http://www.voanews.com/
October 14,
2011
Peta Thornycroft
| Johannesburg
Zimbabwe’s Education Ministry has instructed that all
teachers and
professional staff evicted from Anglican mission schools by a
renegade
bishop be reinstated immediately.
Senior political sources
in Zimbabwe say the Ministry of Education issued
the reinstatement directive
Thursday. It covers all teachers and staff who
had been evicted by Nolbert
Kunonga - an excommunicated Anglican bishop who
has taken over many Anglican
schools, churches and immovable property.
It follows a week of high-level
developments on the reinstatement issue.
On Wednesday, the Harare High
Court ruled some of the evictions were illegal
and ordered 14 teachers,
headmasters and medical staff be allowed to return
to their posts
immediately. Judge Chinembiri Bhunu said the rule of law had
been violated
because they had been dispossessed of their jobs without due
process.
On Monday the head of the worldwide Anglican Church met with
Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
protested
the evictions and other abuses he says members of his church have
suffered
since Kunonga began his seizures in 2007. Mugabe promised to look
into the
issue.
Kunonga, a former Anglican bishop of Harare and vocal
supporter of Mugabe,
established his own Anglican church in Zimbabwe in 2007
- claiming that the
worldwide community of Anglican churches supported
homosexual marriage.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance
Guma
14 October 2011
South Africa’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Vusi
Mavimbela, has expressed concern
at the continued lawless invasions of farms
owned by South African citizens
in the country. On Thursday Mavimbela met
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and reminded him the farm seizures violated
a Bilateral Investment Promotion
and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) signed
between the two countries in 2009.
“Some of the things seem to be
happening not only to the South African
companies, but also to the farmers
and this has got a possibility of
violating the agreement. We raised that
concern,” Mavimbela said of the
meeting with the PM. “Some of the clauses in
that agreement say that even if
farmers are evicted they need to be
compensated for improvements made on the
farms,” he added.
Mavimbela
narrated instances where farm invaders, “just walk in the farm and
tell the
farmer that they are taking over the farm without producing any
documentation to show that they are entitled to the farm. We have talked to
the police to say can you intervene and these people have come into the
farm, with nothing as proof to show that they are entitled to it.” He said
the police claim they can’t intervene.
According to the Ambassador the
situation is so serious that relations
between the two countries have
worsened. Mavimbela admitted that as embassy
staff they were limited in what
they could do and they have since asked
their government to intervene and
engage in ‘state-to-state dialogue’.
Commentators however questioned the
South African diplomats approach in
contacting Tsvangirai over the issue,
when he would know fully that it is
Mugabe and his ZANU PF party who are
driving the campaign of lawless farm
takeovers and that Tsvangirai has no
power to change that.
Over 200 farmers from South Africa, who were forced
to leave Zimbabwe, have
over the years battled to get their government to
protect their interests
but without success. South Africa has avoided
publicly condemning the
seizure of property owned by its citizens although
such acts were in clear
contravention of the protection agreements signed by
the two countries. The
farmers were forced to seek recourse in the
courts.
In April South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the
government
was not liable in cases related to the unlawful land grab in
Zimbabwe. It
said a High Court decision ordering the government to
compensate a South
African farmer for land invasions in Zimbabwe was wrong
in law.
The High Court had earlier ruled that the South African
government did have
a constitutional obligation to provide protection.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Nkululeko Sibanda, Senior
Writer
Friday, 14 October 2011 08:54
HARARE - Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC says the appointment of
Seiso Moyo as deputy
minister of agriculture was a “necessary evil” as party
members felt
unjustly treated by Zanu PF’s Joseph Made who has been at the
helm of the
ministry.
Tsvangirai personally made the decision to replace party
treasurer Roy
Bennett as the deputy minister of agriculture designate and
other senior
members endorsed the decision, MDC spokesperson Douglas
Mwonzora said.
Mwonzora said Moyo’s appointment is aimed at addressing
injustices
perpetrated against MDC members and supporters by Made and Zanu
PF.
“The appointment of Moyo as deputy minister was activated by
necessity,”
said Mwonzora.
“There was a feeling that the party is not
effectively represented in the
ministry of agriculture.
“There were a
lot of injustices that were being perpetrated by Made against
the people of
Zimbabwe who are not Zanu PF. Therefore, it is the
anticipation of the party
that Moyo will go in there and seek to correct
those injustices,” said
Mwonzora.
“With Moyo as the deputy minister, we believe we are going to
see redresses
in the distribution of inputs to all Zimbabweans in the
country. It will no
longer be a Zanu PF and Made’s prerogative to choose who
benefits from the
inputs given out by the government,” he
added.
Meanwhile, Mwonzora said the MDC had finally informed Bennett of
the
decision to replace him with Moyo in the deputy agriculture
ministry.
