The ZIMBABWE Situation
An extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE - a country in crisis
Please note: You need to have 'Active content' enabled in your IE browser in order to see the index of articles on this webpage
ZANU PF at odds over presidential
poll
Zim Online
Thursday 28 September
2006
HARARE - The secretary for administration of Zimbabwe's
governing ZANU
PF party Didymus Mutasa on Wednesday said the party was not
planning to
postpone a 2008 presidential election, contradicting an earlier
announcement
that it was considering shifting the poll to 2010.
Party spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira on Sunday told state-controlled
media
that it was considering pushing back the presidential poll by two
years so
it could be held simultaneously with parliamentary polls in 2010, a
move
that could give President Robert Mugabe - now in his 26th year in
power - an
extra two years at the helm.
But Mutasa, who is the de facto party
secretary general, told
ZimOnline there were no plans to move the
poll.
"There is nothing like that," said Mutasa, adding that the
first time
he had heard about the plans to shift the presidential poll was
when he read
about it in the newspapers.
Mutasa added: "As
secretary for administration, I am in the picture of
what is happening in
the party but not this thing that we want to hold joint
presidential and
parliamentary elections (in 2010). Ask Chinamasa (Patrick,
the Minister of
Justice) he is the one who usually handles these legal
things."
Chinamasa, who as Justice Minister would be the one to push through
Parliament any amendment to the Constitution to allow for the presidential
poll date to be changed, said it was not true that the poll will be delayed.
"As far as I am concerned that is not true," he said.
It was
not possible to get a comment on the matter from Shamuyarira
who was said to
be locked up in meetings at ZANU PF's headquarters in
Harare.
Shamuyarira, who had also said ZANU PF would still proceed with
preparations
for the presidential poll in case it was held in 2008, had said
the reason
the party wanted the poll date changed was in order to
consolidate the
country's electoral calendar.
But analysts and the opposition had
said consolidating the electoral
calendar was too small a reason to amend
the Constitution and delay the
country's most important poll.
They instead said the government wanted to delay the poll date to buy
time
to revive the collapsed economy before facing an angry electorate and
also
that ZANU PF wanted more time to resolve bitter infighting over who
will
succeed Mugabe.
The 82-year old Mugabe has indicated he will step
down when his
current term expires in 2008 but appears to have left his
options wide open
by not confirming formally that he will indeed give up
power in two years
time.
However ZANU PF is already split into
factions battling to position
their candidates to take over from the veteran
leader.
Meanwhile, the main faction of the splintered opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party said it would not accept the
presidential poll
being shifted to 2010, saying doing so would be extending
"dictatorship".
Nelson Chamisa, who is the spokesman of the Morgan
Tsvangirai-led
faction, said although ZANU PF commanded the required
majority in Parliament
to easily pass the constitutional amendment needed to
delay the presidential
poll, the MDC would fight the proposal outside the
legislature.
"We are going to mobilise our structures around the
country to resist
these plans," Chamisa said.
The MDC has
already threatened to mobilise mass action against Mugabe,
but the first
serious such bid was crushed two weeks ago when police broke
up a workers'
march for better pay, seizing strike leaders who later said
they were
tortured in detention. - ZimOnline
Minister backtracks on looting
allegations
Zim Online
Thursday 28 September
2006
HARARE - Industry Minister Obert Mpofu
on Tuesday backtracked on
claims he made last week that senior officials of
President Robert Mugabe's
government had fleeced state steel maker Zimbabwe
Iron and Steel Company
(ZISCOSTEEL) of billions of dollars through underhand
dealings.
Mpofu had told a special committee of Parliament on
foreign affairs,
industry and international trade that his department had
sent a report to
the Ministry of Anti-Corruption and Anti-monopolies
detailing how some
influential people including "colleagues in Parliament"
were involved in
"underhand dealings at ZISCOSTEEL".
But
chairman of the parliamentary committee Enock Porusingazi, told
journalists
in Harare that Mpofu had changed tack during a closed session
with the
committee and denied ever saying government officials looted
ZISCOSTEEL.
"He (Mpofu) said that he didn't mean that they were
honourable Members
of Parliament or ministers who looted but there are MPs
and ministers who
are in steel merchandising and making a profit while
ZISCOSTEEL is making a
loss," said Porusingazi, who is also the ruling ZANU
PF party legislator for
Chipinge South constituency.
ZISCOSTEEL
is one of several state-owned firms run by government
loyalists, former
military personnel or relatives of Mugabe and which
regularly make huge
loses because of corruption and mismanagement.
According to the
latest government figures available, the state firms
contributed 60 percent
of the government's total domestic debt of Z$1.2
trillion in 2004 and have
already posted a loss of more than $76 trillion in
the first half of this
year alone.
Porusingazi said his committee, battling to root out
corruption at
state firms, would study a document prepared by the
government's National
Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI) to ascertain the
level of corruption at
ZISCOSTEEL.
The legislator said once his
committee finished studying the NECI
report, they will approach
Anti-Corruption head Paul Mangwana for an update
on what the department was
doing regarding prosecuting people suspected of
looting ZISCOSTEEL. -
ZimOnline
University bars student leaders over unpaid
fines
Zim Online
Thursday 28 September
2006
BULAWAYO - At least 14 student leaders
from the National University of
Science and Technology (NUST) have been
barred from attending lectures after
they failed to pay a hefty fine for
leading violent protests against a
tuition fee hike earlier this
year.
The Student Representative Council leaders were earlier this
year
slapped with a collective fine of Z$480 000 for organising the violent
demonstrations at the Bulawayo campus to protest the new fee
structure.
The students have however vowed to challenge the ban in
the courts.
Mzwandile Ndlovu, the SRC secretary general, say they
will soon take
legal action to reverse the university's
decision.
"We still maintain our innocence and will never abide by
that ruling.
We are in the process of filing an urgent chamber application
to challenge
the ruling by the disciplinary committee.
"We are
absolutely sure that the urgent application will go our way,"
said
Ndlovu.
But NUST public relations officer, Felix Moyo, insisted
that the
university will not reverse its decision to fine the students and
said the
students will only be allowed back onto the campus when they pay
the fines.
"The affected students understand the problem and . . .
we expect them
to pay the fines soon," Moyo said.
Strikes by
students over fees and deteriorating standards are common
at state
universities in Zimbabwe. The universities which were some of the
best in
Africa in the early years of independence, have virtually crumbled
after
years of under-funding and mismanagement. - ZimOnline
Zimbabwe opposition vows to resist election delay
SABC
September 27, 2006, 17:00
Zimbabwe's opposition vowed to resist any
plan by the party of Robert
Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, to delay a
2008 presidential poll, saying
the southern African country would be doomed
by two more years under his
rule.
The ruling Zanu (PF) said it
was considering shifting the presidential
election so it can be held
simultaneously with parliamentary polls in 2010,
a move that could stretch
Mugabe's rule to 30 years.
Mugabe had previously suggested he will
retire in 2008, but has not
been categorical about the decision. Analysts
have interpreted this as a
sign that one of Africa's longest-serving leaders
is keeping his options
open.
The Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) has accused Mugabe's
government of robbing it of victory in three
major elections in the last six
years. It says Mugabe's government has
become more repressive in the face of
an economic meltdown.
Mugabe denies the charges and dismisses the MDC as a puppet of Western
powers he accuses of seeking to topple his rule over his controversial
seizures of white-owned commercial farms for distribution to landless
blacks.
Extending "dictatorship"
Nathan Shamuyarira,
the Zanu (PF) spokesperson, said the party wanted
to consolidate the
country's electoral calendar by delaying the 2008 poll, a
plan the
opposition condemned on Wednesday as extending a "dictatorship".
Chamisa said although Mugabe's Zanu (PF) commanded the required
majority in
parliament to easily pass the constitutional amendment needed to
delay the
presidential poll, the MDC would fight the proposal outside the
legislature.
The MDC has already threatened to mobilise mass
action against Mugabe,
but the first serious such bid was crushed two weeks
ago when police broke
up a workers' march for better pay, seizing strike
leaders who later said
they were tortured in detention. - Reuters
More farm evictions in Mutare
By Violet Gonda
27
September 2006
Despite reports that the government of Robert Mugabe
had put a stop to
illegal farm evictions and in the face of evidence of the
huge role that the
chaotic farm seizures have played in the destruction of
the economy, white
commercial farmers are still being dispossessed of their
farms.
A few days ago Dave Meikle - one of the prominent wheat and
maize
farmers in Old Mutare/Penhalonga area - was evicted. It's reported
that his
personal losses will run to many millions of US
dollars.
It is alleged that Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of Anti
Corruption
whose own farm is reportedly not far from the Meikle's, was
involved in the
takeover. Mutasa is also the Minister of State Security who
oversees the
land reform programme.
Several other farmers are
said to have been evicted in recent days in
Manicaland province, Masvingo
and parts of Mashonaland.
The latest evictions come against the
backdrop of news that the
government will prosecute farmers who defy
eviction orders. According to the
website ZimOnline, the vice president of
the Commercial Farmers Union Trevor
Gifford said two farmers will next week
appear in the magistrate's court in
Karoi in Mashonaland West province. The
farmers will become the first to be
tried for defying government eviction
orders since the beginning of farm
seizures in 2000. The two are said to be
some of the best tobacco and cereal
growers in the country, with one of them
having just delivered 1 000 tonnes
of maize to the Grain Marketing
Board.
Analysts say this has been the tragedy of the chaotic land
seizures.
What were once productive farms have been destroyed largely due to
corruption and lack of cohesive policies.
Zimbabwe used to be
the bread-basket of Southern Africa but now has
been forced to import maize
from its neighbours in the region.
Paradoxically, some of the white farmers
who were chased out by the Mugabe
regime have found a home in Zambia,
Mozambique and Nigeria, where they have
made significant contributions to
the economies of those countries and won
the praise of the respective
governments.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
National student body announces demonstrations planned for next
week
By Lance Guma
27 September 2006
The
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has announced that it
will be
holding demonstrations next week against the declining education
standards
in the country. ZINASU president Promise Mkwananzi told Newsreel
they
shelved planned protests last week because the police infiltrated their
structures and destabilized all their logistical planning. He says security
agents seized all the petitions they produced for the action and this forced
them to cancel the demonstration. Mkwananzi says the student movement has
regrouped and will 'make the streets of Harare ungovernable next
week.'
ZINASU refused to disclose the date of their planned protest
saying
this would only help the regime. The students are demanding an
improvement
in the quality of their education saying poor salaries are
forcing their
lecturers to seek greener pastures and leaving the students to
get
unqualified lecturers as replacements. Remarks by Mugabe that the regime
will deal with any dissenting voices have not swayed the spirit in the
student body Mkwanazi told Newsreel. The students are determined to get
affordable education but the deteriorating economic environment was making
things more difficult for them.
