The Minister of Justice of the Government of Zimbabwe, Mr P Chinamasa M.P., has asserted that:
“any decision that
the (SADC) Tribunal may have or may make in future against the Republic of
Zimbabwe is null and void”.
Below is legal opinion on the validity of this statement.
Attached, for convenience, are:
1. The SADC Tribunal judgement of 28 November 2008 on the Zimbabwean farm case (complete document)
2. The SADC Tribunal judgement of 28 November 2008 on the Zimbabwean farm case (final page)
3. The SADC Tribunal ruling of 5 June 2009: Chief Justice Pillay stressed that Zimbabwe had not only breached the November order, but was in contempt.
EX PARTE: COMMERCIAL FARMERS UNION
IN RE: THE STATUS OF RULINGS BY THE SOUTH
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC) TRIBUNAL VIS-Ą-VIS THE GOVERNMENT OF
ZIMBABWE
OPINION
J.J. GAUNTLETT SC (former Chairman of the General Council of the Bar, South Africa)
Prof J.L. JOWELL QC (member of Blackstone Chambers and former law dean, University College London and Vice-Provost)
F.B.
PELSER
Chambers
Cape Town and London
3 September 2009
A.
INTRODUCTION
(a) Zimbabwe is a signatory to the SADC Treaty;
(b) Zimbabwe is bound to the Protocol despite not ratifying it;
(c) Zimbabwe has conceded the SADC Tribunal’s jurisdiction; and
(d) The SADC Tribunal has held that Zimbabwe is subject to its jurisdiction.
B. REASONS FOR
OPINION
(a)
Zimbabwe is a signatory to
the SADC Treaty
(b) Zimbabwe is bound to the Protocol
despite not ratifying it
(c) Zimbabwe has conceded the SADC
Tribunal’s jurisdiction
(d) The SADC Tribunal has held that
Zimbabwe is subject to its jurisdiction
C.
CONCLUSION
We advise accordingly.
J.J. GAUNTLETT
SC
(former Chairman of the General
Council of the Bar, South Africa)
Prof J.L.
JOWELL QC
(member of Blackstone Chambers and former law dean, University College London and Vice-Provost)
F.B.
PELSER
Chambers
Cape Town and
London
3 September
2009
[1]
This principle forms part of customary
international law, and is reaffirmed and codified in article 26 of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, which provides that “[e]very treaty
in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good
faith”.
[2] Thermo Radiant Oven Sales Ltd v Nelspruit Bakeries 1969 (2) SA 295 (A); H Clerk (Doncaster) Ltd v Wilkinson 1965 All ER 934 (CA); Standard Bank of SA v Minister of Bantu Education 1966 (4) SA 229 (N) at 242H; De Wet v Western Bank Ltd 1977 (4) SA 770 (T) at 779C-G; Joubert et al (eds) Law of South Africa (1st reissue 1999) vol 14 para 289 (text at notes 8-9).
http://www.voanews.com/
By Peta
Thornycroft
Johannesburg
03 September
2009
Political temperatures are rising in Zimbabwe before a crucial
summit of the
Southern African Development Community to be held next week in
Kinshasa. The
group guaranteed the political agreement signed a year ago by
President
Robert Mugabe and MDC leader and now Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
In the run-up to the SADC summit, Zimbabwe's Justice Minister
Patrick
Chinamasa ordered the release of about 1,500 jailed women and
juvenile
prisoners, 10 percent of the prison population held in appalling
conditions,
according to local and international human rights organizations.
Also
released were those who are terminally ill.
Those convicted of
violent crimes were not released.
Chinamasa has blamed U.S. and EU travel
and financial sanctions against
Zanu-PF and a few companies that are close
to the party for prison
conditions.
Zanu-PF has criticized Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for failing to get
the restrictions lifted
against the inclusive government.
Chinamasa also told the public media
Tuesday that Zimbabwe does not
recognize SADC's Tribunal, a court of last
resort for the region's citizens.
Chinamasa said that two thirds of member
states should ratify the tribunal
for it to have jurisdiction in
Zimbabwe.
In June, Zimbabwe was found guilty of contempt of the
Tribunal's ruling
last year that more than 70 white farmers should be left
in peace on their
land. The Tribunal's contempt finding was referred to the
Kinshasa summit.
South African advocate Jeremy Gauntlett, who represented
the farmers at the
tribunal, said Zimbabwe's deputy attorney general twice
confirmed to the
tribunal that he accepted its jurisdiction, and did so a
third time in
writing.
The Africa Director of the International
Commission of Jurists, Arnold
Tsunga, said Zimbabwe would have to withdraw
from the SADC community of
states if it does not recognize the validity of
its organ, the Tribunal.
The first farmer to receive protection from the
tribunal, Mike Campbell, had
his farm house burned down Sunday according to
local reports. Three days
earlier, his son-in-law had his house burned down
on the same farm in
central Zimbabwe.
Monday, Mr. Tsvangirai issued a
strong critique of the political agreement.
He said state media continued
what he said was a "vicious" campaign
promoting "hatred and acrimony" to
bolster the Zanu-PF.
He said there is a "selective" application of the
rule of law, including the
persecution and prosecution of MDC Parliament
members, which inflames
political tensions.
Mr. Tsvangirai said while
outstanding issues from the political agreement
remain unresolved, the
international community would not invest in Zimbabwe.
He called for the
Southern African Development Community to decide at the
summit when it would
begin the six-month review it had pledged when the
inclusive government was
sworn into power.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=22182
September 3, 2009
By Ntando
Ncube
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's ruling African National Congress
(ANC) said
Thursday that South Africa was looking to Zimbabwe's unity
government to
bring about speedy political, economic and social recovery in
the country.