The Daily News reported earlier that Bennett, who is currently
in the United
Kingdom, had expressed shock at news that he was no longer the
designate
deputy minister of agriculture as has been the case for the last
three
years.
“We have informed him (Bennett) of the decision made. It
is the prerogative
of the Prime Minister to make appointments to
Cabinet.”
There was a felling that the party is not effectively
represented in the
ministry of agriculture.
http://af.reuters.com
Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:29am GMT
HARARE
Oct 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's headline consumer inflation quickened
to 4.3
percent year-on-year in September from 3.5 percent in August,
Zimbabwe
National Statistical Agency said on Friday.
Zimstats figures showed
increases in the prices of food, alcoholic and
non-alcoholic beverages, as
well as transport and communication were behind
the jump in
inflation.
Utility charges, especially electricity, also drove inflation
higher after
the state power utility raised prices by 31 percent in
September. On a
month-on-month basis, CPI accelerated to 0.8 percent from
0.1 percent in
August.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
14
October 2011
The country’s draft constitution is now only expected to be
ready for a
referendum by February next year after the September deadline
was missed,
putting Robert Mugabe’s plans to have elections in March 2012
into disarray.
The delay has been blamed on the continuous bickering and
the failure to
adhere to agreed positions by the main political parties in
the Global
Political Agreement, (GPA).
The new charter is meant to
clear the way for fresh polls following the
country’s bloody 2008 elections,
but the drafting process is running months
behind following endless
inter-party disputes over the drafting process.
After the September
deadline passed, there was optimism it could be ready by
December but the
MDC-T’s Douglas Mwonzora, co-chairman of COPAC, told SW
Radio Africa the
December deadline was no longer possible.
He said the country can now
expect a referendum between February and March
next year. The Nyanga North
MP revealed that COPAC has already completed the
district and provincial
reports and was working on a national report, in
line with the requirements
of the constitution-making process.
Mwonzora said: “This report will be
ready in two weeks time. It should have
been ready weeks ago but we faced a
period where ZANU PF tried to disrupt
the compilation of the data by raising
and inflating non-constitutional
issues.”
The report will be sent to
the three drafters who will compile a new charter
for the country. The
drafters are Justice Moses Chinhengo, a Botswana High
court judge, Priscilla
Madzonga, former Zimbabwe High court judge and Brian
Crozier, a former legal
drafter in the Attorney-General’s office.
Copac co-chairman from ZANU PF
Paul Mangwana confirmed to the Herald that
the remaining stages did not make
it possible to have a referendum this
year. He said a referendum is now
likely to be held in February next year.
Copac officials are in agreement
that elections are now expected in
September or early in 2013 when Mugabe
would be 89 years old.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Reporter
Friday, 14 October
2011 08:52
HARARE - Police have barred members of Progressive
Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe (PTUZ) from marching in the streets of Harare to
demonstrate
against the continued harassment of teachers
countrywide.
They wanted to demonstrate against the dismissal and
victimisation of
teachers who were given a blanket amnesty by the coalition
government in
2009 to return to work after they had absconded from their
duties seeking
greener pastures in neighbouring countries.
PTUZ
secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the union had mobilised its
members
to march along Julius Nyerere Way to National Social Security (NSSA)
building in the city but were stopped by the police.
“Teachers given
amnesty to return back to their teaching stations are being
victimised and
dismissed from their work. The amnesty has ended and this is
what we want to
demonstrate against,” said Majongwe.
PTUZ petitioned the Ministry of
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture with
demands they needed addressed
including the non-payment of salaries for some
teachers who were blacklisted
for their perceived support of the MDC.
Some have not been paid since
their reappointment March in 2009.
David Coltart Minister of Education,
Sport, Arts and Culture said he did not
support the non-payment of the
teachers who were given amnesty in 2009.
“When we announced amnesty to
the teachers we agreed as cabinet that they
must be paid, and that the
political victimisation of the teachers has to
stop,” said
Coltart.
PTUZ is teacher union body with membership of 15 000
countrywide.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Taurai Mangudhla, Business Writer
Friday, 14
October 2011 09:27
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has rejected
Zimbabwe Platinum Mines
(Zimplats)’s $10 million offer to operationalise the
country’s first
Community Share Trust (CST), saying it was
insufficient.
The Australian-listed platinum miner on Thursday donated
$10 million to
fund operations of newly-formed community share trust founded
under the
controversial indigenisation program.
The miner however
said the funds would be spread over three years as it
would not be paying
dividends due to its on-going $460 million Ngezi
expansion programme aimed
at boosting production to 270 000 ounces in 2014.
“I don’t know whether
Zimplats was given prior notice of the event or not.