Meanwhile ZINASU have distanced
themselves from a letter purportedly
signed by its Vice President Gideon
Chitanga criticising the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and its
president Dr Lovemore Madhuku and
describing them as a flop. In a letter
published by the Zim Daily website,
Chitanga is alleged to have said Dr
Madhuku had lost legitimacy as the NCA
leader. Mkwananzi however says
someone hacked into Chitanga's e-mail and
sent the letter to the website.
ZINASU reaffirmed its support for the NCA
calling Madhuku a committed and
courageous individual in the struggle.
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
Zimbabwe imports 30,400 T wheat to ease
shortage
Reuters
Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:30 AM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe has imported 30,400 tonnes of wheat worth $10.6
million to ease a
bread shortage in the crisis-hit southern African country,
the official
Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Wheat is the country's second
staple crop after maize and Zimbabwe has over
the years failed to satisfy
its annual wheat consumption of between 400,000
and 450,00
tonnes.
Earlier this year, Zimbabwe said it had missed its target to
raise wheat
output to a record 500,000 tonnes and now expected a harvest of
218,046
tonnes this year after farmers reduced plantings due to shortages of
machinery, fuel and fertiliser.
On Wednesday, Zimbabwe's Herald
newspaper quoted central bank governor
Gideon Gono as saying the Reserve
Bank had given bakers $10.6 million to
import wheat -- but he did not say
from where -- to ease the current bread
shortage.
"Zimbabwe has
imported 30,400 tonnes... enough to last 68 days until
November when the
country starts harvesting its winter crop," it said.
Gono and industry
officials were not immediately available for comment.
The southern
African nation has suffered food shortages since 2001 after
being affected
by drought and disruptions to farming blamed largely on
President Robert
Mugabe's seizure of white-owned commercial farms for
landless
blacks.
Critics say the black farmers have been hamstrung by shortages of
inputs
such as fuel, seed and fertilizer while the majority lack the skills
to
produce on a commercial scale.
Mugabe, 82 and in power since
independence from Britain in 1980, denies his
policies are to blame for a
severe economic crisis that has left Zimbabwe
with the world's highest
inflation rate of over 1,200 percent.
He says the Zimbabwe economy has
been sabotaged by domestic and Western
opponents of his land reform
programme.
$1=250 Zimbabwe dollars
Zambia exports white maize to Zimbabwe - report
Reuters
Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:22 AM GMT
LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia has exported
85,000 tonnes of white maize to
Zimbabwe after recording a surplus in the
2005/06 season, state media
reported on Wednesday.
President Levy
Mwanawasa said an additional 15,000 tonnes of maize would be
exported before
the end of the year to enable the state Food Reserve Agency
(FRA) to
purchase more maize held by peasant farmers, state television
said.
Mwanawasa said the FRA was looking for another southern African
country that
would buy the maize.
"The 85,000 tonnes of maize
exported will earn Zambia $20 million, which the
president said should be
ploughed back into agriculture activities," the
report
said.
Mwanawasa has been touting the success of his economic programmes,
which has
included helping Zambia to achieve a grain surplus after years of
intermittent food shortages, ahead of presidential and legislative elections
on Thursday.
In July, Mwanawasa announced that he had allowed the FRA
to export 100,000
tonnes of maize so it could buy more local maize still
held by farmers and
also to ensure it paid back loans it obtained from
commercial banks.
Mwanawasa banned maize exports in 2004 after previous
exports during a
surplus season in 2003 forced the southern African country
to import maize
when it faced a deficit due to drought in 2005.
Eloquent and Unyielding on the Evil in
Zimbabwe: A Walk with the Archbishop
Embassy, Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly
Embassy, September 27th,
2006
NEWS STORY
By Brian Adeba
Archbishop Pius Ncube: "I don't want to
show them that I am afraid, I don't
even keep a bodyguard. I refuse to have
one."
As I raced to Parliament Hill to attend a press conference by
Archbishop
Pius Ncube last week, I kept wondering what the Zimbabwe
government's most
outspoken critic would be like in front of an
audience.
It's not that I haven't observed Zimbabwean leaders before. As
a matter of
fact, I remember watching Robert Mugabe's former minister of
information,
Jonathan Moyo, on television many times before he was kicked
out of office
after a falling out with the Zimbabwean president early last
year. Caustic,
sharp and eloquent in his defence of Mr. Mugabe, Mr. Moyo was
also a great
orator, like his boss.
My "stereotypical" view of
Zimbabwean leaders as great orators was confirmed
when Archbishop Ncube took
to the podium. Without reading from a script, the
cleric effortlessly and
eloquently gave reporters a brief but complete
picture of the woes facing
his country. And he was equally blunt in his
criticism of the Zimbabwean
government.
He said Mr. Mugabe's policies have ruined Zimbabwe. More than
three quarters
of Zimbabwe's 12 million people live below the poverty line,
and the
unemployment rate is soaring with 80 per cent of the population
unable to
find work.
"We are appealing because Mugabe is breaking the
confidence of the people,"
he said in a soft voice.
The amount of
suffering in Zimbabwe is "awful," according to the archbishop.
Teachers and
other professionals can only survive for five days after
getting their
salaries because of run away inflation, which now stands at
1,200 per
cent.
So often people are without food for five to six days, and they are
at your
door-sometimes I feel so powerless," he said.
"Half of the
children are out of school because of the awful inflation that
is going on
now."
There's very little space for political change because of the use
of brutal
force to suppress opponents of the Mugabe regime.
After the
press briefing, I caught up with Archbishop Ncube as he made his
way to
Sparks Street for an interview at the CBC. He walked slowly and with
a
slight limp.
"I am 60 years old and I became interested in the priesthood
when I was
about 15," he said. "By 26, I was ordained."
I asked him
about where he gets his motivation.
"Prayers," he said simply. "I wake up
very early in the morning and spend an
hour praying, and later in the
evening too."
Isn't he afraid that all this criticism of President Mugabe
will land him in
jail or cost him his life?
"No," he said. "I don't
want to show them that I am afraid, I don't even
keep a bodyguard. I refuse
to have one."
Curious, I asked whether restrictions have been placed on
his movements. Not
yet, he replied, though the government has in the past
threatened to
withdraw his passport.
But he still gets intimidated
and harassed, like the time Mr. Mugabe's
secret police kept trailing him in
a car. Or the time when he returned from
a trip to South Africa and was
forced to pay tax on eight chocolate bars he
had on him at the
airport.
He also believes his phone is tapped, but he still gives
interviews to
foreign media on it.
A mass uprising against Mr. Mugabe
will not work, he said. The opposition is
too fragmented to be of any use,
and there's no leader around whom the
people can
rally.
"Unfortunately, the church too is divided," he said, adding that
some
clerics have been "bought" by Mr. Mugabe.
"The government buys
them a Mercedes Benz and they shut up."
The only hope for Zimbabwe, he
said, is for the international community to
keep the pressure on the Mugabe
regime. But he worries that other hotspots
like Lebanon, Palestine and
Afghanistan will steer attention away from
Zimbabwe.
At this point,
we arrive at the entrance to the CBC studios. I extend my
hand to thank him
and he says he didn't catch my last name. He moves closer,
picks up my press
pass hanging around my neck and reads it.
"Where's that name from?" he
asked.
"South Sudan," I replied.
"We know Sudan. We pray a lot for
Sudan," he said.
"What's the name of that man there?" he asked,
momentarily lost and
searching for a name.
"President Bashir?" I
volunteer.
"Yes," he said. "He's equally evil-he's just like
Mugabe."
brian@embassymag.ca
Internet service providers in revolt over TelOne
rates
New Zimbabwe
By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 09/27/2006
12:28:15
ZIMBABWE'S sole fixed telephone provider TelOne has hiked tariffs by
2 700
percent as it was revealed that internet service providers were
planning to
bypass it.
Nikki Lear, chief operations officer at MWEB
-- Zimbabwe's largest internet
service provider -- said Tuesday: "This week
TelOne's tariffs went up by up
to 2 700% without any notice period - which
means we need to re-cost all our
products accordingly."
Internet
services for TelOne subscribers which went down last week were
restored this
week after the company paid its outstanding Z$700 000 debt to
United States
based Intelsat.
TelOne spokesperson Phil Chingwaru said they had been
bailed out by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
But Lear said
because of problems associated with doing business with
TelOne, they were
contemplating dumping the parastatal.
He said: "There is however, in true
Zimbabwean nature, a plan. We are
talking with a licensed provider to fund a
new satellite link that will
provide MWEB with both inbound and outbound
Internet traffic -- reducing our
reliance on TelOne
substantially.
"The other frustration is that the remaining two Internet
Access Providers
that are allowed to sell ISPs outbound bandwidth either
have nothing to sell
or have priced themselves totally out of the market in
US$ terms."
Appearing before a parliamentary committee Monday, RBZ chief
Gideon Gono
said in 2003 he advised the Ministry of Transport and
Communications to
ensure that the TelOne landing termination rates for
international calls to
Zimbabwe be reviewed saying they were the lowest in
the world.
Gono added that the termination rates were pegged at US$0,3
per minute
against a world average rate of about US$0,20.
Gono said
with break-even termination rates, TelOne would be in a sound
financial
position.
TelOne firm is reeling under a foreign currency crunch and has
asked the
government to compel diplomatic missions and Internet service
providers to
pay their monthly subscriptions in foreign
currency.
Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic crisis characterised by
four-digit
inflation, soaring poverty levels, an unemployment rate hovering
at over 70
percent and chronic shortages of fuel and basic goods such as
cornmeal.
Deficit Spending Produces 800% Rise In Zimbabwe Domestic Debt
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
26 September
2006
Zimbabwe's domestic debt has ballooned 800% since January to
$Z127 billion,
mainly through the issuance of treasury bills, Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe data
show. The country's domestic debt was Z$14 billion in
January of this year.
Economic analyst James Jowa says unsustainable
public spending is fueling
inflation and could stoke civil unrest. He said
most workers including civil
servants are under the poverty line and the
government has difficulty
providing essential services.
For more
analysis of Zimbabwe's burgeoning government debt, reporter
Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 interviewed Mufandaedza Hove, an opposition
spokesman on
economic issues and a University of Zimbabwe business lecturer.
Zimbabwe Opposition Cries Foul Over Rural Ballot Disqualifications
VOA
By
Patience Rusere
Washington
26 September
2006
Hundreds of prospective candidates for rural district
council seats from
both factions of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for
Democratic Change - 300
from the faction led by MDC founding president
Morgan Tsvangirai - have been
disqualified from running in elections coming
up next month. MDC officials
allege discrimination in the process by the
ruling ZANU-PF party aiming to
maintain its dominance of rural
areas.
Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the Tsvangirai faction said most of
the
disqualifications arose from a lack of clearance letters from
pro-ZANU-PF
chiefs and local police.
Chamisa spoke with reporter
Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe.
Elsewhere, six officials
of the Tsvangirai faction arrested in Kariba late
last week for allegedly
organizing an illegal meeting were expected to stand
trial on November 13.
They included the member of parliament for Kwekwe,
Blessing Chebundo, and
the former mayor of Chegutu, Francis Dhlakama.
Kariba mayor John
Houghton, one of 17 MDC officials arrested at a meeting
which he said
concerned health issues, said the six now facing charges under
the Public
Order and Security Act were released on Z$10,000 bail. Eleven
others were
released.
Milling, Baking Workers Laid Off As Zimbabwe Wheat Shortage Continues
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
26 September
2006
A persistent shortage of wheat has led Zimbabwean milling
and baking
companies to lay off hundreds of workers, reports and industry
sources said.
The state-run Herald newspaper quoted Millers' Association
of Zimbabwe
Chairman Mike Manga as saying 15 milling companies, including
the country's
two largest, Blue Ribbon Foods and Victoria Milling, have
halted their
milling operations. The Daily Mirror reported that Innscor has
laid off 700
workers due to grain shortages.
Innscor bread manager
Owen Murumbi declined to speak about the problems. But
Innscor workers
confirmed there have been significant layoffs.
Economist Godfrey
Kanyenze, cirector of the Labor and Economic Development
Institute, told
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that Harare must
work much more closely with those in the food production
chain.
Beatings put Zimbabwe back on international
agenda
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Alois Phiri Mbawara
One can perceive the
recent brutal attacks on civic leaders with a
two-edged knife as a bad and
as a good development. I will start with the
bad side of it. It is true that
Robert Mugabe has vowed to persist with his
iron-fisted rule as a way to
clinch onto power. He does not accept that
people have and are suffering to
due to his bad policies which have led to
the dramatic economic meltdown we
continue to see in Zimbabwe today.
The brutal beatings are a clear
indication that Mugabe and his cronies
do not respect and don't care about
the majority as long they are in power.
Considering the economic decay, all
the mounting international pressure and
condemnation against the state of
affairs in Zimbabwe, Mugabe should now be
in a position to accept that it is
not possible for Zimbabwe under his rule
to proper economically due to the
trade sanctions and the collapse of the
agricultural system (the back-bone
of the economy).
Yes we have taken farms from the white commercial
farmers, then what?
Are we as a country able to supply the new farmers with
inputs and the
knowledge they should have to farm at commercial level and
sustain food
security? The evidence is there for all to see.
The Zimbabwe government has failed dismally hence the food crisis we
face
in the country today. And Joseph Made continues to mock our
intelligence as
Zimbabweans by suggesting the food crisis is not a direct
result of his
government's poor and unplanned land reforms. He blames a
monkey for the
crisis in the country after it "sabotaged" or "tampered" with
a transformer
at Sable Chemicals, the country's sole fertiliser producer.
Made,
Mugabe and colleagues also tend to blame the targeted sanctions
against them
as the root of the rot in the country. The sanctions have
nothing to do with
the deficits we are facing today. It is because the
so-called new farmers
don't have the adequate inputs and knowledge to supply
millers and bakers at
national level hence the government gazetting bread
prices leading to
artificial food shortages.
Simple logic and economics shows there
is no way one can put a price
control on a commodity without considering the
cost of production. There is
nothing wrong with subsidies but do they have
the money to do so and for how
long will they be able to do so. There are
many questions that are left
unanswered. For example with the level of
corruption in the country today,
will the subsidies not worsen the ordinary
person's life in the long run and
corruption with those who have hoarding
commodities and re-selling at higher
prices.
All indicators in
our country show that Mugabe and his cronies no
longer care about the need
for a healthy economy in the country. They do not
have the solutions to the
country's crisis hence they now resort to shock
treatments of those within
the pro-democracy movement. They would rather
deal ruthlessly with unarmed
protesters like Wellington Chibhebhe and Lucia
Matibenga and not talk to the
opposition and all other stakeholders on how
they could come together and
salvage something out of the mess we find
ourselves in.
Mugabe
is only interested in maintaining his stranglehold on power. He
will rule
until the cocks come home to roost. Instead of addressing the
political and
economic crisis in the country, the man would rather put all
his remaining
money and strength in brutal efforts to fight for political
survival.
The good thing about the beatings is that
on-going streets protest and
sacrifices by civic leaders have managed to put
back Zimbabwe into the
international arena. It has sent a message to the
likes of Thabo Mbeki and
Kofi Annan who had fooled the world that the crisis
in Zimbabwe was being
addressed. It comes again as an embarrassment to Kofi
Annan who recently
told the world that Mugabe was accepting the reality on
the need for an
urgent solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.
What
is happening now in Zimbabwe is also proof that the so-called
Benjamin Mkapa
mediation talk was being used to buy more time for the brutal
Mugabe
government, allowing him to continue to terrorise our leaders trying
to
galvanise support to bring him to the negotiating table or force him to
call
it quits after 26 years in power.
At this point of time it very
crucial for all pro-democracy forces all
over the world to put their
differences aside and expose the continuation of
abuses of human rights to
the international community, mainly African
countries.
That is
our biggest weakness - we are failing to convince our African
counterparts
of the real situation obtaining on the ground and why they
should support
our cause. All Western countries know and are aware of what
Mugabe is doing
but our own brothers are the ones which need to be worked
with.
Diaspora has the biggest role to play in exposing to our African
counterparts the need to put pressure on SADC member states for them to help
put more pressure on Mugabe and his colleagues. South Africa has the key for
a new democratic Zimbabwe, lets take the advantage that civic societies in
South Africa are with us. And lets all work with these civic groups so as to
influence the South Africa government to criticise the Zanu PF regime. Mbeki
is now cornered home and abroad and will be forced to reform from his Zee
diplomacy.
It is now or never. We can't wait and watch Mugabe
postpone the
presidential election to 2010. We the people of Zimbabwe need
change like
yesterday in our country. There is no way Zimbabweans can go to
elections
with the present Constitution with a corrupt electoral system that
is not
fit for purpose. The judiciary system is strongly biased towards Zanu
PF. I
think mass disobedience is the only way Mugabe can come to the
negotiation
table.
Mugabe steps up threat to miners
Business Day
Dumisani
Muleya
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harare
Correspondent
AS THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) sharpens its focus
on Zimbabwe,
President Robert Mugabe has stepped up his threats to take over
foreign
mining companies.
Mugabe told embassy staff in Cairo this
week en route to Harare from the
United Nations General Assembly in New York
that his government was pressing
ahead with controversial plans to take
majority shareholdings in foreign
mines.
He said a bill was being
drafted to facilitate a takeover of mining houses
owned by foreign
companies, which include SA's Anglo American, Implats,
Metallon and British
firms such as Rio Tinto.
The move would almost certainly collapse the
already crumbling economy.
Mugabe said the bill would be premised on
the fact that "minerals are a
nonrenewable resource" and should benefit
locals, not just foreigners.
Mugabe has been in talks with South African
companies in recent months.
Zimbabwe has an abundance of minerals,
including gold, platinum, nickel,
coal and chrome.
Mugabe said
companies that invested in infrastructure such as roads,
schools, clinics,
dams and bridges would be forced into a 50-50 arrangement.
Those that
refused would have to forfeit 51% of their assets to the state.
Several
senior public servants have said in recent weeks that Harare was
working on
legislation to force compliance.
Ozias Hove, permanent secretary
in the indigenisation and empowerment
ministry, said last week that the
government would cast its net wider to
gain shares in foreign companies in
all economic sectors.
Mugabe's threats are likely to alarm
IMF officials who were due in the
country this week but who bowed to a
request from Harare to postpone their
trip to the end of November.
Zimbabwe pays for new equipment from
China
People's Daily
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) said on
Tuesday the purchase
of Chinese railway equipment under a deal signed two
years ago is on course
following a recent payment of 2.5 million U.S.
dollars for locomotives and
coaches.
The NRZ public relations
manager Fanuel Masikati said the money, which
was mobilized through the
parastatal's own resources and also with the
assistance of the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe was part of a deposit required by
the
manufacturers.
The money was for the manufacture of eight train
sets and 64 intercity
passenger coaches. The delivery date was
unknown.
The increasing demand for rail transport has led to
overcrowding and
the buying of these train sets and coaches will immensely
benefit the
country's customers, he said.
The purchase would
also boost the NRZ's commuter train service which
is now a popular choice
for residents in Harare and Bulawayo, the country's
capital city and the
second largest city.
The parastatal is also seeking to install the
GPS which is set to
improve the safety of the country's railway network.
"The tender for the GPS
closed recently and the cost of the installation of
the system will only be
known after the conclusion of the tender system,"
Masikati said.
The establishment of a new communication system on
local routes is
also at an advanced stage. The program involves the
installation of an
ultrahigh frequency radio communication system along the
Bulawayo-Victoria
Falls route and a cargo tracking system.
Source: Xinhua
Judicial
proceedings - ZWE 001 / 0106 / OBS 011.1
www.fidh.org
26/09/2006
The
Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the decision of
the
Harare Court to refuse to place on remand the Board Trustees of the
Voice of
the People (VOP) radio station, who were accused of broadcasting
without a
licence.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders, a joint
programme of the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) and the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has
received new
information and requests your urgent intervention in the
following situation
in Zimbabwe.
New information:
According to
the information received, on September 25, 2006, a hearing
against VOP
trustees Messrs. David Masunda, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Lawrence
Chibwe, Millicent
Phiri, Arnold Tsunga, John Masuku and Mrs. Isabella
Matambanadzo resumed
before the Harare Magistrate's Court. They were being
accused of
contravening section 7(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act
Chapter 12:06 as
read with Section 6 (a) (b), which prohibits "broadcasting
without a
licence". Mrs. Maria Nyanyiwa, Mrs. Nyasha Bosha and Mrs. Kundai
Mugwanda,
journalists with VOP, were also facing similar charges. The three
of them
had been held for four days in December 2005 after the police
searched the
radio studios in the centre of the capital. They all had been
released on
bail(See background information). Non, les 3 autres avaient été
libérées en
décembre, mais je pense que l'on n'a pas besoin de le préciser
ici. De plus,
je n'ai pas la date pour John Masuku.
When the hearing started, the
Prosecutor argued that the case should be
brought against VOP as a trust and
not against the 10 individual members of
staff and Board of Trustees as was
the present situation. In this view, he
stated that he had to ascertain that
VOP was registered at the Registrar of
Companies at the Deeds Office before
charging VOP as a trust, and therefore
requested to postpone the hearing to
November 7, 2006, and to place on
remand the accused persons until then.
