Chris McGreal in Epworth, Harare
The Guardian,
Saturday
September 20 2008
The mother of three, who gives her name just as
Beatrice, still doesn't know
who raped her all those months ago. They were
three men with beer on their
breath, iron bars in their hands and Robert
Mugabe on their T-shirts.
But she has known all along who she holds
responsible even though there was
nothing she could do about it. Until now.
"They told me they raped me
because this is war and I was the enemy. I was
just a woman who wanted to
vote. There is a Zanu-PF bigwig here in Epworth.
I was raped by the militia
at his house. There were other women and men they
were beating. They were
terrorising us because we were against Mugabe," she
said. "They did this to
us because they thought we couldn't touch them. Now
we will touch them.
Things have changed in Zimbabwe. They will arrest that
bigwig before too
long because of what he did to me."
It will take
some time yet to address past wrongs, but a mix of relief and
hope - along
with a little wishful thinking - swept Zimbabwe this week as
millions of
people desperate for respite from hunger, an ever more difficult
struggle to
find the money to survive and the state's terror machine watched
Mugabe
"humiliated", in his own words, into signing a power-sharing deal
with his
arch foe, Morgan Tsvangirai.
People said the deal was far from perfect.
Many wanted Mugabe out
altogether. There is still the grappling over who
gets what in the cabinet.
But there was also a sense that when Mugabe signed
the agreement he was
consigning himself to history.
The new sense of
freedom and expectation exerted itself in small but telling
ways. A day
after the political agreement a soldier was headed to the front
of the long
queue that ran out of a Harare bank of people waiting to
withdraw their
daily limit of banknotes worth just 50p. Soldiers and war
veterans always
pushed to the head of the line, and no one ever said
anything. But this week
voices piped up. "Get to the back," they told the
soldier. And he
went.
Others have reported a profound change in the attitude of the
police who
have started protecting Tsvangirai's supporters from attack in
some areas.
Hope has even infected the black market with the Zimbabwe dollar
strengthening, and falling prices for goods in short supply such as sugar.
Senior civil servants have made it known to Tsvangirai that they await his
ministers with enthusiasm.
The first exercise of this tentative
freedom was led by Tsvangirai's
supporters outside the hall where the
agreement was signed. Thousands
pitched up in Movement for Democratic Change
party T-shirts, giving the
MDC's open-handed salute, in the shadow of the
Zanu-PF headquarters yards
from where Mugabe's militia broke up a Tsvangirai
rally and beat supporters
in June.
At the signing of the
power-sharing deal, the MDC supporters far outnumbered
those there to back
Mugabe. Zanu-PF activists looked sullen, as though aware
that somehow they
had lost out but were not quite sure how. As the MDC
activists revelled,
Mugabe's supporters grew more agitated and the rocks
started
flying.
The celebrations in the townships around Harare went on late into
the night
on Monday. In Chitungwiza, an opposition stronghold to the south
of the
capital, there was excited talk of an end to the misery of
hyperinflation -
running above 50m percent - and the prospect of jobs
returning along with
western aid.
Others, including thousands of
people beaten so badly by Mugabe's militia
and soldiers they were left with
permanent injuries and others whose homes
were destroyed during the
state-orchestrated terror against opposition
voters, are looking for
justice.
Beatrice lives in Epworth, a township near Harare terrorised by
the Zanu-PF
militia as a punishment for turfing out the party's local MP in
the
parliamentary election and voting overwhelmingly against Mugabe. For
weeks,
men armed with knives and sling shots ruled the streets, forcing
people to
long political meetings where suspected opposition supporters were
beaten
and sometimes murdered. Known MDC activists were abducted and held
prisoner
at the house of the Zanu-PF district chairman, Teddy Garakara,
where they
were tortured. Some of the women were raped, whipped and urinated
on.
Others had their homes razed. Among those targeted was an MDC local
councillor, William Mapfumo. The mob beat his wife, who was pregnant, and
assaulted their four year-old son. Then they destroyed their
home.
Zanu-PF's militia bases are gone but it was not until this week
that
Epworth's residents dared to hope that the terror is over. Among those
they
accuse of coordinating the violence is Amos Midzi, a former cabinet
minister
and MP for the area who lost his seat in the March election, and a
female
Zanu-PF councillor, Joana Mawira, who was also at the scene of the
attacks
on the women.
"We know who all these people are," said
Beatrice. " This is not what
Zimbabwe is about. We are not Congo. They must
be held to account so that
this never happens to my daughter because she
wants to exercise her right to
vote."
It remains to be seen if anyone
is held to account for the
state-orchestrated violence, but if they are,
some of the witnesses against
them may be the same policemen that Zanu-PF
thought were serving its
interests. One policeman from Epworth, who is
afraid to give his name, said
all of the regular officers in his station
support the opposition. "The
police did not support this violence. We had to
do what we were ordered. The
war vets were in charge," he said.
"The
other day an officer came to us and told us that now we must treat
everyone
the same. No favours. We know who did what. We were there and saw
who was
beating and raping. Some of them live here. We have not
forgotten."
Mugabe's opponents are not naive about Zanu-PF. They say that
despite the
agreement they do not expect tormentors to give up easily.