They should have
multiplied the $10 million ten times because they are a
huge company and
also considering the amount of money they made from mining
operations. I
wanted to sing 10 times 10 today, but I can only sing 10 times
one,” Mugabe
said.
“We were given these stones and Zimplats is removing them and
making lots
and lots of money and we are saying let’s share because you
can’t benefit
alone,” he added.
Mugabe said he hoped to see better
offers as the CST scheme progressed,
adding that the next launch was likely
to be in the Marange diamond mining
areas were a trust has already been
formed.
David Brown, Zimplats chairman and Implats chief executive said
communities
of the Mhondoro-Ngezi,Chegutu and Zvimba districts where the
company
operates would be the beneficiaries of the 10 percent reserved for
CSTs.
“First tranche of this money, in the sum of $3 million, will be
made
available to the trust as soon as it is operational,” Brown
said.
He, however said 36 percent of its claims released by the platinum
producer
in 2006 to government in exchange for empowerment credits remained
under-utilised.
“Indeed Zimplasts has been an all-weather friend of
Zimbabwe. In 2006 when
the government requested Zimplats to release some of
its mining claims to
the state so that new indigenous players could join the
platinum group
sector, the company was happy to release 36 percent of its
claims. We note
however, that there is no production taking place as yet on
these claims.”
he added.
The Indigenisation Act requires all
foreign-owned companies to cede a
minimum 51 percent ownership to
locals.
According to the empowerment policy, companies which exploit natural
resources, including mines, are mandated to allocate 10 percent shareholding
to CST’s.
The other outstanding shareholding is distributed through
public share
offerings and employee and management share
schemes.
Insurance giant Old Mutual recently announced a $100 million
deal which
could see the company relinquish 25 percent shareholding to
locals.
Zimplats mining operations produced 182 100 ounces of platinum in
the year
to June 30.
Zimplats is 87, 3 percent owned by South African
Impala Platinum.
http://www.voanews.com
13 October
2011
Sources in
Zimbabwe's fragile national unity government say a rift between
President
Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over
indigenization is
widening to the point of jeopardizing cohesion
Studio 7 Reporters |
Harare/Washington
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, officiating
Thursday at the launch of a
community share trust set up to hold equity made
over by platinum miner
Zimplats, said the government does not want to take
over mine operations
under indigenization but intends to ensure the
country's black majority
shares in resource wealth.
President Mugabe
put his personal stamp on the launch of the Mhondoro Ngezi
Zvimba Community
Share Ownership Trust set up to manage Zimplats shares
transferred under the
indigenization or black economic empowerment program.
He told Zimplats
Chairman David Brown that foreign investors should stay as
junior partners
in Zimbabwean business ventures, repeating that the
indigenization program
is intended to ensure the majority of black
Zimbabweans share in the
national wealth, as correspondent Thomas Chiripasi
reported from Selous,
Mashonaland West province.
Social development expert Liberty Bhebhe of
the National Youth Development
Trust offered the view that more companies
should follow the Zimplats
example in cooperating with the indigenization
program – but warned
politicians may hijack the scheme.
Meanwhile,
sources in Zimbabwe's national unity government say a rift
between President
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over
indigenization is widening
to the point of jeopardizing the cohesion of the
already fragile
government.
Mr. Mugabe has urged the process be expedited. But Mr.
Tsvangirai says the
impact of the program on the economy must be assessed
before pushing ahead.
Mr. Tsvangirai has asked Minister of State Jameson
Timba, a top aide, to
call a meeting of economic ministries including
Indigenization, Mining,
Industry, Finance and Tourism.
Mr. Tsvangirai
wants to pressure Kasukuwere to move more cautiously on the
indigenization
of key economic sectors such as banking and mining to give
the Cabinet a
full account of the impact thus far of the indigenization
drive. US
investors recently told Mr. Tsvangirai that the program is a
deterrent to
investing in Zimbabwe.
Indigenization Minister Kasukuwere told VOA
reporter Blessing Zulu that
there is no turning back, even where banking is
concerned. Harare economist
John Robertson said targeting foreign-owned
banks could backfire on the
government.
http://www.businesslive.co.za
12
October, 2011 10:32
Patrick Musira
BusinessLIVE
Malawi is trying to woo some of Zimbabwe's white
commercial farmers who were
pushed off their farms by the government's land
reform programme after 2000.
According to information at hand, Malawi
hopes to harness the reputed
expertise of the farmers from Zimbabwe to
jump-start that country's
commercial agricultural sector in crops other than
maize. Malawi had bumper
maize harvests in the last three years but had a
reduced harvest last season
with a surplus of about 200,000 tonnes in the
2010/2011 season.
Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers' Union president Charles
Taffs said his union
had received communication from the authorities in
Malawi offering land to
his members.