Once it would have had a chance to do
so, then the State would withdraw the
charges.
However, the Magistrate at the Court of Harare, ruled in favour
of the
defence, who was against any postponement of the hearing as the State
had
indicated as early as January 24, 2006 that it was ready to go to trial.
However, the trial had already been postponed twice. Indeed, the Magistrate
stated that he saw no reason why the accused should be placed on
remand.
The Observatory welcomes this decision of the Court of Harare but
recalls
that, for now on, the Magistrate did not rule that the VOP trustees
are free
to go back to operating as VOP, nor did he order the return to
their offices
of the equipment seized by the police in their raid of
December 2005. No
indication was given concerning the date of the next
hearing.
Background information:
On January 25, 2006, Mr. Arnold
Tsunga, also Chairman of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Association (Zimrights),
Executive Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR), along with
Mr. David Masunda, Mr. Millicent Phiri, Mr.
Lawrence Chibwe, Mr. Nhlahla
Ngwenya and Mrs. Isabella Matambanadzo, had
been arrested and charged with
"broadcasting without a license" (section 7.1
of the Broadcasting Services
Act), a charge carrying a penalty of up to two
years imprisonment. On that
day, all were released on bail, but five of
them, including Mr. Tsunga, had
to report weekly before the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) Law and
Order.
A preliminary hearing was held on February 28, 2006, at which a
Magistrate
decided not to accept the defence's submission that there was
insufficient
evidence to send the case to full trial.
On June 15,
2006, there was a short hearing during which the Prosecution
applied to
change the magistrate, to which the defence objected (See joint
press
release of the Observatory and the International Commission of
Jurists, June
15, 2006[1]). Although this application was in the end not
granted, the
Prosecution was granted an adjournment to September 25 - 28,
2006.
Action requested :
Please write to the Zimbabwean
authorities, urging them to :
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the
physical and psychological integrity
of all human rights defenders in
Zimbabwe;
ii. Ensure that Mr. Arnold Tsunga, Mrs. David Masunda, Mr.
Millicent Phiri,
Mr. Lawrence Chibwe, Mr. Nhlahla Ngwenya and Mrs. Isabella
Matambanadzo be
granted a fair and impartial trial so that all charges
against them be
dropped, as they are arbitrary;
iii. Put an end to
all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders
in
Zimbabwe;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human
Rights
Defenders, in particular its article 1 which states that "Everyone
has the
right, individually and in association with others, to promote and
to strive
for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms
at the national and international levels", and article 12(2), which
provides
that "The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the
protection
by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in
association
with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de
facto or de jure
adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary
action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights
referred to in
the present Declaration";
v. Ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms in
accordance with international human rights standards and
international
instruments ratified by Zimbabwe.
Addresses :
President of
Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert G. Mugabe, Office of the President,
Private Bag 7700,
Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 708 211 / +
263.4.70.38.58 / 263 4
734 644
Mr. Khembo Mohadi, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home
Affairs,
11th Floor Mukwati Building, Private Bag 7703, Causeway, Harare,
Zimbabwe,
Fax : +263 4 726 716
Mr. Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs, Fax: + 263 4
77 29 99
Mr. Augustine Chihuri,
Police Commissioner, Police Headquarters, P.O. Box
8807, Causeway, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 253 212 / 728 768 / 726 084
Mr. Sobuza Gula
Ndebele, Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney, PO Box
7714, Causeway,
Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47
Mrs. Chanetsa, Office of the
Ombudsman Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19
Ambassador Mr. Chitsaka Chipaziwa,
Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the
United Nations in Geneva, Chemin
William Barbey 27, 1292 Chambésy,
Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 758 30 44,
Email: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.net
Ambassador Mr. Pununjwe, Embassy of Zimbabwe in Brussels, 11 SQ Josephine
Charlotte, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 96 05 / + 32
2 775 65 10, Email: zimbrussels@skynet.be
Please also
write to the embassies of Zimbabwe in your respective
country.
***
Geneva - Paris, September 26, 2006
Kindly
inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in
your
reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the
protection of
Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support
in their time
of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998
Human Rights Prize of the French
Republic.
To contact the
Observatory, call the emergency line: Email:
Appeals@fidh-omct.org Tel and fax FIDH:
33 1 43 55 55 05 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 /
41 22 809 49 29
[1] On June 15, 2006, the Observatory and ICJ had
mandated an observer to
attend the hearing in the trial against Mr. Arnold
Tsunga before the Rotten
Row Magistrates' Court in Harare.
Food Monitoring Unit Faults Zimbabwe Grain Monopoly In Shortages
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
26 September
2006
The Famine Early Warning System Network said in a report
issued this week
that the severe shortages of maize and soaring prices for
maize and maize
meal in southern Zimbabwe can be laid at the doorstep of the
Grain Marketing
Board. The GMB exercises a monopoly over the purchase and
sale of cereals.
Fewsnet said the GMB "is failing to collect and pay in a
timely manner for
grain" from farmers. This resulted in shortages in
southern areas even as
Mashonaland farmers in the north were "frantically
trying to sell their
maize" to the GMB.
The Fewsnet report said only
about 210,000 tonnes of maize had been
purchased and collected by the GMB as
of mid-August when, in a good harvest
year, 900,000 tonnes would have been
collected by that date.
Due to the shortages, prices of maize and maize
meal soared by as much as
114% in August alone, said Fewsnet, which is based
in the United States.
Zimbabwe's southern provinces have been hardest
hit. But GMB depot manager
Charles Chikwaramadara told state television
Tuesday that the agency has
allocated more than 10,000 tonnes of maize to
Bulawayo, enough to supply it
for a month.
The GMB had been
struggling to allocate sufficient maize to the more than 70
millers
operating in Bulawayo, Matabeleland's capital and Zimbabwe's second
city
Looking ahead, Fewsnet said fertilizer and fuel shortages could
hit crop
production in the oncoming cropping season. However, it noted a
plentiful
supply of maize seed.
Seed producing firms report stocks of
more than 47, 000 tonnes, enough to
sow some 1.8 million hectares of land,
in theory enough planting to meet
Zimbabwe's needs.
Deputy Director
Nyika Musiyazviriyo of Christian Care, the country's main
organization for
the operation of food aid distribution and feeding
programs, discussed the
impact such grain shortages have had on the
population in the stricken
regions.
JAG Classifieds dated 26 September 2006
As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified
adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG Classifieds: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
For Sale Items
2. Wanted Items
3. Accommodation
4. Recreation
5.
Specialist Services
6. Pets
Corner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
OFFERED FOR
SALE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1
Pet Mince for Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Please be advised that there
will be no more deliveries until further
notice. Sorry for the
inconvenience.
Pet Mince for sale 500g for $80 000. Pet mince made from
pork offal
including liver and veg only, it is minced and well cooked.
Cat
Heart Mince with cooked liver for sale 250g for
$80 000
Delivered on
Friday's, collected at Benbar Msasa at 10:30, JAG (17 Philips
Ave, Belgravia)
at 11:30, Peace Haven (75 Oxford St off Aberdeen) at 12:30
and Olivine Head
Office in car park at 3:00.
Please order by email. Phone 011221088 or email
claassen@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2
For Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
TOYOTA PRADO 1998 model, white, 3 litre,
turbo-intercooled, automatic
gearbox, diesel, electric windows, central
locking, air-conditioning, fabric
seats, radio/tape deck, 172 000km (Arriving
6th September available to view
after that date). Looking for US$20,000
equivalent.
Contact 091-225413 or PM 860909 bowen@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3
For Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
EXCAVATOR
Case Poclain 888, 18 tonner
without engine in excellent condition. Good for
spares or to have engine
replaced for usage. Highest offer secures. Photos
available if
interested.
TRACTORS
1 x Ford 6610 - 1 x Ford 5610 - 2 x Mushandi 640
F.W.A. - 1 x John Deere
1850 60hp
MUSHANDI 500 - NEWER MODEL -
EXCELLENT CONDITION
Ideal for small farm / plot or as a haulage unit. ZW$2,2
million re-valued
currency neg.
NEW & USED TRACTOR SPARES
Too
many to list to include: - Deutz D60/D68 - 8 speed gearbox in good
condition
ZW$150 thousand re-valued currency
Contact Doug Edwards Ph 068-22463 /
011212454 - tracspray@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4
For Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Coarse Salt. 50 kgs, Z$5,500 collected
Ruwa or Z$ 6,000 delivered Harare.
Molasses, Z$ 120 per litre. Container
required for large quantities.
Children's coloured chairs Z$ 3,000. Apply mnmilbank@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5
For Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Various 3m wooden garden shed / workshop
/ storeroom panels for sale, some
plain, some with windows, some with
doors.
Please contact 023 418 781 for further
details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6
For Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
RECIPE BOOKS @ $5 000 (new
currency)
The Millennium Collection Of Great Recipes - Produced by Lilfordia
School
A collection of tried and tested favourites from parents,
grandparents and
friends. First produced in 2001 this book has proved very
popular as it
suits Zimbabwe's ingredients!
All proceeds will go
towards re-vamping the Lilfordia School Staff Room as a
farewell gift from
the outgoing Grade 7 class.
Contact: Judy Bruce Tel: 494367 (evenings),
011 217 027, alidy@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Fuel - Marineland Harbour,
Kariba
Dear Customers,
Please be advised that Kingdom Calls Pvt.
Ltd t/a Marineland Harbour will be
taking over supply and control of their
fuel depot with immediate effect.
Our Management Agreement to supply fuel
to the Harbour has expired, and we
have decided against renewing
it.
Please revert to contacting Marineland directly for your fuel
requirements
on the following numbers:
Main Switchboard: 061 2845 /
3115 / 2331
PLEASE NOTE THAT MOBILE NUMBERS 091 275 714 & 091 269 330
ARE NOW
PERSONAL
NUMBERS.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.8
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
HONEY JEWELLERY: Imported from South
Africa - a selection of gold-plated,
rhodium plated, antique bronze plated
necklaces, bracelets, rings and
earrings, exclusively made up with Swarovski
crystals, cubic zirconia,
pearls and a new range of bayong wood beads,
coconut heish, brown lip shell
necklaces and bracelets. Please contact
Annette on 011 600 769 or
dapayne@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
22 kva Generator run by 4 cylinder Diesel
motor.