Party deputy secretary-general, Thandi Modise said more than
three million
Zimbabweans who had crossed the border were placing a huge
strain on South
Africa's health care, education and housing
resources.
And her country wanted to see a recovery in Zimbabwe that
would allow the
exiles to return home.
"It is important to South
Africa and to the ANC in particular to begin to
see a situation in Zimbabwe
which will enable Zimbabweans in South Africa
and elsewhere in the world to
come back to Zimbabwe to rebuild their
country," Modise said
"I think
there are more than three million Zimbabweans in South Africa. We
would want
to see a situation back in Zimbabwe which will enable these
people to go
back home."
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formed a unity
government in
February, but are still squabbling over a power-sharing
agreement that could
have paved the way for progressive
reforms.
Modise said South Africa and southern Africa as a whole wanted
to see a
Zimbabwe that is beginning to work and to put its citizens first
and her
country wanted negotiations between Mugabe and the MDC to pick up
pace.
"That is why we are encouraging the talks between President Mugabe
and the
MDC to be more positive, to be faster, because all of us need to see
our
countries working as well as they can do," she said.
Years of
economic crisis, characterised by record rates of hyperinflation,
forced
millions of Zimbabweans to seek work in South Africa, where there
were
bloody clashes last year between economic exiles and South Africans
worried
about their jobs.
South African President Jacob Zuma visited Zimbabwe
last week to press
Mugabe and Tsvangirai to resolve their differences so
that foreign economic
aid can begin to flow in.
Talking about
repatriating Zimbabweans in South Africa Modise said: "You
cannot turn your
back on your neighbours when they are in need.
"So President Zuma will do
what he can to mediate to ensure that things are
working in
Zimbabwe."
Tsvangirai said on Tuesday he wanted next week's summit of
regional leaders
to push Mugabe to fulfill the power-sharing agreement and
to speed up
reforms.
Tsvangirai said the Southern African Development
Community, meeting in the
Democratic Republic of Congo on September 7 should
remove obstacles to the
unity pact.
http://af.reuters.com
Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:59pm
GMT
By Nelson Banya
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's relations
with the European Union are
improving, but there will be no direct funding
for the Harare government
until political talks with the bloc are concluded,
an EU official said on
Thursday.
The EU, one of President Robert
Mugabe's staunchest critics, imposed
sanctions on the veteran ruler and his
inner circle and suspended direct aid
in 2002 over charges of rights abuses
and electoral fraud.
Mugabe accuses the EU of punishing him for seizing
white-owned farms to
resettle landless blacks.
Mugabe, and long-time
foe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, formed a
power-sharing government in
February in a bid to end a political crisis that
followed last year's
disputed elections.
The new government is working to re-engage the EU and
the United States.
Western donors have demanded broad political and
economic reforms before
giving direct aid to the government. The donors
currently provide only
humanitarian assistance.
Dominique Davoux, the
EU's head of economic co-operation and food security
in Zimbabwe, told a
business conference in Harare that efforts to restore
ties were being
made.
"Zimbabwe's international relations are on the mend, with bilateral
and
multilateral re-engagement efforts taking centre stage, starting with
the
Prime Minister's visit to Brussels in June," Davoux said.
"It's
moving very slowly and we want it speeded up to deal with areas of
concern
on both sides."
The talks between Harare and the EU are meant to resolve
the dispute over
Zimbabwe's human rights record, political reforms and
sanctions slapped on
Mugabe's previous ZANU-PF government, as well as the
resumption of aid.
Davoux said any possible financial assistance to the
new unity government --
which says it requires about $10 billion to rebuild
the economy -- depended
on successful negotiations.
"Opportunities
for Zimbabwe within the EU-ACP (African, Caribbean and
Pacific) partnership
framework are premised on normal relations," Davoux
said.
"However,
until the political dialogue concludes favourably on areas of
concern to the
EU, our current co-operation is limited to direct support to
the beneficiary
population."
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accuses
Mugabe's ZANU-PF
of stalling key reforms demanded by the West but ZANU-PF in
turn says the
MDC is not doing enough to convince its Western allies to
remove sanctions.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
03 September 2009
The country's largest teachers' union has this
week been accused of
deliberately disrupting the start of the new school
term, with observers
commenting that the union has highly politicised
motives.
Thousands of members of the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association
(ZIMTA) on
Wednesday embarked on a nationwide strike to coincide with the
start of the
new term. The teachers' association said the strike only
started picking up
momentum on Thursday, with an official saying up to 95%
of its members have
downed tools. Other reports suggest the strike has been
less dramatic, with
education officials saying the 'strike' more closely
resembles a 'go-slow'.
Education Minister David Coltart explained on
Thursday that the majority of
teachers have reported to work, despite the
nationwide strike called by
ZIMTA last week. The association had called for
the industrial action over
unresolved salary grievances, arguing the
government has not been sincere in
guaranteeing better wages and working
conditions for the country's
educators. The Education and Finance Ministries
have previously called for
patience from disgruntled civil servants,
explaining the government does not
have the financial resources to improve
salaries yet.
An attempt to avert the strike on Monday failed when a
meeting between the
Union and government officials did not materialise.
However, Education
Minister Coltart, as well as Finance Minister Tendai
Biti, met with the
leaders of the country's two other, smaller teachers'
unions on Tuesday, to
encourage a productive start to the school term.
Officials from the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the
Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe told the Ministers that their members were being
encouraged to
return to their posts at the start of the term on Wednesday,
saying a strike
was futile and a threat to the country's
reputation.