"The advertised land - at least
112 state farms are on offer to our former
farmers," Taffs exclusively told
BusinessLive this week, adding: "These
farms used to belong to former
president Kamuzu Hastings Banda and were
repossessed by the Malawi
government after his demise. Now the state wants
to lease these out and they
have given us the first offer."
"They have confidence in our skills and
experience on 'the finer points of
commercial farming and finance' and
believe we could make Malawi the
breadbasket of Africa," he
said.
"We're very happy to be accorded such recognition," he said. "Our
farmers
enjoy doing what we do best, which is farming... Africa needs more
success
stories," he added.
Hoping Zimbabwe's loss might be its gain,
Malawi has offered at least 112
state farms to the Zimbabwean farmers to be
recruited under renewable leases
in different areas of the country to boost
and maintain the state's
commercial agriculture projects.
Malawi's
economy has taken a knock after western countries - who were
financing the
country's balance of payments and budgetary support - pulled
out after
differences over issues of governance, allegations of economic
mismanagement
and President Bingu wa Mutharika's strong stand against gays
marriages in
the country.
Taffs said the union may help coordinate the move to Malawi
if there are any
takers "but so far there aren't any. Many still have issues
here (in
Zimbabwe)", he explained.
White Zimbabwean commercial
farmers were made landless by President Mugabe's
land reform programme,
embarked upon in 2000 when government repossessed
land to ostensibly give it
to landless blacks.
Many of these farmers migrated to different countries
on the continent among
them Mozambique, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic
of Congo to continue
their farming operations.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
14 October,
2011
The High Court on Friday failed again to proceed with the bail
application
hearing for Solomon Madzore, the MDC-T Youth Assembly
chairperson arrested
last week. For the second time this week the State
Prosecutor, Edmore
Nyazamba, claimed he was not ready to make
presentations.
The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday, but at the
time Nyazamba told
the court he was “overwhelmed”. Then on Friday the
investigating officer
said he had not yet completed “investigations” and
asked that the case be
postponed to Monday.
Madzore was arrested last
week and is facing trumped-up charges of murdering
police officer Petros
Mutedza in Glen View, back in May. Police arrested
only MDC supporters,
claiming party activists killed the cop at a local pub,
despite evidence
many were not even at that location on the day.
A total of 28 MDC-T
members were arrested by police. Eight of them,
including Madzore, are still
in remand prison while the others were granted
bail by the High Court.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Own Correspondent
Friday, 14
October 2011 09:04
HARARE - Constantly feuding MDC and Zanu PF
councillors in Mutare have for
once found common interest —
perks.
For two years, elected MDC councillors who form the majority and a
few
special interest councillors handpicked by local government minister
Ignatius Chombo from Zanu PF ranks have crossed swords over how best to
serve the city.
But they formed a united force this week, demanding
that the city hands them
perks that include residential stands ahead of
elections that could usher in
a new council.
Speaking during a full
council meeting this week, the councillors were in
union that the perks
should be paid out before year-end.
“We demand the benefits now or like
yesterday as we might die anytime,” said
deputy mayor George
Jerison.
“We need them as soon as possible. In the event of death, these
benefits
will not be given to our wives and for female councillors their
husbands
will not benefit either,” said Jerison to an applause from fellow
councillors.
Jerison suggested that a special meeting be held today
to discuss how best
councillors can lay their hands on the perks without
delay.
“The matter has to be fast-tracked as we are running out of time,”
he said.
He said today’s meeting should deal with the matter “once and
for all” so
that councillors can present their case to Chombo for the
benefits to be
processed.
Special interest councillor and Zanu PF
member Kenneth Saruchera weighed in
saying with elections around the corner,
councillors had to move with haste
“before it is too late.”
Another
councillor, Crispen Dube said the councillors deserved to be
rewarded for
their work.
Many suburbs in Mutare have gone for years without reliable
water supply,
while thousands of residents still use communal
toilets.
Sources said the councillors were worried that ratepayers, who
make the
majority of voters, will boot them out at the next election for
poor
performance hence the rush for a last-minute grab.
Mutare has 20
elected councillors and four special interest councillors.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Oct 14, 2011, 16:02
GMT
Harare - Zimbabwe's prison services will never allow condoms into the
country's jails, despite the risk of AIDS infection through homosexuality, a
senior official said Friday.
'Let me say a big yes, we know this
activity (sodomy) takes place in our
prisons,' deputy commissioner Agrey
Machingauta was quoted as saying on
state radio.
Under Zimbabwean
prisons laws, 'it is an offence and we actually have legal
powers to try and
punish (offenders),' he said.
'On the issue of condoms, we cannot issue
them out until parliament passes
legislation to legalize homosexuality,' he
said.
He said if prisoners were caught, 'we take corrective action,' but
did not
elaborate.
