewage to biogas, thus cleaning up the waste hygienically and
creating a sustainable energy source  - that's killing 2 birds with one
stone.

Technology

Biomass technology is a very mature and old technology that formalizes the
decomposition of waste into a fuel (biogas) and some fertilizer (waste).This
process is part of the natural carbon cycle of life. The sunlight produces
food in plants that we eat and discard as waste. As you know, you can
neither create nor  destroy energy but convert it to one form or another.

Methane (CH4) is the combustible component of biogas. On average biogas has
like 60 % methane.

Developing countries like Vietnam , Brazil , Thailand , Phillipines and of
late Tanzania and Rwanda have matured and stabilized in this technology.

The process

A quick summary of the actual digestion process or decomposition (kuwoora -
ukubola) .

Anaerobic digestion is one of the most common biological procedures in
nature, as the name implies, it means to carry out digestion or breakdown in
the absence of air.  Anaerobic decomposition will produce methane, carbon
dioxide, some hydrogen and other gases in traces, very little heat. Biogas
technology simply formalizes the natural decomposition process.

Anaerobic decomposition is a two-stage process as specific bacteria feed on
certain organic materials at a specific pH level. In the process, the
bacteria emit gases, mostly methane. But instead of being vented into the
air, they are piped into a storage canister.

Depending on temperature and moisture content, it takes about 6-25 days to
fully process a batch temperatures are pretty favorable for this process in
most parts of Zimbabwe. The end product is about 60-70% methane and 20-30%
CO2, with small amounts of hydrogen sulfide and other impurities.

Challenges

Constraints of biogas production arise from the production rate limitations.
The process of anaerobic decomposition is relatively slow, so production of
gas at useful rates required large volume of permanent culture. Biogas is
not easily bottled and thus must be used near its sources. Thus biogas can
not be produced on an as needed basis or where needed basis. Thus it makes
economic sense for public municipalities like Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru,
Mutare etc to be the initiators of such projects since they own and or
operate water/waste management systems.

Beyond concerns about sanitation, successful adoption of biogas in the
developing world is highly dependent on political, economic, logistical, and
social factors. It is important that decision makers understand what this
biomass technology is if it's to be rolled out effectively. Like any other
technology adoption is usually problematic.

Way forward

A healthy prospect for Zimbabwe is the development of a anaerobic wastewater
treatment systems with biomass as a by product . There is no shortage of raw
materials to be used as stock feed as we are aware that some urban centers
in Zimbabwe are literally flowing  with raw sewage. Biomass technologies
will not totally eradicate power shortages in Zimbabwe , but will go a long
way in alleviating  ZESA of the burden  if executed properly.

Municipalities, hospitals, prisons, colleges , schools etc should seriously
consider adopting this technology which is already being used in various
parts of the world. It's not a question of its suitability and cost
effectiveness, but a question of whether the decision makers have enough
vision to comprehend the advantages biomass technologies.

It takes 1-2 cows, 5-8 pigs, or 4 adult humans to supply adequate daily
feedstock for a single-household biodigester, according to a UNDP-Global
Environment Facility fact sheet. Hence the use of biodigesters makes sense
for institutions like prisons and hospitals and colleges where human
population density is higher than elsewhere.

The cost per unit of energy over a digester's 15- to 20-year life cycle is
lower than both solar electrification and the cost of extending a
conventional electrical grid. For farmers this is particularly very crucial
to the farmers who need energy and or electricity to process their produce
or to cure their tobacco !

The departments responsible for energy must think outside the box in a new
Zimbabwe and tap into this very old and very stable technology. There are
some biomass plants somewhere in Chishawasha that were installed as far back
as 1979.

Organizations like the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV)
Asia-Africa on Renewable Energy/Biogas Programme have been rolling out
biomass plants to Tanzania for years now. There is no shortage of technology
of funding on part of the donors .But what remains elusive is the
commitment, focus and accountability on part of developing countries.

Cost and ROI

Biomass digesters which range anything from $ 400 to $ 1500 depending on
type and capacity. The digester can be plastic containers or made out of
brick and cement constructions.

There are many designs of biogas plants which are available but the most
common are the floating canopy (Indian) and fixed dome (Chinese) models. The
polyethylene tubular biodigester technology is a cheap and simple way to
produce gas for small-scale farmers. It is appealing to rural people because
of the low cost of the installation and therefore of the gas, and the
improvement in the environment that the installation allows. It can be
applied in rural or urban areas, both in low and hilly lands.

Conclusion

We need to confront the problems that face us at the same level at which
they occur. Naturally , pessimists and critics alike , might think that
these efforts are far fetched since the economy is really challenged. Yes
the economy is on its knees because we are always looking for help
elsewhere.

If we fail to turn around the economy we have no-one else to blame other
than ourselves. Of course such efforts will only have a realistic "take off'
opportunity when a political solution is finally arrived at. But we don't
stop planning because there is a political impasse. The clock never stops
turning just because one is facing challenges and problems !

Human waste may be a stinky business, but to some , it smells like money !

Lets hear you thoughts on the revitalizing those plants that are already in
existence and also the adoption of biomass technologies.

Robert Ndlovu ,

New York , USA .

robertndlovu@yahoo.com

SADC Court To Deliver Judgement In Zim Farmer's Case

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal
will Thursday deliver judgement on an application by a group of Zimbabwean
white farmers against the seizure of their land by President Robert Mugabe's
government eight years ago.