Already
negotiations on dividing up the cabinet posts have run into problems
because
Zanu-PF is insisting on retaining control of all the key ministries
with
authority over the military, police and finance.
But ordinary
Zimbabweans also saw something extraordinary this week; their
ruler of 28
years, who just a few months ago vowed that only God would
remove him from
power, was forced into sharing power with a man he despises.
That was a
tectonic shift and many Zimbabweans now see Mugabe as fatally
wounded
politically. The president only entered into the agreement because
he had no
other options. "Mugabe is the past," said Alfred Vava a shop owner
in
Epworth. "He is still there but has been forced to recognise Tsvangirai
is
the future. These old men who have treated us so badly, they didn't care
about Zimbabweans. But they are finished."
http://www.un.org
19 September 2008 -
Haile Menkerios, Assistant Secretary-General for
Political Affairs, briefed
Security Council members on the details of the
deal, signed in Harare on
Monday, which aims to end the political crisis
that has gripped the Southern
African country since the first round of
national elections in
March.
"This is a delicate compromise," Mr. Menkerios later told reporters,
stressing that the accord between President Robert Mugabe and opposition
leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara is not designed to
immediately solve all of Zimbabwe's problems.
Zimbabwe's economic
recovery will take time, he said, and international
donors must remain
engaged to help the country back on its feet, especially
in priority areas
such as agriculture, health care, and water and
sanitation.
But the
Assistant Secretary-General said he was confident that the main
political
forces in Zimbabwe can reach a compromise on the outstanding
issues left
remaining after the agreement.
He also said that the deal, even though it
will be painful to fully
implement, offers thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans
the chance for a much
better life.
Mr. Menkerios served as the UN
representative on a reference group backing
the efforts of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to mediate
between Zimbabwe's political
forces, and he attended Monday's signing of the
agreement.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri & Carole Gombakomba
Washington
19 September 2008
Members of Zimbabwe's
National Constitutional Assembly met on Friday in
Harare to review the
power-sharing agreement signed by the country's major
parties and concluded
that the accord brings little real change to the
political
landscape.
The NCA said President Robert Mugabe will exercise
considerably more power
in the new government than incoming prime minister
Morgan Tsvangirai of the
Movement for Democratic Change, long the opposition
party before its
combined formations secured a majority in parliament in
general elections in
March of this year.
The NCA also took issue with
Article 6 of the accord regarding a new
constitution, saying that the
section refers to a draft constitution
compiled in 2007 by ZANU-PF and MDC
officials in the town of Kariba, not to
the "people-driven" version the NCA
wants.
NCA spokesman Maddock Chivasa told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio
7 for Zimbabwe that the organization will keep pressing for a
people-driven
constitution.
The 22 member organizations of the Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition also met on
Friday and agreed a lot remains to be done
on the political front despite
the power-sharing accord.
Issues taken
up by the group included the new constitution and the role of
parliament.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Spokesman Macdonald Lewanika
told reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that while
civil society
was not directly involved in the talks, there is a lot of work
to be done
rebuilding democracy.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4455#more-4455
September 19,
2008
By Raymond Maingire
HARARE - The National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) says it will oppose
every process by the
pending unity government aimed at drafting a new
constitution via what it
finds to be a flawed process.
A power sharing agreement reached between
Zanu PF and the two MDC parties
early this week binds the new government to
18 months to come up with a new
constitution.
The parties pledge to
commence the process within two months of the new
government's
inception.
According to Article 6 of the document, Parliament shall
coordinate all
stages of the process.
But the NCA, which has been
campaigning for a complete overhaul of the
Lancaster House "cease fire"
constitution, says it is against the dominance
of politicians in a process
it says should generally be driven by ordinary
Zimbabweans led by civic
society organisations.
NCA national spokesperson Madock Chivasa told The
Zimbabwe Times Friday his
organization will challenge every stage of the
process.
"We totally reject that resolution in its totality," he said,
"This process
seeks to create a powerful institution to which everyone will
continuously
go and report."
Under the agreement, the parties shall
set up "a Select Committee of
Parliament composed of representatives of the
Parties".
The select committee will in turn set up subcommittees chaired
by a member
of parliament and comprising parliamentarians and
representatives of civil
society "as may be necessary" to assist the
committee in performing its
mandate.
The NCA contends the process, if
entrusted to the hands of politicians,
would be open to
manipulation.
"The role of Parliament must come when it comes to the
enactment of the law
itself when we actually go to the referendum'" he
said.
"We will undermine every process that is stipulated in this
agreement. At
most we will seek to stop every process that we are not in
agreement with by
way of street demonstrations.
"We will not accept
even the best product that is reached through a faulty
process."
The
NCA favours a process where government would facilitate an
all-stakeholders
conference that brings together all interest groups in the
country to discus
the terms of reference.
An outreach programme is then launched to get and
compile the content.
An all-stakeholders conference is then reconvened to
discuss the whole
document after which a referendum is called to decide if
it becomes the
country's supreme law.
The NCA spokesperson said his
organization feels let down by its long time
ally, the MDC, which has also
acknowledged the validity of the so-called
Kariba draft Constitution as a
national document.
Both Zanu-PF and MDC authored the document in the
resort town on September
30, 2007. The document is however yet to be
published.