In very good condition
Offers welcome. For more information
& viewing arrangements
Please contact Craig on 091 418
625
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
2x 350l DEFY Fridge /white/
1x
DEFY Sove /black/
1x TV SONY PLAZMA 42` LCD /silver/
Just
imported. Call: 882384, 091 775544, 011
607045
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.11
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
NEW & USED TRACTOR SPARES
Too
many to list to include:-
Deutz D60/D68 - 8 speed gearbox in good condition
ZW$150 thousand re-valued
currency
IRRIGATION PUMP - Power driven by
100hp Perkins Diesel engine, mounted on a
well built trailer. Please contact
us for any further enquiries.
Contact Doug Edwards Ph 068-22463 /
011212454 - tracspray@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.12
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Mein Kampf or My Struggle by Adolf
Hitler. Unexpurgated edition.1939.Two
volumes in one. First volume: A
Retrospect. Second volume: The National
Socialist Movement. Hurst and
Blackett LTD London 1939. In good condition. I
am selling this book as a
collector's item of historical interest as I in no
way condone the views
contained in the book. Please email zermatt@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.13
For Sale (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
AUDI A4 - Second owner since new with
service record. Excellent condition.
Leather seats. 160000km Offers. Phone
339144, 091 311 503
HONDA PRELUDE V TEC - 1994. Beautiful metallic
silver. Immaculate. 155000
km. Offers. Phone 339144, 091 311
503
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.14
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
OFFERED FOR SALE
Milk
Seperator.
Alfa Lavel hand operated milk separator with all attachments.
Also has
fittings to operate by electric motor.
Contact: 04 - 745463
/ 011211924.
Wall Mirrors.
1 x 60 cms x 162 cms x 3 mm.
1 x 60
cms x 120 cms x 4 mm.
1 x 100 cms x 100 cms x 3mm.
Contact 04 - 745463
/
011211924.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.15
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Piano for sale: C Burlman & Co.
Phone
775691.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.16
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
2002 Toyota Landcruiser 100series GX
Standard
55000km,white,mp3 player plus many more extras. Equivalent 38000US.
4.2
diesel. Contact 091 261085 Alex
011609709 Mike. Available for sale 20
September
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.17
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
MP3 Player: FM/MP3/WMA/DVR/Line-In,
265MB, USB2.0, R480.00
Contact 091314285 Debbie, 091394803
Alisha
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.18
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Small bar. 1,6 X 0,5metres. Never been
used. Considerable lockable storage
space. Ideal for a small entertainment
area. $300,000.00 ONCO. Phone 302702
for appointment to
view.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.19
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
"THE WEAVERY."
Phone your orders
to--Anne--011212424 or 332851.
Email joannew@zol.co.zw
Fax--332851.
SUPER
GIFT IDEAS FOR LOCAL OR OVERSEAS FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LIGHT,EASY TO
WASH AND
SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
CHRISTMAS IS NOT THAT FAR OFF-BUY BEFORE PRICES GO UP
AND BEFORE THE
CHRISTMAS "RUSH"!.
Prices.
Small woven bags--$1,200
each.
Large crocheted bags.--$2,700 each.
Large woven bags.--$2,300
each.
Table Runners.--$1,600
Set of 4 Fringed Table mats +
serviettes--$5,100
Set of 6 Fringed mats+ serviettes--$8,000
Set of 4
Bordered table mats+ serviettes---$6,000
Set of 4 Bordered table mats
only---$4,500
Set of 6 Bordered mats + serviettes--$9,000
Set of 8
Bordered mats + serviettes---$12,000
Tea cosy(L)--$1,000
Tea
cosy(m)--$900
Tea cosy(s)--$800
Cotton(lined)oven
gloves(pair)--$1,400
Aprons--$2,600
Decorated cushion
covers--$1,900
Plain cushion covers---$1,600
2m Throw--$6,000.
X
Large plain cotton rug--$15,000. approx.230x130cms.
Large plain cotton
rug--$5,300.approx.150x75cms.
Med. plain cotton
rug---$3,700.approx.120x65cms.
Small plain cotton
rug.---$2,300.approx.105x52cms.
Cotton Rag
Rug--$2,300.approx.105x52cms.
Lots of other rugs to order.Mohair and wool
too.
Duvet Cushions(opens into
a
duvet)--$16,000(Single).$20,000(Double).$23,000(Queen).
Toilet
sets--$3,800
Bath mats---$2,300
Wholesale prices available for orders
(over 6 of an article) or
large
purchases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.20
For Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
SEED DESIGNS (based in
Chiredzi)
Beautiful hand embroidered items for sale as follows:
-
Wall Hangings $19,000
Muslin
Throws/tablecloths $13,400
Throw-overs
$34,000
Bedspread/duvet covers $45,100
Tea cosy/cloth
set $ 7,000
Toaster covers $
3,500
Tablecloths assorted $ 8,800
Oven
gloves $ 4,200
Small bags $
3,500
Binocular bags $ 4,500
Shoulder
bags $ 6,600
Wallets $
3,600
Canvas bags large $10,920
Webbing
bags $11,200
Med cushion covers $
7,600
Small cushion covers $ 4,800
Cushion
inners $ 3,800
6 table mats & serviettes
$15,000
Pillow case $ 2,700
Table
runner $
7,700
Paintings $40,000
And much more!!
For more information please contact Michelle Ross (Harare
rep) on cell phone
no: 091 202 138 or 883606 or alternatively e-mail me at
rossi@hms.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.21
For Sale (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
Coarse Salt imported from South Africa $4
500.00 / 50 kg neg.
Phone 091 210 268 or 091 609
841(evenings)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.22
For Sale (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
Pavillion tent.
Tent for sale
pavilion type 3 meters X 2.75 meters. PVC ground sheet, one
gauzed zip up
door, verandah and all poles and pegs. Comes folded in a
canvas
bag.
Contact 04 - 745463 /
011211924.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.23
For Sale (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
A "family"(mother, father and baby) of
exquisitely, carved hippos. You won't
find another like them. View them at
"Serendipity"-coffee shop.2a,
Serendipity close (entrance on Golden Stairs
Road), Mount Pleasant. Phone:
Anne 011212424 or Robyn 011413609 or Janet
091344616.They really are
stunning--you need to see
them for
yourself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.24
For Sale (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
New Eurostar Borehole Pump. 0.75 HP.
$90,000 o.n.c.o. Phone Michael
091404542 or
333069.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.25
For Sale (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
An avent baby bottle and food warmer.
Warms bottles or baby food in just 4
minutes and is small and convenient.
Brand new and still in box so never
been used. Bought it this weekend in
Joburg for R500.00 so would like the
equivalent. Contact Brenda Pattenden on
091 3267
55.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.26
For Sale (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
I have two Electrolux freezers for sale -
they are 30 years old but still
going strong, though their looks have
suffered a little. They have been
checked by a
refrigeration specialist of
long standing and he has recommended the
following prices:
1 chest
freezer 12 cubic feet $400, 000.00
1 upright 9 cubic
feet $290, 000.00
Office
furniture
I have two filing cabinets [imported oak] three drawers,
lockable for sale:
$220,000.00 each
L shaped desk, oak, one side has
sliding doors and a shelf, plus normal desk
$350,000.00
This is less
than half the cost of new ones. All in good condition. Please
phone 861167
if
interested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.27
For Sale (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
WHITE LUGGAGE TRAILER, LOCKABLE.
CROP
MOISTURE TESTER, complete (Delmhorst Instrument Company, USA)
ELNA LOTUS
SEWING MACHINE
PROLINE SOHO SCANNER (Computer)
HEWLETT PACKARD DESKJET
670C PRINTER
CARPET TILES
SHOWER HEADER TANK 100 LITRES
8 sq.m. ITALIAN
FLOOR TILES
2 sq.m. MOSAIC TILES
KNITMASTER DOUBLE BED KNITTING
MACHINE.
ELECTRIC MOTORS - various
BANJO
PIANO ACCORDIAN
Please
phone 091 305
313
---------------------------------------------------------------
2
WANTED
ITEMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1
Wanted (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Phillips of LG Colour Television in good
working order min. 21''.Plse call
Andrew on 740233
Hre.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2
Wanted (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Heavy-duty trailer - Safari operator
spec.
Phone 861352 or email richmond@mweb.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3
Wanted to Lease Urgent (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
Wanted to lease - large
small-holding or small farm. We need flat land to do
horses - outbuildings
would be essential, as would a house. Stables would be
a bonus.
Urgent.
Contact 011 215 197 or e-mail martynandcarole@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4
Wanted (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
HEIFERS or Weaners wanted to buy. I need 12
to 15 animals from in and around
the following areas Chinhoyi, Banket, Karoi,
Tengwe , Hurungwe, Kadoma and
Kwekwe. Prefer Brahman, Africander , Tuli or
any other hard mombes . Please
contact Joel on 091 450 928 or Email joelsonwozhi@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5
Wanted (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
WANTED urgently is a Working / Non- Working
TV, VCR, DVD, Satellite Dish,
Decoder and/or Hifi. Please contact Joel on 091
450 928 or email
joelsonwozhi@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6
Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Plastic. Most kinds of used clean plastic
purchased. Free transport on
commercial quantities.
Please contact:
Reclaim Plastics, Ruwa. Phone 073-2860 or
073-3350.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.7
Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Alternator only (no engine) single phase
5KVA. Please contact Rob on
robfynn@mango.zw or phone: 04-499776,
091887864
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8
Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
UREGNTLY looking for a Reel-to-Reel Tape
recorder. Power operated. With or
without microphone.
Variable speed 1
1/4 to 7 1/2 rev's per second.
Please contact Bill Edwards on 091240206 or
through Doug Edwards
tracspray@zol.co.zw or
068-22463
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.9
Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Wanted are old $100 000.00 bearer cheques,
phone
496829
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.10
Wanted (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
Am looking for a PERSIAN CARPET Runner
suitable for a passage - about
85-95cm wide and 3-4 m long.
Also any
Persian carpets in good condition.
terrys@cabsonline.co.zw
091 315
297
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.11
Wanted (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Second hand baking trays and tins in good
conditions
Also second hand electrical mixer in good condition
Please call
011 200
325
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.12
Wanted (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Does anyone have a second hand swimming
pool fence that they would like to
sell? If so, please could you phone me on
091326755.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
Accommodation Wanted and
Offered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1
House for Sale (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
House for sale - Borrowdale $160
million (new currency)
Lovely Mediterranean home comprising 4 bedrooms, 2
bathrooms (main en
suite), guest loo, 2 lounges, kitchen, covered verandah
with built-in bar,
swimming pool, pretty garden with prolific borehole,
alarmed,
satellite, generator, fully walled, electric fence, electric gate.
Set on 1
acre. Phone
091-601-695.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.2
Accommodation Offered (Ad inserted 29/08/06)
The old Glenlorne farm
house, at 27 Arnold Edmunds Drive, available for rent
as from end
Sept:
A large master bedroom, ensuite, with own lounge and office; 3
bedrooms
sharing another bathroom; big sitting room, with sun room and dining
room
adjoined, looking on to garden; spacious kitchen; Large front garden
and
vege garden in rear, good borehole water, Msasa woodland surrounds.