Minister Coltart told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that ZIMTA
teachers only
left their posts after union officials circulated a letter,
telling their
members to do so. Coltart explained that mass confusion is now
the order of
the day, with many teachers embarking on a 'go-slow' rather
than a full on
strike, but he added that some teaching is underway. The
Minister said that
the timing of the ZIMTA strike is suspicious, accusing
the union of
deliberately disrupting the start of a very important school
term.
"This is a cynical action by ZIMTA that has been deliberately
planned to
have the greatest possible impact," Coltart said. "It shows
callous
disregard for the welfare of the students."
The strike has
revealed deep divisions between the members of the different
unions, with
critics arguing the move by ZIMTA is highly politicised. ZIMTA
has always
been a ZANU PF aligned union and has never before called for
strike action.
On the other hand, the usually more militant PTUZ is said to
be supportive
of the MDC, and has exercised more patience with the fledgling
unity
government. Observers have said the ZIMTA strike is a deliberate
attempt to
discredit the MDC, which now has the troubled Finance and
Education
Ministries to turn around, after they completely collapsed while
in the
hands of ZANU PF.
ZIMTA's Acting Chief Executive, Sifiso Ndlovu, on
Thursday said such
accusations are 'neither here nor there', arguing their
sole motive is to
urge the government to meet the salary demands of
teachers. Ndlovu argued,
"It is unfortunate that students will suffer and
that education will be
compromised," but he said he hoped the strike would
be concluded well before
students write exams.
"ZIMTA is a-political,
has always been a-political and will remain
a-political," Ndlovu said. "We
will continue to engage with the government
and represent teachers for their
needs."
Meanwhile, there has been an angry outcry over Minister Biti's
attempts to
persuade striking teachers to rescind their decision, after he
said that
Robert Mugabe is taking home a monthly salary of
US$300.
"Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the economy and
revenue
improves by 300 per cent, we have no fiscal space for a salary
increment at
the moment. Even the President is currently earning US$300 and
we can't draw
water from stones. The economy is not performing," Biti told
teachers.
However the statement will likely cause anger among civil
servants who do
not have the financial resources to support their families,
never mind take
medical breaks in Dubai or pay foreign university tutelage
for their
children. It is widely acknowledged that Mugabe is the wealthiest
man in
Zimbabwe as a result of years of dictatorial rule and corruption.
http://af.reuters.com
Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:21pm
GMT
By Nelson Banya
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's political
uncertainty and the government's
hold over electricity policies will
discourage private investment in the
sector, experts said on Thursday,
dimming prospects of economic recovery.
The southern African country
suffers chronic electricity shortages, which
have hurt industry and
households, and state-owned power utility Zesa says
it requires up to $5
billion to expand generation and rehabilitate ageing
plants.
Zimbabwe
generates about half of its electricity and also buys a third of
its needs
mostly from Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, but has
struggled
to pay for imports.
Zimbabwe may find it difficult to attract private
investment in the power
sector due to negative sentiment about the country
after years of economic
decline, analysts say.
Miners and
manufacturers at an industrial conference said frequent power
cuts were
stalling economic recovery and tensions in the new administration
could
undermine policy-making.
"There is need for policy consistency, because
the energy projects are
long-term. It's actually a surprise that we have
never initiated any power
project since independence in 1980," independent
energy consultant
Simbarashe Mangwengwende, a former Zesa chief executive
officer, told the
conference.
"It is very important, if you are to
come up with bankable power projects,
to have positive investor perception.
This is a factor of the political
environment."
STALLED
Rivals
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai set up a
fragile unity government in February in a bid to end a protracted economic
crisis, but disputes have stalled economic reforms.
Zimbabwe has
potential to generate an additional 7,500 MW from the current
1,000 MW
through expanding output at its Hwange thermal plant and Kariba
hydropower
station and by construction of a 1,600 MW hydropower station
jointly with
Zambia, a 1,400 MW thermal power plant and another 300 MW plant
from
gas.
World Bank country economist Rogers Dhliwayo told the conference
that
Zimbabwe needs to guarantee a return on independent power producers'
investment.
"It is imperative that power is properly priced to ensure
sustainable
private sector participation, and a situation where politicians
intervene in
revenue collection is not conducive," said Dhliwayo.
A
government official told an energy forum on Wednesday that the government
had completed a draft policy giving guidelines on investment in the
sector.
But Mangwengwende said government's dominance of Zimbabwe's
energy sector
also hindered investment.
"A situation where government
is the policy-maker, regulator and energy
deliverer is clearly untenable.
Government should realise that their role is
policy setting and regulatory
oversight," he said.
While Zimbabwe had set up a regulatory authority, it
needed to be
independent from state control, especially in determining
tariffs,
Mangwengwende said.
Zesa, which currently owes its external
power suppliers at least $57 million
but is itself owed $200 million through
unpaid domestic bills, could raise
revenues by increasing billing and
revenue collection, said Mangwengwende.
http://www.news24.com
2009-09-03 21:04
Harare - Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe will tell regional leaders at a
summit in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) next week that Western
sanctions are to
blame for his country's failure to quickly emerge from an
economic crisis,
his spokesperson said Thursday.
George Charamba, Mugabe's chief
spokesperson, was quoted by state-controlled
media on Thursday as saying
that Mugabe would tell the 15- nation Southern
African Development Community
(SADC) that targeted Western sanctions were
the "the single largest threat
to the fulfilment of the ... agreement".
Charamba was referring to the
six-month-old power-sharing agreement between
Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the
former opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) of Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Although the coalition government has managed to reign in
hyperinflation and
get public service workers back on the job, its progress
towards an economic
turnaround has been blocked by quarrels between the
parties.