"It is an insult to our existence," said Chivasa, "We are actually
surprised
the MDC is in agreement with that."
He said the NCA will at
worst break ranks with MDC if it ignores its NCA's
recommendations.
"We are dealing with politicians. We cannot say we
have permanent
relationships. We are simply sticking to our principle which
has been
consistent even during the time when Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC
president) was
still NCA chairperson."
Chivasa denied wide claims the
attainment of a new Constitution threatens
the existence of his
organization, which many view as a perennial agitator
of a new
Constitution.
"Its actually a misguided view," he said, "The NCA will
still exist as a
watchdog to the implementation of any Constitution after it
has been made."
Zimbabwe is still using a Constitution it inherited from
the erstwhile
colonial government on the attainment of independence from
Britain in 1980.
The document has been amended a record 18
times.
A draft document sponsored by government in 2000 was rejected in a
referendum.
The NCA, with the support of a newly formed MDC and other
groups, staged a
successful campaign against the document.
The NCA
argued that the draft document did not reflect what had been
gathered during
the outreach programme by a commission tasked to do so.
http://www.apanews.net/
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe)
Efforts to end a deadlock over Zimbabwe's cabinet
appointments failed to
produce a solution Friday as negotiators from the
three main political
parties refused to shift from their positions, APA
learns here.
A
spokesperson for the main faction of the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) said an initial meeting between negotiators from the
party and
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF held on Thursday night
pointed to
entrenched positions from which either side was unwilling to
move.
The meeting was also attended by a team of negotiators from a
breakaway MDC
faction led by Arthur Mutambara.
"There was no meeting
today but judging by what happened last night, we are
in for a long fight as
negotiators from both sides are unwilling to move an
inch from their
entrenched positions," the spokesperson told APA.
The negotiators are
supposed to break a deadlock over the allocation of
cabinet posts that
stalled a meeting between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and
Mutambara on
Thursday.
Mugabe and Prime Minister-designate Tsvangirai have differed
over the
control of the key ministries of defence, home affairs, foreign
affairs,
local government, finance and information in a proposed unity
government.
Tsvangirai's MDC is understood to be pushing for control of
the finance,
information, and home affairs portfolios.
The home
affairs minister will be in charge of the police force.
The three men
signed a power-sharing deal on Monday under which Mugabe
remains president
while Tsvangirai becomes Prime Minister and Mutambara will
be deputy
Premier.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Sep 19,
2008, 22:50 GMT
New York - The UN Security Council on Friday
called for the quick formation
of a unity government in Zimbabwe as
negotiations in Harare remained
deadlocked.
Four days after President
Robert Mugabe signed an historic agreement to give
up some of his powers to
his longtime political foe, Morgan Tsvangirai,
negotiators met Friday to
unstall the deadlock in the distribution of
ministerial posts between the
parties.
The 15-member council was unanimous in calling for a quick
resolution,
council president Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso
said.
British ambassador John Sawers sought to tie aid for rebuilding the
troubled
nation to political progress, saying all new money should go to the
stabilization of the country.
Yahoo News
1 hour, 34 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - British
Ambassador to the UN John Sawers said Friday
that London was ready to
support Zimbabwe's recovery but only if "genuine"
power-sharing is fully
implemented.
"We are ready to support Zimbabwe's recovery ... but we
clearly have to see
a commitment that the tragic policies pursued in
Zimbabwe in recent years
have come to an end and that there is a genuine
effort to share power with
those who were elected in the March election," he
told reporters.
He spoke after attending a UN Security Council briefing
by UN troubleshooter
Haile Menkerios, who monitored the South
African-mediated talks in Harare
that produced the power-sharing
accord.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, opposition leader and prime
minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai, and deputy prime minister-elect Arthur
Mutambara signed the deal last Monday that set out a framework for a
multi-party government in order to break an electoral
deadlock.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF was allotted 15 portfolios in the new cabinet,
Tsvangirai's
MDC 13 and Mutambara's faction three.
But the three
Zimbabwean leaders have failed to agree on key ministries,
with the main
opposition saying it will not be "mere accessories" in another
ZANU-PF
government.
Sawers expressed concern about the snag over the distribution
of cabinet
posts and said Britain would not provide financial to its former
African
colony unless the issue was resolved.
"We have to see the
agreement implemented. We want to see genuine power
sharing," he
noted.
"We are not going to put good money after bad. We want any new
money to
stabilize Zimbabwe and get through the ordinary people of that
country so
they can start rebuilding their lives."
Meanwhile
Menkerios expressed confidence that a compromise will be reached
by the
Zimbabwean parties.
He said an economic recovery "will take time' and
urged donors to provide
funding for priority sectors such as agriculture,
health, water and
sanitation.
Menkerios is the UN high-level
representative on a so-called "reference
group" -- which also includes the
African Union and a security panel of the
Southern African Development
Community -- set up to assist the South African
mediators.