The ruling on the long drawn case was originally supposed to have been
passed in July but was postponed after a group of Zimbabwean lawyers
representing Mugabe's government walked out of the SADC Tribunal's Windhoek
chambers.

The Zimbabwean lawyers were protesting against what they called the
unfairness of the court in dealing with the case.

A Tribunal official told Radio VOP earlier this month that the court
was to sit (today) Thursday.

"As you already know the court was adjourned in July but it is now
going to sit to deliver judgment on 11 September," said Dennis Shivangulula,
an official with the Windhoek based regional court.

The regional court had temporarily barred the Harare government from
confiscating land belonging to 77 white farmers pending the outcome of an
application by the farmers challenging the legality of Mugabe's programme to
seize white-owned land for redistribution to landless blacks.

The white farmers want the Tribunal to declare Mugabe's controversial
land reform programme racist and illegal under the SADC Treaty.

Article 6 of the regional treaty bars member states from
discriminating against any person on the grounds of gender, religion, race,
ethnic origin and culture.

Veterans Hostile to Power-Sharing Deal

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Tension mounts in rural areas where Mugabe loyalists seem determined to keep
him in power.

By Yamikani Mwando in Bulawayo (ZCR No. 162, 10-Sep-08)

Reports are emerging that veterans of Zimbabwe's war of liberation will
challenge any deal that sees President Robert Mugabe giving up power.

People from villages across Zimbabwe say war veterans are threatening they
will not let opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai take power, following
recent reports that he and the ruling ZANU-PF are making progress in
power-sharing negotiations that began again this week.

Particular tension is reported in rural areas, where the war veterans have
conducted a long-running campaign of state-sponsored violence against those
presumed to be supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change,
MDC, supporters.

The Southern African Development Community, SADC, appointed mediator, South
African president Thabo Mbeki, made another rapid visit to the capital city,
Harare, this week in a renewed effort to revive negotiations to reach a
political deal.

The talks, which began in July, had previously stalled when Tsvangirai
refused to sign an agreement that does not give him executive powers.

Tsvangirai told party supporters at the weekend that he is pushing for a
settlement that will leave Mugabe with nothing but a ceremonial post as head
of state. This would effectively remove the president from power for the
first time since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980 after
a protracted war of liberation.

However, the country's war veterans are threatening to oppose such an
agreement.

Villagers who spoke to IWPR report growing unease in their areas, with
veterans warning them not to celebrate an MDC victory prematurely.

There are also fears that some communities might turn the tables on the
veterans, exacting vengeance on those who harassed them before and during
the March 29 election and the June 27 presidential run-off.

Nhlonipho Khumalo, from the Matopo area about 60 kilometres northeast of
Bulawayo, said that ZANU-PF militias had been openly criticising the latest
round of talks and threatening to prevent Tsvangirai assuming power.

"[The war veterans] are telling people at beer parties that they still rule
the country, that they will not give the country to Tsvangirai," said
Khumalo on a trip to Bulawayo, which he visits regularly to sell grain.

Veterans, who have long been closely associated with Mugabe, have been
accused by rights groups, including Amnesty International, of conducting a
campaign of violence during the harmonised elections in March, and a
presidential runoff in June.

"The people are afraid, knowing the brutality of these men during the past
elections," Khumalo told IWPR.

"What these men want [from the negotiations] is for things to remain as they
are, for the country not move forward."

The war veterans have reportedly been interfering with the distribution of
aid by humanitarian agencies across the country, even though the government
announced a fortnight ago that it was lifting a June ban on the distribution
of aid by NGOs.

Japhet Makwambeni, who this week returned from Gutu in the Masvingo province
in the south of the country, told IWPR that villagers have been living in
fear since talks looked set to go in favour of the MDC.

"What is happening is just ridiculous," said Makwambeni, a qualified fitter
and turner who now buys and sells a motley assortment of goods in Bulawayo's
central business district.

"The veterans are telling our parents that the MDC will not rule the
country, and accuses us young people from the cities of bringing to the
homesteads news about what they view as Tsvangirai's imminent rule."

Analysts warn that if the war veterans resist the outcome of the
SADC-brokered negotiations, this will be taken to show Mugabe is a dishonest
negotiator and could also lead to further economic decline.

The power-sharing deal is being touted as the only means of resuscitating an
economy, reeling from the world's highest level of inflation.

An economics lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology
told IWPR that any conflict emerging from veterans' resistance to Tsvangirai
could prove to be the fatal blow that will see Zimbabwe "certified as a
failed state".

"They did enough damage invading farms, and the country certainly does not
need any retrogressive forces right now," said the lecturer, who preferred
not to be named.

An activist with a rights group, which says it is fighting for the autonomy
of Matebeleland after years of being marginalised by central government,
told IWPR that the group would not accept resistance to a power-sharing
deal.

"We know a lot of people have benefited from the economic ruin of this
country and they will not be willing to give up all those privileges, but we
will not tolerate anything or anyone that stands in the way," said the
activist.

"War veterans have always claimed ownership of the country, but it is time
we also reclaimed our birthright. We know who we voted for in March."

Yamikani Mwando is the pseudonym of an IWPR journalist in Zimbabwe.