The MDC accuses Mugabe of failing to break with his past
government's
repressive policies and blocking the implementation of
democratic reforms,
as called for in the power-sharing accord.
'He
cannot budge'
Among the sticking points are Mugabe's refusal to
rescind his unilateral
appointments of his cronies to the posts of central
bank and
attorney-general and the ongoing harassment of opposition activists
and
white farmers, among others.
For Mugabe to back down on these
issues was "inconceivable", according to
Charamba, who said of the
85-year-old leader of 29 years: he "cannot budge".
The MDC has referred
the issues to SADC, which brokered the Zimbabwe
agreement. The party and its
supporters are hoping that Zimbabwe's
neighbours will end their
long-standing support for Mugabe at the Kinshasa
meeting.
Charamba
said Mugabe would tell SADC that Western travel bans and asset
freezes on
Mugabe, Zanu-PF top brass and allied companies "had a devastating
impact ...
on the generality of the people and economic turnaround efforts".
South
African President Jacob Zuma, during a visit to Zimbabwe last week,
however
blamed the slow progress on Mugabe's failure to meet "certain
benchmarks"
set by Western donors.
The power-sharing government was established to
try to end Zimbabwe's twin
political and economic crises. An estimated 100
MDC supporters were murdered
in disputed presidential elections last year,
while the economy hit rock
bottom and inflation hit 500 billion per
cent.
The cash-strapped government has so far obtained only a fraction of
the
$10bn in aid it said it needed to rebuild the economy.
- SAPA
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
3
September 2009
By
correspondent
Harare - Robert Mugabe (Pictured) has "pardoned" more than
1500 prisoners
because his government is so broke, it can't feed them.
Significantly, the
ministry of justice announced that the pardon will not be
extended to people
accused of "plotting against the government.
Murderers
as well are in for it, as are rapists, who also do not qualify.
Those to be
released are the terminally ill, juveniles and women. The
Ministry of
Justice announcement comes after that infamous documentary,
"Hell Hole",
shown by South African television and shot secretly in
Zimbabwe's
jails.
A couple of prison officers lost their jobs as a result, accused
of having
helped the filmmakers. I was warned this evening, however, that
this move is
a prelude to darker
times. A source from within Mugabe's
party claims that his party and his
president have now decided that sooner
rather than later, the MDC is going
to walk.
If this source is
correct, you will, in the very near future, hear of a
surge in violence
across the country. It will be put down to "hardcore"
criminals who were
pardoned because the government had no money to feed
them. Later, of course,
it will emerge that the violence is actually
politically motivated.
Preparations for by-elections would have begun.
Whether he walks or stays
on his "irreversible train", Morgan Tsvangirai
will find the corridors of
power very cold indeed. He has, in the eyes of
his "principal", Robert "The
Solution"Mugabe, proved to be of no use. He
can't bring in the dollars. And
without that, there is no need to tolerate
his presence at Munhumutapa any
longer, unless he capitulates and does so
utterly, as happened with Joshua
Nkomo.
The new strategy has taken shape in the following form: Mugabe has
been
advised that his election as president and his swearing-in were fait
accomppli that the African Union and SADC accepted.. Mugabe had just been
hurriedly sworn-in when he left the country to attend the African Union
Summit in Egypt. It was there that the African Union received him as head of
state, and then resolved to hand the matter of Zimbabwe negotiations to
SADC, which threw the hot potato back into Thabo Mbeki's
lap.
Tsvangirai, SADC and Mbeki dealt with Mugabe as a Head of State,
with
Patrick Chinamasa spitting out the words: "The president's position is
non-negotiable!" to journalists. Therefore, the fall of this Inclusive
Government will result only in the country going back for parliamentary
elections, organised and presided over by Mugabe.
The hope is to claw
back the majority in parliament that way. And set up a
government "with a
clean conscience", as ZANU PF puts it, telling the world
that they had tried
to reconcile with their internal and western enemies,
but these had proved
that they did not want such reconciliation.
Campaigning, Tsvangirai will
no longer be able to say that he "holds the
key" to aid from outside
Zimbabwe, as he has done before. Mugabe would
simply retort that the keys
had failed to work last time Tsvangirai took
them to Europe and America and
they would never work until land was restored
back to white farmers (that
is, after all the anchor upon which he has
campaigned in every single
election since 1999. The pardon, then, is a
sideshow. The Main Attraction is
yet to come.
You can already see that, increasingly impatient, Mugabe has
thrown his toys
out of the cot, refused to play with Tsvangirai any more and
is sulking in a
corner waiting for the SADC meeting in the DRC next week. He
will quite
simply not do anything more to appease the MDC. Already, it is
clear to
close observers that the dictator has made up his mind that
Tsvangirai and
the MDC have failed to live up to the job he had in mind
for
them: turning around the economy and getting money in from the outside
world
for reconstruction.
He sees no benefit accruing to him and his
party from any more concessions
he gives the MDC. Which effectively means
that, for Mugabe, the Inclusive
Government is dead.
It is Tsvangirai now
who is clinging to hope, quite aware, as he said at his
press conference
yesterday, that "there is not other option" for him.
Mugabe, after all, can
not be defeated, Tsvangirai has said before.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Violet Gonda
3 September
2009
The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and the Matabeleland
Freedom
Party (MFP) have accused the police and customs officials at
Beitbridge
border post of political harassment and seizing their campaign
material.
Thulani Dhlamini from ZAPU told SW Radio Africa on Thursday
that the ZAPU
executive in South Africa had sourced funding for the printing
of t-shirts
for a rally in Plumtree.