Good
security. 2 x Tel One Lines
connected.
This house is part of a
small community, being one of 3 main residences and
a cottage on a 5 acre
stand, electric fenced with alarm, each with its own
privacy,
sharing
common automatic entrance gate , security guard and neighbourhood
watch
expenses.
Equiv US$ 225 pm, contact Rob on 091 887 864, 04 499776, or robfynn@mango.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.3
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Single house-proud lady with
elderly mother and two children looking for a 3
or 4 bedroomed house. Must
be walled and gated. Loves gardening. Please
contact Debbie on 091 830 953
or email customercare@hotelguestsupplies.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4
House-sitter Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Reliable family/elderly couple
to housesit a house on a citrus farm in
Hazyview South Africa from mid
November to mid February.
Any queries please contact us at the following
email
fourstreams@xtra.co.nz
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5
Accommodation Offered (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
On offer is a three bed
roomed house in Chisipite in a very secure area.
Rentals Z$100,000 + deposit
reviewed every 3 months. Contact Roy on 011
433588 or e-mail me vascozim@yahoo.com. Available 1st
October.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.6
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Accommodation wanted in
Harare, preferably around Mount Pleasant, Newlands
or Borrowdale.
Any
cottages or small houses would be perfect. Will consider house sitting.
Needs
to be a secure surrounding, as, I'm a single female who's very
friendly, neat
& tidy.
If anything is available please contact Caroline on 011 214
453
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.7
Accommodation Available (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
I have a very attractive,
newly thatched cottage to let in Bromley, 55 kms
from Harare and 30 kms from
Marondera. It is small, only two bedrooms, and
is in the
garden next to
the pool. It has its own garden, and space to grow
vegetables or
whatever.
Rent l8 thousand dollars monthly plus Zesa
Phone Jennifer -
073 3399, or 0ll 4236l4, or 04 333952, 336945
(leave
message)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.8
Housesitter Wanted (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Desperate for a house sitter on
my Bromley farm for the months of October
and November while I go to
Australia. No farming necessary, just 3dogs and
2 cats to love, and a lovely
home and garden. No money exchanges either
way.
Please phone
Jennifer at 0ll
4236l4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.9
Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 19/09/06)
Small Harare family would
like to rent a small cottage or domestic quarters
in any area between
Belvedere and Mount Pleasant. Please phone Rich Tere on
091 295
129
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.10
House for Sale (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Greendale North
2.5 subdivisible
acres with msasa trees
3 bed/ 2 bath brick under tile and a self contained
cottage
Double garage and staff quarters, Pool
10 000 litre water storage
tank with pressure pump
Electric gate and security light
2 metre
electrified security fence and prickly pear hedge
House alarm, Security guard
at end of Close
Borehole sited but not drilled.
Good area - Italian
Embassy, French, British and Nigerian ambassadorial
residences
Walking
distance of Chisipite School and shops.
Serious buyers only, phone Margot on
04-776499 or 091 358
122
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.11
House Sitter Wanted (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Attractive newly thatched
cottage to let for October and November on farm
near Bromley, 55 kms
Harare. Garden and space for vegetables. $15,000
per month
plus
Zesa.
Please phone 073 3399, or 011 423614, or 04 572513 (leave message
here)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.12
Flat Wanted to Buy (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Widow requires a safe cluster
home/garden flat in Northern suburbs. Must
have three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,
2 carports or garages (a must) as she
doesnt want to lose her late husbands
vehicle!! Phone Jacquie (on behalf of
Widow) 091 311 503,
339144.
---------------------------------------------------------------
4
RECREATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1
(Ad inserted 29/08/06)
WINDY'S PUB
WHERE YOU WILL FIND GOOD MUSIC
(By ALCHEMY), GOOD FOOD AND GOOD COMPANY
FREE SNACKS; FOOD ON SALE; CHEAP
DRINKS (JUST ABOVE COST PRICE)
14 TERENURE ROAD; MANDARA
PHONE
DEBBIE ON 091 830 953 FOR
DETAILS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2
(Ad inserted 29/08/06)
INGRIDS LODGES BED & BREAKFAST
'' A home
away from home.''
For your stay in Bulawayo!
An Accommodation
Establishment of Exceptional Class
Whether you are travelling for
business or pleasure our lodges offer you
privacy, comfort and friendly
atmosphere.
Each lodge has a kettle, mini bar, TV, en-suite bathroom and
shower for your
comfort.
Peaceful surroundings in a secure walled
property with a gate and easily
accessible.
Phone: 263 - 9 -
241763
or 240078
E-mail: ingolod@mweb.co
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.3
TANDEM SKYDIVES (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Contact Chris on: 091302357 (every
Saturday at Charles prince airport)
Great idea as a
gift...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.4
Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp
Need a break from your hectic everyday life,
for a relaxing weekend or
midweek getaway Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp is the
place to go. For details
phone Tracy on 730123 or email mailto:wildernessafrica@zol.co.zw
"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5
LIFORDIA SCHOOL (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Hosts its' third annual DAY/NIGHT
Cricket
Top Junior School Teams
Barwick, Bryden, Heritage,
L.C.P.S
Lilfordia, Ruzawi, Springvale, St.Johns
Plus 'Stars of the
Past'
Full Bar & Catering, 'Jump Up Jills' Disco
Water slides
& jumping castles for kids
Date: Saturday 7th October 2006, Time: 9am -
late
Cover charge: $200.00 per person, Children under 12 free
V.I.P
Tickets are also available, for further details contact
Brenda 091 913085,
Alistair 091 237027, Andrew 091
745745.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6
(Ad inserted 26/09/06)
LIFEHOUSE CHRISTIAN RESOURCE CENTRE
88
Lomagundi, Road Emerald Hill
Is the home of the following Christian
organizations:
LifeWords (Formerly Scripture Gift Mission)
Words of
the Holy One (Christian literature)
Life Tower (Christian library)
Your
Life Magazine
Acts Basket
These are all legitimate non-profit
Christian Organizations.
At present life House (Kindly left to
Lifewords by the late Ms Audrey
Hickley in her will) is badly in need of some
attention and renovation to
make it more user friendly to the public as a
Christian resource centre. The
renovation has started, funded thus far by
money from our own pockets, but
we (the small group of 5 people involved in
the above) have found that our
personal resources are not nearly adequate for
the task. Some of the needed
items are great indeed, but we do not wish to
underestimate either the power
of God or the generosity of some people, by
not asking.
So it is that we humbly approach you the public in an appeal
for the
following:
. Funding/general donations.
. Bore-hole (to be
drilled)
. Bore-hole pump and motor, piping etc
. Water storage tank
.
Plants (palms, cactii, hanging baskets, pot plants etc)
. Garden furniture
and benches (prayer/reading/tea garden)
. Garden umbrellas
. Tables &
chairs
. Office furniture (Christian internet reference library)
. Lounge
furniture (Prayer room)
. Computers (Christian internet reference
library)
. Printers
. Wood for book shelving and a carpenter's time and
skill (Christian
library)
. Paint
. Christian literature for the
library collection.
. Light fittings
. Tiles
. Wrought iron security
enclosure (verandah)
. Curtains
. Small rocks/boulders to build a
rockery
. Lawn
. Tobacco scrap
. Compost
. Manure
. Plant
pots
. Gravel
In fact anything you could give would be most
appreciated. If any gift
cannot be used for the revival of Life House to
benefit all Christians, it
will be donated to Acts Basket and so still
benefit a Christian brother or
sister in need.
Should you wish to make
a pledge or donation or ask any questions, please
contact:
Anne
Hadingham at LifeHouse on 304127 or 091400751 or email:
wildart@zol.co.zw or Peter Nyangara at
LifeHouse on 304124 or 011629218 or
email: wohobooks@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.7
(Ad inserted 26/09/06)
STILL A FEW TICKETS LEFT
HEAR YE HEAR
YE
MEDIEVAL DINNER AND DANCE ON FRIDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER 2006
AT
HELLENICS CLUB, EASTLEA NEXT TO CHAPMAN'S 7PM TILL LATE
MUSIC BY
ALCHEMY
DRESS: MEDIEVAL ATTIRE PREFERED
BUT SMART CASUAL IS
ACCEPTED
TICKETS ON SALE NOW. TICKETS CAN BE DELIVERED
CONTACT
DEBBIE ON 091 830
953
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5
SPECIALIST
SERVICES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1
Minor Vehicle Repairs (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Minor vehicle repairs and
servicing undertaken by qualified mechanic.
Personalized service and very
reasonable rates.
Phone Johnny Rodrigues 336710, 339065, 011 603
213
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2
(Ad inserted 05/09/06)
Cooking courses for Domestic
workers
Training by qualified chef... Also available for small functions
birthday
parties etc.
For more information contact Jacques on 011 214
453
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3
(Ad inserted 12/09/06)
G - TECH
Diesel vehicle and plant
maintenance.
Site contracting.
Generator and stationary engine instal
lation and maintenance.
Tractors.
Hydraulics.
Contact Graham at gtech@zol.co.zw or call 011 406023, 091
286657, 04 741001,
075
2264
------------------------------------------------------
5.4
(Ad inserted 26/09/06)
1. The Power People
Radium Africa stocking
2.5Kva, 5.5Kva, and 16Kva Generators. 40's and 60's
on the water. Larger
units available on request.
Assessments, Installations and servicing
available. Full spares backup.
Phone Office: 04 335848 Cell Derrek
011611717
Email: radiumzw@africaonline.co.zw
2.
Need to use your FCA? - Radium Africa
Harrow discs 24" 26" and 28",
Generators, Silage Machines in stock. Other
agricultural equipment imports
available on request.
Phone Office: 04 335848 Cell Sean 011600389 Keith
011800859
Email: radiumzw@africaonline.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
6
PETS
CORNER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1
Wanted (Ad inserted 05/09/06)
I'm looking for 2 German shepherd dogs aged
round about 3 years old, which
will go to a VERY loving and VERY good home.
Please phone 302138,
Kathy
Hull.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2
Puppies for Sale (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
3 female and 2 male Blue
Australian Heeler pups. Contact Priscilla on
083-2805057.