President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly condemned
homosexuality, and
describes gays as 'worse than dogs and pigs,' although
the country's gay
movement, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, operates openly
and runs
AIDS-prevention courses among gays.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
14 October 2011
A Zimbabwean rights group in South Africa has
slammed the country’s
apparently clandestine decision to resume deporting
Zim nationals, after
hundreds were forcibly removed from the country this
week.
More than 500 nationals had been taken across the border and handed
over to
immigration officials at Beitbridge by Thursday evening, after South
Africa
apparently lifted its moratorium on deportations earlier this week.
The
deportations were expected after a directive from South Africa’s
department
of Home Affairs was quietly circulated earlier this month,
indicating that
the removals would begin “with immediate effect.” No
official announcement
about the removals has been made.
South African
Home Affairs officials accompanying the deportees have been
quoted as saying
that they will be deporting Zimbabweans twice a week – on
Wednesdays and
Thursdays.
“We are only deporting undocumented immigrants and those who
are intercepted
while trying to skip the border through illegal entry
points,” an official
said. “In the last two weeks we have rounded up a
number of people of all
nationalities whom we have been screening and
repatriating back to their
countries.”
The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum
(ZEF) has previously warned that arrests and
detentions of Zim nationals
have been underway for several weeks, despite
the documentation project that
was launched last year. The group’s Director,
Gabriel Shumba, told SW Radio
Africa on Friday that the return to
deportations now is
‘alarming’.
“This has happened at a time when civil society has warned
that the
political climate and the socio-economic environment in Zimbabwe is
not
permissive for people to be returned to,” Shumba said.
He added:
“There is an urgent need for South Africa to revisit this
decision.”
A moratorium on Zim deportations had been in place in
South Africa since
2009 and the authorities had originally said that it
would remain in place
until it had completed the Zimbabwe Documentation
Project (ZDP). That
process was launched last year to give as many
Zimbabweans as possible a
chance to regularise their stay in South Africa.
About 275 000 people
applied for permits to remain legally, and the project
is still being
finalised.
But more than a million Zim nationals are
believed to be in South Africa,
meaning hundreds of thousands of people are
at risk of deportation. The
threat has seen a rush of people trying to
secure their status as asylum
seekers, but this does not appear to be a
guarantee of safety from
deportation.
The husband of a Zimbabwean
woman threatened with deportation this week has
told SW Radio Africa that
she was detained despite previously being granted
asylum. The woman and the
couple’s two young children were detained
overnight at a shelter in Cape
Town after she was arrested on Wednesday,
while trying to renew her asylum
status.
“She went to renew, but they immediately said she would be
deported,” the
woman’s husband explained, adding: “They treated her like a
criminal!”
The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, have two young
children,
including a 10 month old baby that was born in South Africa. They
are trying
to argue on legal terms that the family should not be split up
and deported.
“I am very traumatised. We came here for greener pastures
and we get treated
so badly. People are very rude. I don’t know what will
happen to my family
now,” he said.
http://www.aco.org/
Posted On :
October 11, 2011 1:10 PM
ACNS: ACS4960
The Anglican Archbishop of
Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, said
today that the dispute
within the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe was “a result
not of schism but of
thuggery.”
In a statement issued after visiting Zimbabwe with Archbishop
Rowan Williams
of Canterbury at the weekend, Archbishop Makgoba said members
of a
pro-Mugabe breakaway faction of the church under deposed bishop Nolbert
Kunonga were being “helped to steal church property without
recourse.”
The full text of Archbishop Makgoba's statement
reads:
My trip to Zimbabwe was a pastoral visit in which I took the
opportunity to
express the solidarity of Anglicans in Southern Africa with
persecuted
Anglicans in Zimbabwe.
I was invited by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams,
and the Archbishop of Central
Africa, the Most Revd Albert Chama. We were
also joined by the Archbishop of
Tanzania, the Most Revd Valentino Mokiwa,
who is also president of the All
Africa Conference of Churches, and the
Bishop of Botswana, the Rt Revd
Trevor Mwamba.
On Sunday more than 10,000 worshippers gathered in a
sports complex to greet
and hear from us. The Archbishop of Canterbury
preached, and I gave a
message of support to the persecuted. I received warm
applause when I told
them that the dispossession and persecution of faithful
Anglicans in
Zimbabwe is a result not of schism but of thuggery, where
people are helped
to steal church property without recourse.
I told
them that I came to bring the prayers of all Southern African
Christians,
and that, though burdened by this thuggery, Zimbabweans should
know that
they are not forgotten.
In South Africa’s bleakest moments under
apartheid, we were held and
encouraged by solidarity visits. If those who
persecute Zimbabwean Anglicans
touch Bishop Chad Gandiya of Harare, they
touch all Southern African
Anglicans; if you touch Southern Africa, they
touch the Archbishop of
Canterbury and all of us. On behalf of Southern
Africa Anglicans I presented
Bishop Chad a cheque to assist the work of the
Church there.