But he said the materials were
confiscated last week by police, state agents
and custom officials at the
border with South Africa, who said the t-shirts
were illegal. Dhlamini said
even the single t-shirts they had as
individuals were confiscated. The ZAPU
official claims they were told by
the authorities that 'only ZANU and MDC
T-shirts were allowed to be worn in
Zim,' and that they were undermining the
unity government.
They were allegedly held in custody for 18 hours at the
Beitbridge police
station where they were subjected to interrogation about
the names of party
officials and their positions. Dhlamini said they were
only released after
being forced to apologise verbally to the Member in
Charge for bringing the
t-shirts into Zimbabwe. However, the pamphlets and
t-shirts were not
returned to them.
Meanwhile, the Matabeleland Freedom
Party has also accused Zimbabwean border
authorities of political
harassment. MFP member David Magagula told us that
officials at the border
either confiscate opposition party regalia or charge
exorbitant fees to make
it impossible for the parties to ship their goods
into Zimbabwe. Magagula
claims he was recently charged R3 000 for about 150
t-shirts. He said: "This
was exorbitant and far more than we had printed the
t-shirts for. So we told
them we were going back to South Africa with our
t-shirts but we made as if
we were returning and then we hid the t-shirts
and passed."
He accused
the authorities of only 'recognising ZANU PF and MDC', and
refusing to
acknowledge that there are other parties in the country. He
said: "Many
people voted for MDC but it did not mean they liked the MDC or
they liked
Morgan Tsvangirai. It is only because they had no alternatives.
It was a
vote of protest because people don't want Robert Mugabe."
He claimed some
border officials said Zimbabwe is now a two party state and
called them
'dissidents'. "That shows we are not wanted, why do we force
ourselves to be
Zimbabwean, when Zimbabweans do not want us."
Controversially, the MFP
does not want to be ruled by a person who is not
from the Matabeleland
region. Magagula said: "The party was formed so that
we liberate
Matabeleland from Mashonaland, along borders that were there
before
colonialism."
Observers say ZANU PF continues leading the country down this
trap of not
recognising other political parties, creating intolerance and
disharmony.
Additionally the Gukurahundi massacres have still not been dealt
with, and
this will forever remain a painful issue in Matabeleland while the
government continues to ignore it.
Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy,
Harare
Press Release: U.S. Congressional Delegation visit to Zimbabwe
Harare: September 3, 2009- A delegation of U.S. Congressmen concluded two days of meetings with senior Zimbabwean government officials in Harare during which it discussed a range of issues including the performance of the inclusive government, unresolved issues of the Global Political Agreement signed last September 15, and the role of the United States in supporting the government and the Zimbabwean people.
The five-member delegation was the largest group of American policymakers Zimbabwe has hosted in more than a decade and was led by Representative Gregory Meeks (D-New York) and included Representatives Jack Kingston (R-Georgia), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), Melvin Watt (D- North Carolina) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio).
The delegation met separately with President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo and the tri-partite chairs of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution.
Following their meeting with the Prime Minister, Representative Meeks, speaking on behalf of the delegation, explained, “This delegation and my government are supportive of the inclusive political arrangement established between the three primary political parties in Zimbabwe. We recognize that it is not intended as a permanent arrangement and as such is bound to experience some growing pains. However, to have a reasonable prospect of delivering benefits to the Zimbabwean people it is paramount that the signatories work in good faith with each other. We are concerned that multiple issues remain unresolved with respect to the Global Political Agreement.”
While addressing America’s relationship with Zimbabwe and what additional support the U.S. government might provide, Meeks commented, “Our support for the Zimbabwean people cannot be questioned. U.S. direct assistance to the Zimbabwean people exceeded $310 million, primarily food aid, non-food emergency assistance, health assistance, and democracy building support this year. We have always stood ready to help the Zimbabwean people.”
“During Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s visit to Washington in June, President Obama promised additional support in the areas of agriculture and education. Beyond this, increased U.S. engagement and assistance will depend on further political and economic reform; and compliance with the Global Political Agreement,” said Meeks.
# # #
Issued by the U.S. Embassy in Harare. Contact: Tim Gerhardson, Public Affairs Officer, Tel. +263 4 75800-1, Fax: +263 4 758802 Website: http://harare.usembassy.gov
CFU
Annual Congress,
04.08.2009 Comments from Ambassador Xavier
Marchal Head
of Delegation of the European Commission to Zimbabwe.
I feel privileged to be invited
again to address your annual Congress. It is taking place in the context
of a new political Dispensation, the main objective of which is to pull Zimbabwe
out of a profound crisis, while paving the way for a better democratic
environment. One would expect that as a result
of the Global Political Agreement, appeasement would now prevail over the land
issue. This is unfortunately not the case, making the final resolution of this
key issue much more difficult. I will try however to make
suggestions aimed at helping Zimbabweans to bring the land issue to a proper
conclusion. Speaking with
authority But can I claim that I can speak
with sufficient authority? Consider these: 1) this is the fourth time I am
addressing the CFU annual Congress; 2) I am an agricultural engineer by academic
background; 3) I am the son of a farmer from the Congo; 4) I am also a
diplomat. I have been in Zimbabwe for four
years now, significantly and positively involved in agriculture, food security,
and the land issue. The European Commission has tabled important proposals
regarding agriculture and the land issue, as has been the case notably
concerning the coffee industry, which has virtually disappeared from Zimbabwe.