Mugabe won
a one-man presidential run-off last June, widely denounced as a
sham after
Tsvangirai pulled out of the race due to a wave of deadly attacks
on his
supporters. Tsvangirai won the first round of the election in March.
http://www.hararetribune.com
Friday, 19 September 2008 17:57 Thomas Shumba Nation -
Zim Today
A number of commissions, supposedly 'independent' from
the government but
that were actualy an extension of ZANU-PF, are up for
closure following the
signing of the GNU deal Sept 15. The first two
commissons up for closure are
the Media and Information Commission (MIC) and
the Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC).
The MIC was headed by
Chinondidyachii Mararike while Paul Mangwana headed
the
ACC.
Mararike, another ZANU-PF apologist, replaced Dr. Tafataona Mahoso
in early
2008 when a judge determined that he was unfit to perform his
duties as the
chairman of MIC because he was 'politically
biased."
Former Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa, who has suddenly
found out
that the MIC and the ACC have not only been influenced but have
actually
been run by ZANU-PF cadres, confessed to Radio VOP that these two
commissions were baised.
"There are too many politicians making
decisions," he said. "Politicians
should not be making decisions on behalf
of commissions," Chinamasa claimedn
in an interview.
"Toothless"
commission
The Anti-Corruption Commission, in its entire lifetime, failed
to have one
person convicted in the courts of Zimbabwe. This is despite the
fact that
corruption in Zimbabwe over the years has infiltrated every facet
of life.
Corruption is seen in many societies as a cancer to be fought
with
relentless determination.
Robert Mugabe over the years appeared
content not only to live with the
disease, but to allow it to flourish
unchecked among his close political
associates.
Courruption is
nothing new in Zimbabwe. The L.G Smith Report of 1984
categorically stated
that parastatals were posting losses year in year out
because of endemic
corruption.
The Report which was compiled by former Judge Smith, notes
that
patron-client relationships, Board compositions and the absence of
meritocracy in the hiring procedures were some of the root causes of annual
losses.
Recently, people have been named, with evidence supplied, for
being corrupt.
There has been corruption scandals at ZISCO, ZUPCO, ZESA, GMB
and ZESA among
others, but the ACC has brought few people to the dock. Only
the 'small
fish' have been arraigned before the courts.
A Cabinet
Minister purchased a US$77 000 vehicle for personal use from ZUPCO
coffers,
but he has never faced any criminal charges. The cases of
corruption are too
many.
It appears the ACC has been there only to to prosecute criminals,
but to
protect ZANU-PF criminals.
Media Hangman
Zimbabwe's
Media and Information Commission (MIC) had control over which
newspapers are
published in the country, pursuant of the Access to
Information and Personal
Privacy Act. (AIPPA) that was written by Prof.
Jonathan Moyo.
The
MIC, when it was created, was billed by the ZANU-PF government as an
independent body that would oversee the media in Zimbabwe. The MIC has done
no such thing.
The MIC has been there only to protect ZANU-PF's
interests, analysts say.
Dr. Mahoso, the former MIC chairman, has in
the past used the vast powers
accorded to him by AIPPA to shut down several
newspapers.
Dr. Mahoso has fought running battles with the media,
claiming the sculps of
the Daily News, The Tribune among other
newspapers.
As recently as last year, Dr. Mahoso was advocating for
tightening of the
already tight press laws to control the distribution of
"subversive material
of foreign origin,"
It was his desire to be
assume control of what the foreign based newspapers
like The Zimbabwean,
published.
"It is essential that we should regulate both the
publishers and the
distributors," Dr. Mahoso claimed. "Those distributors
who import foreign
periodicals should indicate where they are procuring such
periodicals."
The closure of these two commssions, while not a victory
Zimbabwe, is a step
in the right direction, Zimbabweans say.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4467
September 19, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
BULAWAYO- Zimbabwe faces a huge shortfall of its fertilizer
requirements
ahead of the coming farming season, outgoing Agriculture
Minister Rugare
Gumbo said yesterday.
The revelation has sparked
fears of renewed food shortages next year.
Shortages of food have become a
permanent feature since 2000, the year when
commercial farms invaded
throughout the country.
In an interview, Gumbo said the nation had a huge
shortfall of over 35 000
tonnes of fertilizer ahead of the farming season
owing to failure by the
fertilizer manufacturing companies to produce
because of a number of
challenges.
Gumbo told The Zimbabwe Times the
fertilizer manufacturing companies had
only produced 12 000 tonnes out of
the targeted 30 000 tonnes despite
receiving US$13 million from the central
bank to facilitate production.
Agriculture experts say this is a far cry
from the nation's requirements of
over 50 000 tonnes each farming
season.
"The fertilizer manufacturing companies who have indicated that
they are
facing numerous challenges have failed to meet the target of 30 000
tonnes
since they have produced only about 12 000 tonnes," Gumbo
said.
Zimbabwe has faced food shortages since 2000 owing to a number of
problems,
notably, lack of farming inputs.
South African President
Thabo Mbeki at the signing of the power sharing
ceremony on Monday pledged
that his country would provide immediate
assistance with the much-needed
farming inputs in preparation for the
forthcoming season.
Renson
Gasela, former head of the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), said the huge
fertilizer shortfall reflected poor planning on the part of
government.
"What this shows is that the government does not learn from
its past
mistakes of poor planning ahead of each and every farming season
resulting
in food shortages and wants to resort to the blame game every
time," said
Gasela.