I can deliver
anywhere Bulawayo or Beitbridge
area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
6.3
Home Wanted (Ad inserted 12/09/06)
Superb brindle Labrador/staffy dog
looking for kind and loving home. Approx
3 years, lovely nature would make an
excellent companion and protector. Tel
Michelle (Terrier Rescue) on 884294 or
011602903 or e-mail me on
gandami@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.4
Puppy Wanted (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
A puppy (jack russell, jack russell
cross, maltese or
maltese cross, or similar) late November/early
December
Please contact sandeman@zol.co.zw or call 011 630 803 or
Harare
746408
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.5
Dog Sitter Required (Ad inserted 26/09/06)
Homes wanted. We have recently
relocated to Europe. Due to various
circumstances we are unable to bring our
two dogs (Black Retriever and
German Shepherd) as yet Once we have settled in
and have reasonable space we
will call for one or both of our pets. In the
mean time we are looking for
an elderly couple that would be willing to baby
sit/ look after, or possible
adopt our two dogs. Due to the situation it is
difficult to put an exact
time period required. They are good security dogs
and are extremely loving.
They would suit a couple as the shepherd enjoys the
company of females and
the Retriever, enjoys being around Men. We would be
prepared to supply food
etc as an when required to the approved " new home
For any further
information or enquiries, please contact cmhch@yahoo.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAG
Hotlines:
+263 (011) 610 073 If you are in trouble or need advice,
please
don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
+263 (04) 799 410 Office
Lines
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To
advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jag@mango.zw with
subject "Classifieds".
Beating Protesters In Zimbabwe - views of the United States
Government
VOA
22 September 2006
The U.S. condemns the
government of Zimbabwe's suppression of planned
marches organized by the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, or Z-C-T-U. U.S.
condemnation includes
detention and beating of some of the protestors. In a
written release, the
U.S. State Department says, "Over one-hundred
individuals were arrested
including senior trade union leaders, and some
were severely beaten as part
of the effort to prevent the marches from
taking place."
The marches
were to be held in Harare, Bulawayo, and elsewhere in Zimbabwe.
They were
called in response to harsh economic conditions in Zimbabwe as
well as the
lack of access to drugs that fight H-I-V/AIDS.
According to news reports,
among those beaten by Zimbabwean authorities was
Wellington Chilebe, head of
the Z-C-T-U, and Lovemore Matombo, its
secretary-general. Also among those
beaten was Yoendepi Shonhe, a supporter
of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change party. A physician
attending to some of the victims told a
reporter, "As a case of police
brutality on a group, it is the worst I've
ever seen."
Various organizations had planned to participate in the
marches, among them
the Zimbabwe National Students Union. The Union's
president, Promise
Mkwanazi, offered this comment:
"I think it
remains the only viable option - peaceful democratic resistance
[to] the
current regime because the government has demonstrated its
unwillingness to
address the people's concerns in a more rational way."
The U.S. State
Department says that the Zimbabwe government's "actions
against those
wishing to protest on behalf of greater democracy, better
wages, and access
to treatment for AIDS sufferers is another example of its
denial of the
basic rights of its citizen." The U.S. "call[s] for the
immediate release of
those detained and access to medical treatment for
those who were
injured."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the
United States
Government.
Politicized aid in Zimbabwe
normblog
September 27, 2006
Mugabe's government continues to use food
aid as a political weapon:
Distribution of government aid is being politicised by the ruling
party in Zimbabwe's eastern province of Manicaland, according to a faith-based
rights organisation.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), in a new research report, said most of the
victims were members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), but
did record instances of ruling ZANU-PF supporters being
sidelined.
.....
The group has documented 83 cases of abuse of aid based
on political affiliation, which included not only denying food but also
antiretrovirals, and exclusion from the Basic Education Assistance Module
(BEAM), a national plan to help orphans get better healthcare and schooling.
"Children are sometimes arbitrarily withdrawn from the BEAM project on the
basis that their parents are supporters of the opposition... The main
perpetrators of this type of violence are school heads who sympathise with the
ruling party," claimed the report. "The complete disregard for children's
rights, particularly those of orphans, is [a] major drawback to the attainment
of justice in Zimbabwe".
These are the reassuring tones of
Zimbabwean Minister of Agriculture, Joseph Made:
[He] slammed the ZPP report as "ridiculous" and "nonsensical". "I
control the GMB [Grain Marketing Board] - I should know. The Zimbabwean
government has made a commitment to ensure that no Zimbabwean will starve, so
this cannot be true..."
The guy needs a spin doctor and tutor in
elementary logic, to school him in the art of plausible denial.
Migration office host heated meeting with Zimbabweans in London
By
Lance Guma
27 September 2006
The International Office for
Migration (IOM) on Wednesday hosted what
turned out to be a heated meeting
with several Zimbabwean groups in London,
over their voluntary returns
scheme. Under the Voluntary Assisted Return and
Reintegration Programme
(VARRP) returnees are eligible for a £3000
reintegration package, which is
meant to help them either start businesses
or attend college back home. The
IOM invited representatives from various
pressure groups, media
organisations and refugee support groups to an
evening reception at their
head office. Jan De Wilde the IOM UK Chief of
Mission hosted the meeting as
he explained how they can assist Zimbabweans
who want to go back home
voluntarily.
Once the presentations were complete and the floor was
opened to the
representatives, lively debates and at times emotional
outbursts dominated
proceedings. Participants took exception to the way the
scheme was being
advertised saying it gave the impression the £3000 was a
one off payment and
yet it was a package broken down into vouchers and cash
payments in
instalments over a year. The first £500 is paid in cash at the
departure or
arrival airport. The remaining £1500 can be provided as either
additional
reintegration assistance or cash grants phased over 6 months. No
lump sums
are paid out.
The feeling amongst most of the groups
was that there seemed no clear
separation between the UK Home Office and the
IOM scheme to help
Zimbabweans. Wilde and his colleagues explained to those
gathered how the
IOM was an independent international organisation whose
mandate was to
assist people who want to go back on a voluntary basis.
Although they could
assist those who have been forcibly removed they
themselves do not take part
in deportations. It was also disclosed that the
scheme will end on the 31st
October and returnees should have left the UK by
the 31st December. After
that the standard assistance scheme involving a
£1000 package will take
effect.
Godfrey Nyandoro the Organising
Secretary for the Zimbabwe Action
Group (UK) says while they appreciate the
efforts of the IOM, question marks
over the memorandum of understanding
signed between the IOM and the UK Home
Office remain a source of suspicion.
He urged them to improve the value of
support they were offering arguing
that the hyper-inflationary environment
in Zimbabwe meant even a package of
£3000 would get returnees nowhere.
Reporters Forum Promo
27
September 2006.
Lance Guma talks to academic and human rights
activist Brilliant
Mhlanga. He wrote a sterling review of Cont Mhlanga's
play Workshop Negative
entitled: Celebrating two decades of prophecy and
relevance. The forum looks
at that review and asks him to explain the points
he raised in it.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Pauper burials on the rise in Zimbabwe as
economic crisis worsens
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Ian Nhuka
BULAWAYO -
Antony Dube, an undertaker in Bulawayo, gives paupers'
burials to at least
10 people monthly. A few years ago that never used to be
the case as people
could afford to plan for their burials even before they
died through
policies or at least their relatives could afford to come
together and give
them a good sending off.
Dube says the people, whom he gives
paupers' burials, would mostly
have died at their homes in the city.
However, because they and their
relatives lack the financial resources to
afford them proper and decent
burials, amid soaring burial costs, they end
up being buried as destitutes.
Around Zimbabwe, mortuaries are
reportedly full of uncollected bodies
as relatives cannot afford the soaring
costs.
"We have a huge problem," says Dube, a veteran undertaker
and part
owner of Falakhe Funeral Services.
"We have many
people who die at home. Their relatives request for
space in our
mortuary. Because we are compassionate, we give them the
space as they work
out arrangements to bury their relatives. What I have
told you is what we
do here at Falakhe, what about at other parlours?"
However, in most
cases, he adds, the corpses remain in their morgue
for months as the
relatives battle to raise money to buy burial space, a
coffin and pay for
transport and funeral services.
In 2000, Dube often used to
approach the government's social welfare
department for assistance. But now
he no longer does that as, in most cases
the department also does not have
money to fund the pauper's burials.
Blaming the rising number of
paupers' burials he handles on the
worsening economic crisis in the
country, the veteran undertaker of
nearly 30 years, says he has never given
so many burials before.
"So we are left with no option than to bear
the cost ourselves and
bury them," he says at his funeral parlour in the
dusty Kelvin North area of
Bulawayo.
"There is widespread
poverty in the country. People are struggling to
survive, so perhaps
getting money to bury someone when they are
themselves starving does
not make sense to them."
The economic meltdown, marked by the
world's highest inflation of more
than 1200 percent, fuel and foreign
currency shortages and spiraling
commodity prices have made almost
everything unaffordable, including burial
expenses.
"There is
no respite for anyone in Zimbabwe, even the dead," quipped
Matilda Jingo,
secretary of Viganai Burial Society in Bulawayo's Nketa 8
suburb.
"The economic crisis follows you right into your
grave. It is
increasingly becoming difficult for our burial society to
bury our
members in the present economic environment. One option is for us
to
increase our monthly membership charges, but everyone is already
struggling
to pay the current rate."
Dube says in the past, he
adds, he never used to undertake such
burials as the government, through its
social welfare department, did so.
The high number of burials he
handles, he notes was indicative of the
high cost involved in financing
burials adding many people cannot afford the
at least Zd$30 000 which most
funeral parlours charge for the cheapest
plywood coffin, transport from the
parlour to a local cemetery and the
burial fee.
The bereaved
also spends Zd$7 000 to buy burial space in one of the
two working class
cemeteries in Bulawayo. This has forced many bereaved
families to leave
their relatives being accorded paupers' burials.
The death rate in
the country is one of the world's highest as the HIV
and AIDS pandemic
which kills at least 3,000 people weekly continues
to
take its
toll.
In addition, with the hostile economic conditions gnawing
into
incomes, it is estimated that more than three-quarters of the
population is
living in poverty.
Majahahodwa Nkala, of Bulawayo
Funeral Home says prices for some
coffins have risen to as much as Z$200
000. He blames the economy for the
plight of the dead, - and the living but
defended the high service fees
funeral parlours charge.
"The
costs involved are now very high. We try to cater for all social
classes but I know that people simply cannot afford them. --- But it
must be remembered that we are in business too. If we do not revise
our
charges in line with prevailing (economic) trends, we are doomed," he
notes.
Most funeral parlours no longer provide transport
services out of
cities because of the long-standing fuel
crisis.
Those that do, ask mourners to buy fuel on their own or pay
the
shortfall for those who had funeral policies that cover
transport.
In a case which embarrassed President Mugabe's government
recently, a
war veteran and senior ZANU-PF official nearly received a
pauper's burial
after his relatives failed to raise money to bury him in
Bulawayo. The poor
ex-serviceman was however, later given a decent burial
after the
intervention of ZANU-PF leaders in the city.