Perhaps I have gained credit points to comment and advice. Thanks to my academic background,
I understand better some of the key realities related to agriculture in
Zimbabwe: 1) Before 2000 Commercial agriculture was her largest employer; 2)
without it becoming again a key driver of the economy, Zimbabwe will not
redress; 3) it cannot exist in absence of dynamic and self sufficient small
scale communal farming, and I repeat here what I have said last year, so
important I feel it is: small scale farmer need commercial farmers for technical
and economic reasons; commercial farmers need small scale farmers for social and
political reasons; 4) of course, commercial agriculture needs an environment in
which property rights are respected, the rule of law prevails, investment is
encouraged and possible, farmers are not brutalized, farms are not grabbed for
the wrong reasons. As regards my past, my family
left Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1967, narrowly escaping death
and leaving their farms assets behind. In May of this year, forty years after, I
had a chance to return to what is left of my homestead. I understand very well
the ordeal of commercial farmers, evicted as a result of a land reform that has
derailed from its core and laudable objectives. But as a diplomat, I am neutral,
even if proactive, and I look at the land issue in a wider context of a country
in search of its destiny. And my assessment here is that this is the time to
finally bring it to a conclusion. And for that to be possible, all stakeholders
have to compromise, and accept that they all have to give something for the sake
of their country. The GPA, the basis for solving the land
issue Let us now look at what the GPA
and the 100 day economic plan have to say about the land issue.
The GPA recognizes “the
centrality of issues relating to the rule of law, respect of human rights,
democracy and governance”. The GPA foresees a comprehensive, transparent and
non-partisan land audit being conducted “for the purpose of establishing
accountability and eliminating multiple farm ownerships”. It also foresees that
citizens would be considered for land irrespective of race, gender, religion,
ethnicity or political affiliation. It states that security of tenure to all
land holders would be assured. It finally commits to mobilize compensation for
the former land owners. The 100 day plan commits the
Government to “reducing conflicts and disputes on the land and ensure security
of persons and assets”. It also commits the Government to undertake “an audit of
the BIPPAs that have been violated and the costs of such violations”, as well as
to “regularize BIPPAs farms that were resettled”. Can we say that the GPA provides
a basis for addressing the land issue in a positive and comprehensive manner? I
think yes. Translating the commitments of
the GPA and of the 100 day plan in concrete deliverables should now become
priority. Zimbabwe could implement an
immediate moratorium on land occupations, recognizing that violent action to
force farmers out is a violation of the rule of law. Zimbabwe could recognize
the political, moral and judicial force of the SADC Tribunal and respects its
judgment. Zimbabwe should adhere to BIPPAs. The land audit should be undertaken
without anymore delay, on the basis of clear terms of reference, respecting the
spirit of the GPA. Substance should be given to the commitment to security of
tenure to all land holders. A credible and coherent strategy to address the
issue of compensation should be developed. Is this possible to achieve? I
think that the new Dispensation offers an opportunity to do just this, in
addition to having the obligation to do so. Possible role for EC and
EU Can the European Commission, on
behalf of the European Union, play a role to that respect? The answer is also
yes. The European Union is conducting
formal political dialogue with Zimbabwe, with the aim of normalizing a
relationship seriously strained since 2002. The end game is full EU-Zimbabwe
normalization. The process is a two way roadmap: the Zimbabwean track of
implementing the GPA, and a resulting EU track of progressive reengagement. An
achievable process indeed, in which the land issue is part. When the Prime Minister visited
Brussels on 18 June last, leading an important multi-party Governmental
delegation, he asked for EC support to implement the land audit provided for in
the GPA. We responded positively. We need now to move into
action. The Prime Minister also asked for
support to improve food security in his country. We also responded positively.
In addition to having significantly supported food aid/food security in the last
years ( hundreds of million euros committed since 2002), the EC has dispatched a
full fledged technical mission to Zimbabwe, currently still in country, to
prepare a Short term Strategy to support the new Dispensation, which we
committed to implement when the Prime Minister was in Brussels. Food security is
one of its pillars, and so are a number of actions in support of the
implementation of the GPA, including supporting the land
audit. But in the end, the key element
remains a positive outcome of the EU-Zimbabwe political dialogue and its
resulting full normalization of EU relationship with this country. Then the EU
can unleash massive assistance, EC and EU Member States combined. The EC will
then implement a very significant package to support agriculture, rural
development, land, and environment. In conclusion I flew a number of times in a
small plane over Zimbabwe. I was always struck by the extent in which the land
lays idle and uncultivated, be it commercial or communal. But I have also always
been very impressed by how extensively communal land has been improved so as to
practice anti erosion agriculture; this is unique in all Africa. There is
clearly a huge potential there. Transferring land in an arbitrary manner, or for
patronage reasons, is not the answer to the land issue in Zimbabwe. Proper and
realistic policies, an environment conducive to investments, full recognition
that there is indeed a need to properly close the effects of past history but
within the rule of law and with proper compensations, constitute instead
combined elements of answer to the Zimbabwean land issue. Land has always been at the
core of the tensions that have prevented this country from gaining full benefit
from its potentialities. But as I explained there is a way forward, and the new
Dispensation has the historical responsibility to deliver. In the end, Zimbabwe is a
sovereign country. But like any other nation in the world, Zimbabwe needs
international engagement and investment. For this to be there, confidence is
needed, building upon clear rules and rights that are fully respected.
The EC, on behalf of the EU, can
significantly contribute to these goals. Thank you
http://www.csmonitor.com
Court documents show two ministers are defying
President Robert Mugabe in a
power struggle over control of a mining
company.
By a correspondent
from the September 3, 2009
edition
Johannesburg, South Africa - As leader of Zimbabwe since
liberation in 1980,
President Robert Mugabe has ruled with an iron fist,
using a North-Korean
trained brigade to put down a rebellion; eliminating
rivals through show
trials or allegedly via mysterious car crashes; and,
during elections,
intimidating opposition supporters, journalists, and human
rights advocates
with state-sponsored violence.