Food shortages in Zimbabwe started in 2 000
following the chaotic land
reform programme that saw landless blacks,
without farming expertise, take
over prime farming land from white
commercial farmers.
As a result, agricultural production
plummeted.
Since then, the nation has survived on food imports and food
handouts from
benevolent food aid agencies.
Mugabe has defended the
land reform programme saying it was necessary to
right the wrongs of the
colonial past. Mugabe blames food shortages on
droughts while experts cite
poor planning on the part of government ahead of
each farming season.
Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)
PRESS RELEASE
18 September
2008
Posted to the web 19 September 2008
The right to freedom of
expression and media freedom were among the issues
discussed during talks
that preceded the signing of a historic agreement on
the establishment of an
inclusive government between Zanu-PF and the two
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) formations in Harare on 15 September
2008.
Under Article
XIX of the Agreement, which deals with freedom of expression
and
communications, parties to the negotiations agreed that:
- the
government shall ensure the immediate processing by the appropriate
authorities of all applications for re-registration and registration in
terms of both the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) and the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).
- all Zimbabwean
nationals including those currently working for or running
external radio
stations are encouraged to make applications for broadcasting
licences in
Zimbabwe in terms of the law.
- in recognition of the open media
environment anticipated by this
Agreement, the parties hereby:
1.
Call upon governments that are hosting and/or funding external radio
stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to cease such hosting and
funding
2. Encourage Zimbabweans running or working for external radio
stations
broadcasting into Zimbabwe to return to Zimbabwe.
3. [Agree]
that steps be taken to ensure that the public media provides
balanced and
fair coverage to all political parties for their legitimate
political
activities.
4. [Agree] that the public and private media shall refrain
from using
abusive language that may incite hostility, political intolerance
and ethnic
hatred or that unfairly undermines political parties and other
organisations. To this end, the inclusive government shall ensure that
appropriate measures are taken to achieve this
objective.
MISA-Zimbabwe position:
It is MISA-Zimbabwe's strong
conviction that the Agreement's desire to free
the media space remains
illusory and is not easily achievable under the BSA
as presently
constituted. For instance, under the BSA, as amended in 2007,
the issue of
foreign investment shall be at the absolute discretion of the
minister
responsible. This amounts to retention of the prohibition of
foreign funding
and foreign ownership in the broadcasting sector, an austere
restriction in
a sector that is capital intensive notwithstanding the
country's severe
shortage of foreign currency.
Our position as MISA-Zimbabwe is that there
should be a threshold on minimal
foreign investment to allow for the
transfer of skills and capital
investment. The interpretation and
implementation of any law should not be
left to the discretion of a minister
who might have his/her own biases with
respect to would-be
investors.
Furthermore and in terms of the BSA as amended in 2007, the
Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), which is appointed by the
President in
consultation with the Ministry of Information, does not have
the capacity to
fairly, impartially and independently adjudicate
applications for licences
as it is susceptible to the whims and dictates of
the Executive. In the same
vein, equal and equitable access to the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) should be preceded by its transformation from
a state broadcaster into
a truly independent public entity whose management
is appointed by an
independent board. MISA-Zimbabwe also argues that the new
government should
move speedily to enact a law that facilitates the setting
up of an
independent broadcasting and regulatory authority. The BAZ in its
current
form is not an independent body and does not have the capacity to
issue
licenses and regulate the industry impartially.
MISA-Zimbabwe
therefore reiterates that the BSA should be repealed as it is
not conducive
to the entry of private players into the broadcasting sector
as envisaged
under the African Charter on Broadcasting. While the need for
fair and
balanced reporting in the state media is mentioned, especially the
role of
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, MISA-Zimbabwe is of the view
that the
new government needs a new law that guarantees the independence of
the ZBC,
in addition to spelling out its responsibilities, mode of funding,
governance structures and its accountability processes to the people of
Zimbabwe.
The same arguments hold true with respect to the AIPPA,
despite the December
2007 amendments to this law which still retains
statutory regulation of the
media through the continued existence of the
Media and Information
Commission (MIC) or its envisaged successor bodies,
the Zimbabwe Media
Commission (ZMC) and Media Council. This is in
contravention of the Banjul
Declaration on the Principles of Freedom of
Expression in Africa which
states that self-regulation is the best system of
instilling professionalism
in the media.
Statutory regulation of the
media leaves it open to interference and
vindictiveness on the part of the
Executive, which has powers through the
selection procedures of members
appointed to bodies such as ZMC to close
media organisations and cancel the
accreditation of journalists. The closure
of "The Daily News", "Daily News
on Sunday", "The Tribune" and "Weekly
Times" newspapers by the MIC is a
telling lesson and experience in history
on the dangers of statutory
regulation that cannot be easily forgotten. It
is surprising that while the
political parties discussed the so called
external radio stations, no
mention was made as to the fate of the banned
newspapers named
above.
MISA-Zimbabwe is therefore calling for an explicit constitutional
provision
that guarantees media freedom and also recognises the right of
journalists
to establish their own self-regulatory mechanism through the
Voluntary Media
Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) which came into existence in June
2007.