On Monday our walk of witness moved from Harare to
Manicaland. We
experienced the reality of Nolbert Kunonga’s campaign of
destabilization and
dispossession. The majority of Anglicans were
worshipping in shabby places
while their churches stood locked. In Mutare a
group held placards and
refused us entrance into St John’s
Cathedral.
At the historic St Augustine’s Mission, Penhalonga, near
Mutare, another
group held more placards and blocked the entrance to the
Mission. We
abandoned our cars and walked up the hill to the Mission. We
prayed with the
sisters and the faithful in all areas we visited. In each
place, those who
protested against us were in the minority, and the majority
received us with
great joy.
Later on Monday, we had a fruitful
two-hour meeting with President Robert
Mugabe. Although moving on in age and
forgetful in certain instances, the
President was aware of our pain,
frustration and disappointment at the
police-aided church conflict and
violence by Kunonga. I appealed to his
heart and his Catholic conscience,
and asked him to stop the suffering of
his people.
President Mugabe
asked that we also pray and intervene to end sanctions, as
they were hurting
all Zimbabweans. He also said Britain had dishonoured its
pledges in the
implementation of the country's post-independence land reform
programme.
We then held a press conference and later the Archbishop
of Canterbury met
privately with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
During our visit the atmosphere was a mixture of deep despair
yet strong
emergent hope. Perhaps it is best summarised in my words to the
people
gathered at the worship service in Harare: if God is on our side, who
can be
against us; and nothing can separate us from his love, not even
persecution
and immense trial. So we can take heart.
Issued by the
Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Inquiries: Wendy Tokata on
021-763-1320 (office hours)
http://mg.co.za/
JASON MOYO HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Oct 14 2011
07:35
The pews are often virtually empty on Sunday mornings at
Harare's St Mary's
and All Saints Anglican cathedrals, but this is Bishop
Nolbert Kunonga's
"throne" and he is prepared to defend it with
violence.
After a service attended by a few followers last Sunday,
Kunonga, the priest
who has divided the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe and set
disciples on rival
clergymen, stood in front of his pulpit and raved against
gays and Rowan
Williams, the visiting archbishop of Canterbury. "This is my
throne," he
declared. "I am in charge. He [Williams] cannot come
here."
Kunonga regards the cathedral as a prized asset among hundreds of
church
properties he has taken over in a fight that has demonstrated the
impunity
enjoyed by President Robert Mugabe's allies.
Excommunicated
in 2007, Kunonga is fighting for control of the Anglican
Church, seizing
assets and barring worshippers from churches. A dossier on
the dispute
presented to Mugabe this week claimed that at least one
parishioner, Jessica
Mandeya, might have been killed in attacks by Kunonga's
followers.
Also last Sunday, 15 000 members of the rival faction led
by Bishop Chad
Gandiya were attending a mass held by Williams in a sports
arena. Kunonga
rustled up a crowd of women, who marched outside the
cathedral where he was
preaching to denounce Williams. One placard read:
"Homosexuals must die."
It is Kunonga's central claim: the church is at
risk of being overrun by
homosexuals and he alone stands in its
defence.
"Williams is the reason why the Anglican Church all over the
world is
divided. He has not taken a position on homosexuality," he has
said.
But his critics see this as a cover for his campaign for power.
Parishioners
have left him, to worship in parks and rented halls, but he has
insisted:
"It is not about who has the majority or the minority. It is about
who is
right."
Finding an ally
Kunonga was elected bishop in 2001,
beating Tim Neill, a rabidly anti-Mugabe
priest. At a time when the church
-- including Mugabe's own Catholic
Church -- was growing increasingly
critical of his rule, Mugabe found an
ally in Kunonga among the hostile
clergy.
At Mugabe's inauguration in 2002 Kunonga described his victory,
which came
after a violent campaign, as "God's will". He has also described
Mugabe as
"a prophet of God who was sent to deliver the people of Zimbabwe
from
bondage".
A church tribunal accused Kunonga of plotting the
murder of rival priests
and misusing church funds, but the trial was
abandoned after a judge hearing
the case stepped down.
In 2007 he
formed a splinter church, claiming it was in protest at the
Anglican
Church's tolerance for homosexuality. He began seizing church
assets, at one
time moving out of his suburban home to sleep in the
cathedral to ensure
that his rivals stayed out.
Over recent months Kunonga has grabbed
churches, schools, hospitals and
orphanages, evicting priests and staff and
locking out worshippers.
He has also seized the church's most sacred
shrine, which honours one of
Africa's earliest martyrs, Bernard
Mizeki.