But is Mr. Mugabe
actually still in charge?
A civil court case, launched by a Zimbabwean
businessman to get back assets
that were nationalized under Mugabe's
government, raises serious questions
about who really controls the levers of
power in Zimbabwe today and whether
any promises made by Mugabe would be
honored by the ministers and generals
in his own
government.
Documents - including private cellphone text messages from
senior Mugabe
ministers - obtained by the Monitor from public court records
in the case
brought by businessman Mutumwa Mawere in the Zimbabwe Supreme
Court in
Harare, indicate that the authority of the 85-year-old Mugabe is
being
directly undermined by two of his closest confidants, Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa and Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mr.
Chinamasa is the chief respondent in the Mawere case, which opens Friday
Sept. 4, and Mr. Mnangagwa - a former intelligence chief - is a
front-runner in the bid to replace Mugabe.
"The question is, 'who is
really in charge of the ZANU-PF [Mugabe's party]?'
" says Takawira
Musavengana, a senior researcher at the Institute for
Security Studies in
Tshwane (Pretoria) and knowledgeable about the Mawere
case. "When we focus
on Mugabe, we're missing the ball. Who are the people
behind Mugabe? What do
they want? What interests do they have to protect?
These power brokers will
stop at nothing to make sure that Mugabe or someone
who sings from the same
hymn sheet is in charge."
The Mugabe succession battle
Like
Kremlinologists watching senior communists at a Red Square parade,
Zimbabwe
watchers have been following rumors of the Mugabe succession battle
for
nearly a decade, but rarely have the private exchanges between
Zimbabwe's
sparring ministers come out into the public. The implications of
this
succession battle could come to a climax in December, when ZANU-PF
holds a
congress to elect its party leaders. Depending on which faction
wins, the
choice of Mugabe's successor could have wide-reaching effects,
potentially
undermining the current fragile coalition government with
ZANU-PF's chief
opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, and
threaten a return
of intimidation and violence by security agencies aiming
to retain
control.
The only thing that is certain, for now, is that ZANU-PF's key
players are
not playing nicely, among themselves or with
others.
A tycoon spurned
Mr. Mawere, a multimillionaire
businessman who once had close ties with the
ZANU-PF government, and
particularly with members of his own Karanga tribal
group, owns a massive
business empire with interests across Southern Africa.
But Mawere was
accused of "externalizing" - taking out of the country - some
$80 million in
assets from his Zimbabwe-based asbestos mine, Shabanie
Mashaba Mine Holdings
(SMMH), and the Zimbabwean government moved to
nationalize his company in
2004.
While Mawere has fallen out with some key ZANU-PF leaders -
including former
business partner Mnangagwa, the defense minister - he has
tried to open
negotiations directly with Mugabe. On May 9, and again the
following day, he
met personally with Mugabe in Tshwane during the
inauguration proceedings
for newly elected South African President Jacob
Zuma. In June, he began to
have almost daily text-message conversations with
Mugabe's Reserve Bank
governor, Gideon Gono.
Although close to
Mugabe, Dr. Gono is now battling to retain his job, since
it was Gono who
printed so much Zimbabwe currency that the country suffered
an inflation
rate of 231 million percent.
Text-message evidence
In a June 6
text message, written in typical shorthand on his BlackBerry,
Gono wrote to
Mawere that there was strong opposition within Mugabe's inner
circle to
resolving the Mawere case. Justice Minister Chinamasa warned Gono
against
involving himself in the matter on Mugabe's behalf.
"Chinam group
insisting tht me and vakuru [the old man, i.e. Mugabe] shudnt
interfere with
the cot processes - as it wil set bad precedents'!" Gono
wrote in his
clipped text-messages.
"If w do tht it makes it dificult 2 argue tht we
cant do the same with [Roy
Bennet MDC Treasurer who is in court facing
treason charges], Jestina Mukoko
[tortured human rights activist accused of
plotting to kill Mugabe] and
others. U c the strait jacket vakuru is being
given 2 wear."
In their Harare offices, members of ZANU-PF's higher
echelon fretted that
Mugabe and his lieutenant Gono were about to return
Mawere's mining company,
and they mobilized to stop them from doing
so.
In a May 19 letter, A.M. Gwaradzimba, the government's administrator
of
Mawere's former company SMM wrote to Chinamasa, the justice minister,
instructing him to resist any efforts to "give back" Mawere's
company.
According to the letter, a Gono deputy told Mr. Gwaradzimba that
"this was a
directive from the highest office in the land, coming through
the office of
the Governor of the [Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe]. According to
him, a deal
might have been struck between the President and MDM (Mawere),
whereby the
Government of Zimbabwe would give back the control and ownership
of SMM to
MDM. I however advised [the deputy] to go back and advise why it
was
ill-advised to temper with the reconstruction process [of the company]
at
this point in time."
Rule of law or tribal rifts?
While
Zimbabwe makes a show of maintaining a rule of law - even jailed
journalists accused of treason can have their day in court - true power and
political alliances still revolve around tribal and family relations. The
main division within the ZANU-PF, for instance, runs along tribal lines with
the friends and relatives belonging to the Karanga tribe of Defense Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa on one side, and the friends and relatives of Vice
President Joyce Mujuru's (and President Mugabe's) Zezuru tribe on the
other.
Anything that disturbs that tribal balance, including the recent
death of
Mugabe's second vice president, Joseph Msika - a Zezuru -has the
potential
for setting off violent sparring among ambitious contenders within
ZANU-PF.