MISA-Zimbabwe insists that the AIPPA and BSA, among other
contentious
legislation, infringes on the letter and spirit of the 1991
Windhoek
Declaration, the African Charter on Broadcasting and the Banjul
Declaration
on Freedom of Expression, which should be used as benchmarks for
the
enactment of enabling laws and policy formulation to foster media
freedom
and freedom of expression, association and assembly.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4473
September 19, 2008
By Sibangani
Sibanda
I HAVE just seen the document that is causing so much excitement
in
Zimbabwe, and elsewhere, and is being touted as Thabo Mbeki's finest
achievement - the Agreement between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and
the opposition MDC.
Quite frankly, I found it a big disappointment.
It is long on "Zanuesque"
verbiage, and yet seems to offer very little else.
In fact it sounds like
one of President Mugabe's speeches!
The rather
rambling preamble, for example, is full of typical Mugabe phrases
like
".recent challenges and multiple threats" to our country,
"Determination to
uphold Zimbabwe's sovereignty, independence and
territorial integrity",
"acknowledging the sacrifices of the gallant sons
and daughters of
Zimbabwe", "recognising and accepting that the land
question is at the
core." of our struggle and so on and so forth. All rather
tired clichés that
have, over the years, been used to justify repression and
the denial of
basic rights to the people of Zimbabwe; all phrases that have
been paid lip
service to, but never upheld in practice.
The main body of the agreement
is no different. It makes some very vague
statements about reviving the
economy without actually saying anything. Thus
mention is made of ".a
comprehensive economic program", "the creation of
conditions to ensure that
the next rainy season will be productive" and, as
often happens when ideas
are short, the formation of a committee called the
National Economic
Forum.
Sanctions, another one of the excuses used for our demise, get a
mention, so
does "the land question", the constitution, equality, freedom
from external
interference, freedom to organize political meetings, the
neutral position
of traditional chiefs and the National Youth training
Program.
On paper, there is nothing new here. All these rights and
freedoms are, and
have always been available to Zimbabweans since
independence. Of course,
this was on paper only. They have been suspended,
ignored, overridden by
presidential decree and just legislated out as and
when our rulers have felt
it necessary. What will be different now? Will
they be respected more
because they are in a Thabo Mbeki brokered
agreement?
I found myself asking the question, what were the MDC holding
out for? All
the clauses appear, to me at any rate, to be entrenching the
Zanu-PF
position on many of the issues. I could not find anything in the
agreement
that looked like a concession from Zanu-PF. Nor could I find
anything that
looked like an opposition program!
I had expected that
the opposition would have insisted on certain guarantees
before signing the
agreement. The role and neutrality of the armed forces,
for example; I would
have expected that the MDC would have insisted that
those in the upper ranks
of our armed forces be asked to retire as they are
a hindrance to the
process of unity. They have, for instance, openly taken
sides with Zanu-PF,
going so far as to state that they would not salute
Morgan Tsvangirayi if he
won the elections! As treasonous a statement as I
have ever heard. Yet, they
were not charged, while a senior MDC official was
charged and imprisoned
simply for claiming victory in the elections.
What about the police
commissioner, whose charges were responsible for
shamefully beating up
Morgan Tsvangirayi? Should he be left in place? And
the Presidential
powers?
Also not mentioned at all, as far as I could see, is the role of
the media.
I have not noted any change in the very blatant slant towards
Zanu-PF when
certain issues are reported in the state media. They continue
to dish to us
the same patronizing nonsense that seems to suggest that none
of us have the
capacity to think for ourselves. We have to be told what to
think, and how
to think it.
Anyway, now we await the announcement of
the rather bloated Cabinet - I seem
to remember the MDC complaining about
the size of Mr. Mugabe's Cabinets, yet
they are now party to an even larger
one. I find this a most unpromising
start when one of the issues that need
urgent correction is the profligacy
of government. How do you reduce
government spending by increasing the
number of government employees - and
salaries are a major contributor to the
ballooning budget
deficit?
Speculation is now rife that there is deadlock on the allocation
of
ministries. Is anyone surprised? The agreement is too vague. It should
have,
in my opinion, stipulated which party would take which posts. In its
current
format, we could be some way away from a functioning government
yet.
When the dust settles, and the "feel-good" high that most
Zimbabweans seem
to be on at the moment subsides, it will be interesting to
see how this
landmark agreement will impact on Mr. and Mrs. Average
Zimbabwean.
Very interesting, indeed.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/472772/-/ywvv7tz/-/index.html
By FRED
OLUOCH
Posted Friday, September 19 2008 at 22:54
The
power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe and the transfer of Central Bank deputy
governor Jacinta Mwatela have conspired to rekindle the big debate of
whether or not ODM is at the centre of power.
A close look at the
Zimbabwe accord shows that Morgan Tsvangirai of the
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change might have negotiated a better
deal than ODM leader Raila
Odinga, although it is no guarantee that
President Robert Mugabe will honour
his part of the bargain.
But it is the removal of Mrs Mwatela from CBK
that has once again put the
Prime Minster in focus. Investigations by the
Saturday Nation reveal that Mr
Odinga might have been ambushed, contrary to
his public utterances that he
is in constant consultation with President
Kibaki.
Coming soon soon after he flexed his muscles by making some
changes in
government, most of Mr Odinga's supporters expected him to take
up the
Mwatela case.