On Monday Williams handed Mugabe a dossier giving details of
Kunonga's
campaign. It said that police had "disrupted church services and
used tear
gas and batons to drive people out of church
buildings".
"As a consequence most churches lie empty each Sunday, except
where a
handful of Dr Kunonga's priests and their families are able to
occupy them,"
the dossier stated.
Priests and deacons were arrested
without charge and many of the arrests
were deliberately made on Fridays to
keep priests from church, said the
dossier.
"Parishioners are not
only denied access to their churches, but increasingly
are threatened with
punishment if they worship at all, or attempt to carry
out their ministry to
the community."
Kunonga's followers barred Williams from entering
churches in Mutare on
Monday.
At church hospitals, his loyalists have
also been denying health care to
members of the rival faction and turning
away drugs and equipment donated by
aid agencies.
Kunonga denied the
dossier's charges and said he would continue the fight
"as long as the
archbishop of Canterbury remains homosexual".
The large crowd attending
Williams's mass contrasted sharply with Kunonga's
small congregation, but he
remained defiant.
"Williams's coming here will not make them get in the
church buildings. We
are the ones here in the cathedral; they are meeting at
the sports centre.
"I am the owner of all this. Gandiya is showing off
with a white man and I
do not care. This is not the end of
Kunonga."
Zimbabwe defends its record
The troubles that have
gripped Zimbabwe's Anglican Church have further
exposed the country's feeble
human rights record, even as it mounted a bold
defence during the United
Nations Human Rights Council's universal periodic
review this
week.
In Geneva, Switzerland, Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs
Patrick Chinamasa said Western-imposed sanctions -- in
place since 2003 --
contributed to the suffering of Zimbabweans and were
"the greatest
violation" of human rights.
Zimbabwe's attorney
general, Johannes Tomana, has threatened to take legal
action against the
European Union over the sanctions.
The debate on Zimbabwe's human rights
coincided with a visit from the global
Anglican Church leader, the
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.
A report presented to the UN
council by a coalition of 27 civil society
organisations from Zimbabwe
challenged the government's glossy report on the
human rights situation in
the country. Dewa Mavhinga, regional co-ordinator
of Crisis in Zimbabwe,
said: "We want the world to know the real situation
in the country. It is
not ready for elections next year. There is still just
a lot to be done on
the human rights front."
Effie Ncube, a political analyst, said:
"Zanu-PF's denial of the atrocities
and human rights violations of the past
31 years is a demonstration of the
severe moral deficiency in the
party."
South Africa demanded an investigation of the killings that
occurred during
the presidential run-off elections in June 2008. The United
States,
Australia and Pretoria have all expressed their deep concern over
the
killings and said those responsible in the army, police and secret
service
had to be punished.
Zimbabwe's dark human rights past has
hogged the international limelight
with several high-profile cases, such as
the Gukurahundi massacres during
the 1980s, the controversial Murambatsvina
clean-up exercise in Harare in
2005, the killings by the military at the
Chiadzwa diamond fields in October
2008 and the violent presidential run-off
elections in June that same year.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International have estimated that nearly 300
Movement for Democratic Change
supporters were murdered during the run-off
elections by Zanu-PF
members.
But a rare triumph of justice has occurred in the past month
when a court
sentenced Zanu-PF militia base commander Gilbert Mavhenyengwa
(55) to 20
years in jail for the rape of the wife of an MDC supporter during
those
elections. -- Ray Ndlovu
Harare,
October 12, 2011: An independent South African political commentator has
cautioned against ignoring transitional justice issues while local human rights
organizations intensify outreach campaigns to promote awareness.
“Transitional
justice is about bridging the violent past with the present transition in order
to create a peaceful future,” said Leon Hartwell, a South African independent
political commentator.
“If you look
at Zimbabwe’s most recent history, there have not been many public debates about
transitional justice aside from the Johannesburg symposium in 2003.” Hartwell
warned that, “the biggest mistake that Zimbabweans can make is to assume that an
election, even if it is free and fair, will solve all your problems. If you
don’t link these processes, it will be difficult to imagine that Zimbabwe will
experience long-term stability.”
Hartwell and
Shastry Njeru, Transitional Justice Program Officer at the Human Rights NGO
Forum, co-facilitated a Food for Thought session on transitional justice at the
U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Eastgate auditorium on Tuesday. They discussed a
recent report on transitional justice compiled by the Forum.
The report
incorporates the views of 3,189 respondents (51 percent female) in 84
constituencies across the country. It revealed that 18 percent of respondents
had encountered some form of violence. Of these respondents, 76 percent still
feel bitter or struggle to cope with the violence. A large group (71 percent)
of respondents said a transitional justice process should only cover the period
from 2000 onwards.
Only 14
percent of respondents called for the prosecution of perpetrators, while the
rest preferred compensation (49 percent), truth recovery (22 percent) and
reparations (21 percent).