The
continued increase in burial costs is also reflected in the rising
premiums for funeral policies, averaging about Zd$2 000 per month.
"The premium appears high but that is the level that allows us to
serve them
well. But we have seen an almost 30 percent decline in the
uptake of
policies partly because of the premium level," said a sales
representative
at Dove Funeral Services, Zimbabwe's biggest bereavement
home.
With the cost of dying having become almost unaffordable, chuckled
Dube; "it is better not to die."
Is Zimbabwe headed for conflict?
New Zimbabwe
By Staff
Reporter
Last updated: 09/28/2006 01:01:34
ZIMBABWE'S former Information
Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has warned
that Zimbabwe could descend into
an "explosive situation" if President
Robert Mugabe's succession is not
skillfully handled.
Speaking on BBC current affairs programme, HARDtalk,
aired last week,
Mugabe's former spin doctor warned that the internecine
struggle to succeed
Mugabe could spark a "Hobbesian war of everyone against
everyone."
His warning comes barely two weeks after former Mozambican
President Joaquim
Chissano said Mugabe's ouster could end in "a big
situation of violence that
could lead to internal war."
Mugabe, 83
next February, has previously indicated he is serving his last
term and
wants to retire. His term ends in 2008, but his Zanu PF party's
pokesman
Nathan Shamuyarira told state radio last week that the presidential
poll
could be postponed to 2010 to bring it in line with parliamentary
elections.
Political commentators see this as an attempt to give
Mugabe a further two
years to position his preferred successor.
Asked
if infighting had escalated in Zanu PF, Moyo said: "Indeed, and this
is not
surprising. I suppose after 26 years of controversial rule (and) now
with
Mugabe on the exit door one way or the other there are serious problems
around his leadership but for the fact that he has had a very strong hand in
controlling the party.
"He is the symbol of the party, the party is
him and when it's dawn,
everyone becomes very insecure and factions
develop."
Moyo, a former university lecturer and political scientist
whose own five
years in government were not without controversy, insisted
that civil strife
was the worst case scenario in the succession
battle.
He said: "It depends on what is done by various interested
parties, first
and foremost Zimbabweans, then the ruling party itself and
others in the
region and internationally. It depends on what they do
now.
"There is a possibility of an explosive situation that would create
quite
some serious problems...I wouldn't say civil strife but quite serious
conflict, then conflict can take all sorts of directions.
"But the
conditions for violent conflict if the transition is not handled
properly
are there because this is now happening against background of an
unprecedented economic meltdown and when you have political tension fuelling
economic collapse, prospects for a peaceful transition
diminish."
Mugabe's ruling party has been riven by division in recent
years with two
distinct factions emerging -- one led by retired army general
Solomon Mujuru
and another by Emmerson Mnangagwa, for a long time thought to
be Mugabe's
chosen heir.
Mnangagwa launched an unsuccessful bid for
the vice presidency in 2004, his
cause championed by Moyo. Mujuru's faction
carried the day and his wife,
Joice, claimed the vice presidency.
The
events were followed by recriminations and several of Mnangagwa's
loyalists
were suspended or expelled from the party. Moyo quit Zanu PF and
stood as an
independent parliamentary candidate in the south-western
district of
Tsholotsho and won, beating both the Zanu PF and MDC candidates.
Moyo
said there was no love lost between the main contenders, but added that
Mugabe could yet decisively shape the transition.
Moyo said: "From
now on, it will depend on what happens to Mugabe, but more
importantly what
Mugabe does. These people indeed can find themselves in a
Hobbesian war of
everyone against everyone, but there are also possibilities
that those who
are influential in the military and in the security
establishment and who
are playing a much more decisive role now might avert
that because Zimbabwe
is that kind of society."
Chissano suggested two weeks ago that forcing
Mugabe out of power could
spark a civil war. Chissano took issue with what
he called a Western
obsession with term limits for Africa's presidents, and
was critical of
calls to force Mugabe's departure after 26 years at the
helm.
"If Mugabe steps down, what will happen then?" asked Chissano,
whose country
has historic ties with neighbouring Zimbabwe, forged during
their wars
against white rule.
"What is happening now is bad, but it
could be worse -- a big situation of
violence could lead to internal war,"
he said.
Political journalist, Dumisani Muleya, said while Moyo appeared
to have
qualified his statements, Chissano's intervention was "not based on
any
sound reasoning or philosophy".
"At what point will Mugabe go and
there will be no trouble and at what point
will he go and there is trouble?
Chissano's motivation appears to be a
desire to see Mugabe remain at the
helm than a genuine attempt to introduce
intelligent analysis to the
discourse. He is just giving Mugabe ammunition
to say why he should not
leave than analysing the situation," said Muleya,
news editor of the
privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.
Muleya said there was too
much self interest within Zanu PF, and any
eventuality would be decided by
how the internal political dynamics within
Zanu PF are handled.
He
said: "There is clearly too much self interest in Zanu PF which normally
happens when the harsh realities of power are at play. This, I believe, is
the context in which we can locate the fears of those who think brute force
and Machiavellian tactics are going to be deployed, probably leading to
conflict of sorts."
Mugabe has previously suggested he will retire in
2008, but has not been
categorical about the decision -- a point which
analysts say means that the
veteran Zimbabwean leader is keeping his options
open.
There has been speculation over the past year that Mugabe might
hang onto
power until 2010 or retire in 2008 but only under a law allowing
his chosen
successor in Zanu PF to hold power for a couple of years before
facing the
opposition in a 2010 general election.
Political analysts
say Mugabe and Zanu PF fear an electoral challenge amid a
deepening economic
crisis many blame on his government, and might hope a
delay would allow time
for improvement in an economy struggling with the
world's highest inflation
rate of over 1,200 percent.
The opposition charges that Mugabe's
government has robbed it of victory in
three major elections in the last six
years, and says his government has
become more repressive in the face of the
economic meltdown.
Mugabe denies the charge, and in turn accuses the MDC
of being a puppet of
Western powers seeking to overthrow his party over its
controversial
seizures of white-owned farms to redistribute to landless
blacks.
Are Zimbabweans in the diaspora doing enough?
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora
turn up in their thousands for musical shows, but when it comes to political
gatherings like demonstrations or vigils only a handful are gathered. Why do we
have Zimbabweans living in democratic countries that allow for free expression,
never showing any interest in their motherland? Alois Mbawara who leads the
militant Free-Zim Youth UK group and Duran Rapozo a coordinator with the
Zimbabwe Development Network based in Manchester lock horns to debate the issue.
Lance Guma moderates.
For the programme schedules visit:
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/schedule.php
You can also visit our
archives after broadcast at:
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/archives.php
Lance
Guma
Producer/Presenter
SW Radio
Africa
+44-777-855-7615
www.swradioafrica.com
SW Radio Africa is
Zimbabwe's only independent radio station broadcasting from the United Kingdom.
The station is staffed by exiled Zimbabwean journalists who because of harsh
media laws cannot broadcast from home.
Full broadcast on Shortwave 4880
KHZ between 6-8pm ( British Summer time) and 24 hours on the internet at
www.swradioafrica.com.
Crafty Zimbabwean vendors paint
Windhoek red
From New Era (Namibia), 26 September
Stanley Kwenda
Windhoek - The streets of
Windhoek look very clean to any other discerning
visitor, what with a
kaleidoscope of colour which comes with the different
dressing styles
representing the diverse cultures that can be found in this
city. Although
water is such a precious commodity in the arid city, it is
the lush green
gardens and recreational parks which leave a first-time
visitor wondering
how this could be. But as one walked around the beautiful
streets bustling
with shiny cars and people from different walks of life,
something really
stood out. At every other street corner, you are likely to
meet a neatly
designed street market selling mostly exotic wares. Artefacts
made from
wood, steel and soapstone are a popular sight. But, apart from the
wares and
the beauty of the city, something really caught the eye. Most of
the vendors
you meet are likely to be from Zimbabwe. "This probably
demonstrates the
extent to which Zimbabweans have been stretched by an
economy which is not
performing well, but it is their resolve which has seen
them become a
regular feature in this country," said Thomas Kunene who lives
in Katutura.
Some of the traders have been living in Namibia for many years
and have
since become part of the southern African country's larger
community. Others
do come occasionally to sell their wares, but leave once
they record good
business.
"I have been here for two weeks now and business has not
been that good, but
it usually picks up towards the end of the month, " said
a woman who
identified herself as Theresa. Theresa comes from Harare's Glen
View suburb
and looks after a family of four from her cross-border trading
venture. She
lost her husband in 1998 and has since been managing on her
own. To date,
she says she has managed to send her children to school with
the proceeds
she gets from her excursions in Namibia. She specializes in
selling
embroidery products along the streets of Windhoek, although she
sometimes
does so in other towns such as Okahandja and Katima Mulilo. When
in
Windhoek, she usually lives in a compound with friends in Katutura
suburb.
But how does she cope with having to be miles away from her family?
" I
always talk to them on the phone and most of my relatives support me a
lot,
and my young sister looks after my children when I am away. I must
admit it
is never an easy task but, by the way, it is not by choice," said
Theresa.
Theresa is just one of the many Zimbos - as Zimbabweans are
affectionately
known in Namibia - who have decided to endure the sometimes
two-day long
journey from Zimbabwe. Most of the vendors have developed a
crafty way of
doing things though. They kill most of their time making wares
while waiting
for the next customer. Apart from the street corner, they can
also be found
at shopping malls dotted around the city. At the Game Shopping
Centre, I met
two young brothers aged 25 and 28 respectively selling a
refreshing brand of
art of handmade wind pumps which can draw up to 200
litres of water a day.
"It only takes two days to make this pump and we use
wire and fix a small
pump at the pivot. It is a very cheap form of pumping
water," said Nicky
Makwarimba, one of the two brothers. The wind pump costs
anything between
400 and 600 Namibian dollars. Apart from the pumps, the
brothers also
augment their income by selling cellphone recharge cards and
other
artefacts. They said they appreciate the concern of the Namibian
people who
understand their plight and therefore make their business
easy.
Makwarimba said, "We have no problem with the police; all they
want is to
see us doing business in an orderly manner rather than roaming
through the
city." An unidentified Windhoek office worker recounted his
experiences
during the apartheid era, "I went to university in Zambia and
got an
education I now cherish through the benevolence of the Zambian
people, and
so I think we should just do the same for others." The journey
for Maxwell
from Zimbabwe was just as long as those of the others. "I would
have loved
to tell you how I came to be in this country, but I can't do that
to a
journalist; I cannot trust you, but it was really hard. I am happy I am
here
and at least I am doing something, otherwise I could have been forced
into
doing some bad things in Zimbabwe." Maxwell sells wire toys at Maerua
Mall.