Ironically, it is ZANU-PF's persistent use of force against any
opposition
that many analysts interpret as a sign of weakness.
Its
"land invasions," in which Mugabe supporters were encouraged to force
white
farmers off their lands, came just after a stinging referendum in
which
Zimbabweans voted en masse in 2000 against Mugabe and in favour of a
new
constitution that would weaken Mugabe's power.
The use of security forces
and private militias to intimidate, detain,
torture and kill opposition
supporters during the lead-up to the March 2008
elections is also viewed by
many observers as a ZANU-PF response to seeing
its grip on Zimbabwean voters
slipping. Nearly 500 opposition supporters
were killed during those
elections, and thousands more were displaced. The
ZANU-PF denied that it had
any role in the detention, torture, or death of
opposition
supporters.
Resistance to Mugabe-Mawere resolution
But despite
this hardened attitude on the political field, Mugabe's
willingness to meet
with Mawere, the businessman, in South Africa this past
May, sent shivers
through much of the ZANU-PF establishment.
Senior ZANU-PF officials,
including Chinamasa, publicly denied that Mugabe
had met Mawere in May. But
a member of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence
Office (CIO), confirms that the
meeting took place, and that it was cordial.
"The president wanted Mawere
to furnish him with details and circumstance
that led to the reconstruction
of SMMH and some of his companies, which is
currently taking place and what
led to his specification," says the CIO
officer, speaking on condition of
anonymity. "At the second meeting, the
businessman brought all the important
papers about SMMH and the president
promised that he would help
him."
It is this promise that caused the strongest reactions among senior
ZANU-PF
members in Mugabe's Cabinet. Arguing first that the president had no
cause
to interrupt the process of nationalizing Mawere's companies, and
later
arguing that intervening in a court case now would set a precedent for
other
court cases, Mugabe's presumed underlings repeatedly stalled the
process,
countermanding Mugabe's orders.
In a June 7, 2009, text
message to Mawere, Reserve Bank governor Gono writes
that he is facing stiff
resistance from Chinamasa and Mnangagwa, who are
trying to stop the
president's efforts through legal and illegal means.
"We want to move
swiftly so that matter is not intercepted," Gono writes. "I
hear guys were
lining up to snap your cos [companies] after legal or illegal
process in cot
this or next week. They wil b surprised."
In a separate message on that
day, Gono adds, "Pse accept an apology frm 4
any distress I may have bn said
I caused tho my prez and me are now clear
wht we seem 2 hav bn up gainst!
Misrepresentations and malice behind our
baks! Gud day."
Court case
goes ahead
At present Mawere, who confirms the details of this story and
the veracity
of the documents obtained by the Monitor, says he does not know
how long the
court case will take, nor what the outcome will be. Civil cases
in Zimbabwe
can take years to complete, or they can be thrown out in a day
or two.
But in Mawere's court statements, the implications of this case
show a
government in disarray, with individual ministers following their own
directions and disregarding those of Mugabe.
"To date, His
Excellencey [Mugabe] has not officially informed me of the
outcome of his
intervention," Mawere writes in an Aug. 2009 court affidavit.
"All I have
been able to establish is that the negotiations were interrupted
by the
Respondent [Chinamasa] with the support of the Minister of Defence,
Hon. E.
Mnangagwa, whose interest and involvement in the matter remains
undefined.
"One can hardly say that the decision to stop negotiations
was made by the
government as alleged by the Respondent," Mawere continues.
"There is no
basis for the Applicant [Chinamasa] to withdraw this appeal
because the
decision to postpone the litigation was at the instance of Dr.
Gono under
the instruction of His Excellency, The President of Zimbabwe.
However, this
case appears to have its own peculiar features that go beyond
national
interest."
* A Zimbabwean journalist, whose name could not
be given for security
reasons, wrote this story from Johannesburg.
http://www.time.com
By ALEX PERRY Monday, Sep. 14, 2009
Having produced
extraordinary works by the likes of Peter Godwin (Mukiwa),
Alexandra Fuller
(Scribbling the Cat) and Nobel laureate Doris Lessing,
Zimbabwe's troubles
seem to prove that you need to suffer for your art. But
those authors are
white, and Zimbabwe is a country of millions of blacks,
whose troubles have
undoubtedly been worse. So do we really need another
memoir by a white
Zimbabwean?
The surprising answer is yes, if it's as good as Douglas
Rogers' The Last
Resort. Like Godwin and Fuller, Rogers is a Zimbabwean
journalist who moved
to the U.S. only to discover that he'd left his biggest
story at home. His
tale recounts how, as Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe collapses
around them, the
author's parents turn their backpackers' lodge first into a
bordello, then a
diamond smugglers' dive, then a refuge for opposition
activists - as all the
while they farm marijuana. (See pictures of Robert
Mugabe.)
A ripping yarn, for sure. But it is in the nuance Rogers brings
to Zimbabwe
that he truly excels. His characters, and his country, are full
of
contradictions. His parents' defiance of Mugabe's regime is partly based
on
ignorance. Their enemies can be cruel, greedy and bloodthirsty, but also
kind and righteous. As the country implodes, Rogers' tough, cynical mother
breaks down in the middle of a bungled backstreet deal for a fake passport.
Her idea of Zimbabwe, she realizes, is a long way from the daily reality
faced by millions of her countrymen, or even, now, herself. "She no longer
understood her town ..." writes Rogers, "the town where she had been born 66
years before."
It's scenes like these that move The Last Resort
beyond memoir to become a
chronicle of a nation. There is black and white,
yes, but much more in the
shades and tones of their mix - and it is in
exploring them that Rogers,
too, finds his art.