Before her transfer, Mr Odinga had directly
intervened in the Kenya Ports
Authority saga, relieving managing director
Abdallah Mwaruwa of his duties,
and installed Mr Brown Ondego as the
executive chairman of the troubled Rift
Valley Railways.
Performance
contracts
He had also signed the performance contracts of Cabinet
ministers,
parastatal heads and permanent secretaries, which in essence
means that he
will be responsible for their appraisal, thereby debunking the
earlier
feeling within ODM that he was given a post without
powers.
Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba, who is a leading proponent of the
proposed
so-called grand opposition, says the Mwatela saga raises questions
as to
exactly how much leeway the Raila party has and if the Prime Minster
has
executive powers or presumptive ones.
"Sometimes you get alarmed
when certain things happen," he says.
"Although those in government
believe that the partners can check each other
and there is no need for
opposition, etiquette and universal standards of
collective responsibility
cannot allow them to challenge each other on
issues without appearing to
rock the boat."
According to Mr Namwamba, the manner in which the Mwatela
issue is being
handled and the way the Government is making changes in the
civil service,
shows that impunity is still the order of the day and that
the Kibaki
administration is yet to come to terms with the power-sharing
accord.
But ODM chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo says the media should not read
too much in
the Mwatela affair, arguing that it has no bearing on the
power-sharing
deal.
As he puts it, "the Constitution is clear that it
is the President who
appoints the (CBK) governor and his deputy, and has
the power to fire.
Unless we change the Constitution, the Prime Minster
cannot just interfere
in the powers of the President."
But ODM
insiders say Mr Odinga must have decided to take a low profile after
realising that if he put his hand on everything, the situation might become
murky.
A case in point is the saga of former National Security Social
Fund managing
trustee Rachel Lumbasyo, in which the PM found himself caught
in a tricky
situation between the parastatal's board and Labour minster John
Munyes.
The next line of battle for the PM could be between him and the
head of the
civil service, Mr Francis Muthaura, whom the former's supporters
accuse of
behaving like a parallel prime minster - undermining the rapport
the PM and
the President are trying to build.
The Zimbabwe deal has
reopened the old debate that Kenya's power-sharing
accord, signed last
February 29, gave little "meat" to the Prime Minster's
office and that
whatever powers Mr Odinga is enjoying is only courtesy of
his
personality.
The irony is that Mr Tsvangirai visited Nairobi and
consulted Mr Odinga
before signing the deal.
He might have learnt to
avoid grey areas that bedevilled the Kenyan
coalition over issues such as
portfolio balancing and the pecking order
between Mr Odinga and
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.
The Kenyan deal gave the PM the role of
supervising ministries and chairing
sub-committees, while the President
would remain head of state and
government.
In the Zimbabwe deal,
however, the PM is to run the country on a day-to-day
basis and chair the
council of ministers. He is also a member of National
Security Council and
controls the police.
But it is still not clear if Mr Tsvangirai will get
the key ministry of
finance to get the chance to revive the economy, a post
that eluded ODM
here.
One key area in which the Zimbabwe accord is
better than Kenya's is the
provision that there will be no by-elections and
defections, or moving from
one party to the other.
And in case of an
MP's death, the seat will be filled by the aggrieved party
through internal
nomination.
In Kenya, PNU and ODM have been striving to outnumber each
other in
Parliament in case a by-election presents itself. The Embakasi and
Kilgoris
seats were fiercely fought for despite the parties being partners
in
government.
Analysts argue that the Zimbabwe accord looks better
because President
Mugabe had little room for manoeuvre, having clearly lost
the main
elections.
In Kenya, even South African retired judge Johann
Kriegler, who headed the
inquiry in to the elections, confesses that it is
not possible to tell who
actually won the presidential race.
The
Mwatela saga
Following the Mwatela saga and the Zimbabwe deal - in which
the opposition
got more Cabinet posts than the ruling Zanu-PF party - Mr
Odinga is likely
to come under fresh pressure to prove that he is not
operating in the
periphery.
People in the ODM strongholds have been
grousing that they were
short-changed in the distribution of Cabinet,
parastatals and permanent
secretary posts.
But the PM has been
parrying such accusations from people who feel he has
been put in a fix in
as far as placing those who did the donkey work in
various capacities during
the campaigns is concerned.
He always argues that the Government is small
and that the party was given
the rightful half of the cake and there are not
enough positions to go
round.
But not many of his lieutenants are
satisfied with his explanation that the
situation could have been better had
the ODM formed the government on its
own.
By Tichaona Sibanda
19
September 2008
The newly elected Speaker of Parliament, Lovemore Moyo is
in the UK on MDC
business to brief party activists on the power sharing deal
that was signed
in Harare on Monday.
Moyo, who is the National
Chairman of the MDC, is in charge of party
structures based outside the
country. He arrived in London on Thursday. MDC
spokesman in the UK, Matthew
Nyashanu said besides updating members on the
unity deal, Moyo will also use
the opportunity to acquaint himself with the
restructuring exercise of the
UK branches.
Almost all branches were merged from various counties to
form districts, in
a streamlining exercise that is expected to be ratified
by Moyo on Saturday.
The new Speaker will also address a rally in Birmingham
on Saturday. There
were originally 42 branches of the MDC distributed
throughout the UK but
they have since merged to become eight
districts.
"A lot has happened since the last time he was here. Since
he's in charge of
the Diaspora structures, he will exchange notes with
various groups here
that include the youth wing, women's assembly and the
national executive. He
will cap his visit to the city by addressing party
activists from 2.30 pm,"
Nyashanu said.
Much of the party faithful
based outside the country remain sceptical of the
power sharing deal that
was signed in Harare by Robert Mugabe, Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara. Many in the Diaspora were forced to flee
the country for
political and economic reasons caused by the repressive ZANU
PF
regime.
"There's a lot that people want to hear from the National
Chairman. Ideally
this would be an opportunity for most of us to ask him
questions on the
unity deal and what that means to people in exile," said
Nyashanu.
An estimated three million Zimbabweans live in the Diaspora, mostly
in South
Africa and the United Kingdom. Many are professionals, while others
are
ordinary Zimbabweans who had never held jobs back home but are now
working
and sending money back to Zimbabwe. There are several reasons for
the
inclusive government to cultivate a close, long term relationship with
Zimbabweans who live in the Diaspora. They will constitute an extraordinary
market for exports of local products, and will remain an important source of
foreign currency through the remittances they send to their
families.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4444
September 19, 2008
By Luke
Tamborinyoka
A CARNIVAL atmosphere punctuated the signing ceremony by the
three
principals of Zimbabwe 's major political formations on Monday. But
the
major highlight of the event was the unveiling of two contrasting
leaders.
It was clear after the speeches that the President and the Prime
Minister
represent two distinct eras. You had a President who resides in the
past and
a Prime Minister who is preoccupied with the future of this
country.
President Robert Mugabe, visibly frail and senile, rambled for
an hour about
the past. He dismally failed to speak to the occasion, even
threatening the
political settlement by making veiled threats on the MDC and
Mr Morgan
Tsvangirai.
A buoyant and spirited Prime Minister spoke to
the future; a future of hope,
love and national healing. A future of freedom
and prosperity. A future of
abundance and development. A future of change
and bright prospects.
The political settlement, as the Prime Minister
designate aptly put it;
represents nothing but "a candle in the
dungeon."
That dungeon remains long. It remains menacing. It remains
dark. It remains
a sticking challenge which any light would wish to
conquer.
The transitional authority is just but a temporary measure; a
minute candle
flickering to conquer the menacing dungeon of economic
collapse and
misgovernance, spawned by almost three decades of corruption
and patronage.
As a nation, we cannot continue to dwell on the glories of
the past but the
hope and challenges of the future. Tsvangirai's speech gave
the hope that
this nation must move forward.
In contrast, President
Mugabe spoke like a ghost of the 1960s. It was almost
like he would rather
have Zimbabwe move backwards to the golden era of a
nation resisting
colonialism and imperial conquest than move forward to an
epoch of hope,
prosperity, freedom and democracy.
In fact, he said democracy was alien
to Africa !
The President is caught up in a time warp, inextricably mired
by yesterday's
glories and conquests to the extent that he can never be
expected to solve
today's and tomorrow's challenges of this digital age -
the 21st century
dominated by liberal markets, a diverse media environment
and internet and
Information Communications Technology
(ICTs).
Tsvangirai's candle metaphor struck a chord with the Zimbabwean
reality.
There is no electricity in the country and most homes are being lit
up by
way of candles! But the challenge of Zimbabwe is to light up the whole
dungeon. The challenge of this inclusive government is to power up the
tunnel and bring light into this dark abyss so that once again, we become a
regional beacon of hope, democracy and prosperity.
As a nation we
have our cloth cut out for us. Our liberation legacy is
fundamental. It is
an immortalized epoch of our struggle as a people. It
defines us as a people
of struggle; who only regained their dignity from
white supremacy through a
protracted armed struggle. But we should not let
that glorious history cloud
our vision from the prosperity of the future.
Zimbabweans are worried about
the immediate challenges; the immediate
crisis, which the Prime
Minister-designate, clearly spelt out.
"The first priority of the
government is to unlock the food already in our
country and distribute it to
our people," he said.
"We need doctors and medicines back in our
hospitals; teachers back in our
schools. We need businesses that can grow
and provide jobs to the people.
We need electricity again to power our
businesses and homes. We need water
that is safe and accessible. We need
affordable food in our shops, crops in
our fields, and petrol back in our
vehicles. We need to be able to access
our own cash from our
banks.
We need to stabilize our economy and restore value to our
currency. Peace
and safety must be restored to our communities. Our State
institutions must
serve the needs of all the people, not just Zanu-PF or the
MDC.
Under my leadership, this unity government will let business
flourish so our
people can work and provide for their families with
pride."
The signing ceremony was clearly a classic tale of two leaders;
one so sure
about the road we have travelled before; but the other even
surer about the
road ahead and the destination.
Zimbabweans are
worried about what lies ahead. They would rather focus ahead
than
permanently stare into the rear view mirror!
(Luke Tamborinyoka is the
Director of Information and Publicity in the MDC
formation led by Morgan
Tsvangirai.)