Respondents
said churches (30 percent) and government (29 percent) could lead a transitional
justice process, while only a small group of respondents wanted civil society
(12 percent) and the Organ on National Healing (3 percent) to be in the driver’s
seat.
“We are going
to translate the report into local languages, produce fact sheets and other
materials in accessible formats to motivate a discussion at all levels. We want
a convergence in terms of understanding of what should be done so that we are
informed rather than being told what to do,” said Njeru.
According to
Njeru, the report is targeted at policy makers. He said that future surveys
will look at specific gender and youth issues in relation to the transitional
justice processes.
“At this
level, this report is for policy makers because of the nature of its contents.
We have gone through several phases of violence in the country,” said Njeru
citing the pre-colonial, post independence and recent electoral periods in
Zimbabwe.
“It is
important that a debate about transitional justice takes place at all levels,”
added Hartwell. “When the debates finally took off in South Africa, especially
after our 1994 election, we had it in the media, in multiple languages, and in
workshops that were held with different social groups.”
Transitional
justice generally refers to a range of processes that states may use to address
past human rights transgressions, including judicial and non-judicial
approaches. It seeks recognition for the victims and to promote possibilities
for peace, reconciliation and democracy. Hartwell concluded, “It is important
for civil society to push the transitional debate. You can anticipate
resistance and don’t expect to please everyone on what the final product will
look like.”- ZimPAS© 2011.
# # #
ZimPAS is a
product of the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section. Queries and comments should
be submitted to Sharon Hudson-Dean, Counselor for Public Affairs, hararepas@state.gov Url: http://harare.usembassy.gov
Empowerment does not mean just taking over the mines, banks and big factories. We cannot do that because we don’t have the money, so we will start with the sell-outs who are opposed to indigenisation |
Read more |
Impunity rules during Zimbabwe's "transition" |
Import duties drive up food prices, hurt poor |
Short changed and angry |
Deportations of Zimbabwean migrants set to resume |
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Help to build the
foundations of a broader educational system in
Zimbabwe
We believe that students can benefit
from:
·
A smaller learning environment, with more teacher
attention
·
A greater emphasis on creative learning and
cross-curricular teaching
·
Education that goes beyond the traditional
classroom
·
Happiness of the individual – where a contented child
can learn to the best of their ability
·
Readily available modern educational
technology
Our
background:
For most young people, school-days
are filled with highs and lows of growing up, learning and finding out who they
are. But for some, the academic demands of school life threaten to overwhelm not
only how they achieve, but adversely affect who they even believe themselves to
be. As they struggle to perform in the mainstream academic environment, they
lose faith in themselves and their abilities, for reasons such as dyslexia, ADHD
or even emotional issues.
In order to cater for this group of
individuals, several forward-thinking parents in Zimbabwe decided to establish a
small school called St Christopher’s in 2009. We were born out of the vision
that some students are more likely to achieve their full potential if they are
in a smaller learning environment with more teacher attention and a greater
emphasis on creative learning and cross-curricular teaching.
With the support of one of
Zimbabwe’s leading mainstream educational establishments, we were able to set up
a school where students could be taught in small classes (ten students per Form)
but still benefit from full interaction with sports, activities and social
interaction at the mainstream school.
Our
philosophy:
At St Christopher’s, we subscribe to
the philosophy that a contented child will learn to the best of their ability
and we therefore prioritise the happiness of each individual wherever we can. We
try and reduce stress and anxiety associated with learning in order to help the
students maintain high levels of self-esteem and achieve their personal best.
Our
approach:
Modern educational technology is an
important feature at St Christopher’s, with interactive SMART-Boards in every
classroom. Each student follows the ICDL programme and has a personal laptop and
wireless internet access. We particularly encourage our dyslexic students to
maximise on their use of laptops.
The subjects taught at St
Christopher’s adhere to the core academic syllabi of a mainstream school and our
students take the same examinations but in our own environment. Our aim is for
our students to achieve a minimum five Cambridge iGCSEs.
We also offer an education that goes
beyond the traditional classroom, taking students on regular field trips and
camps throughout the term and inviting external guest speakers to talk to them
on a variety of topics.
How you can
help:
Our school is growing! We already
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We would be delighted if anyone
reading this appeal feels the urge to contribute to our work, helping to build
the foundations of a broader educational system, one student at a time.
For more information, please contact
one of our school Trustees
,
St. Christopher’s School
23 Harry Pichanick Avenue, Alexander
Park, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Chisumbanje Residents
Chipinge, 14 October 2011
Prior to the commencement
of the ethanol project, ARDA’S estates, Middle
Sabi and Chisumbanje, had
been adversely affected by the negative economic
climate and
hyperinflationary environment prevailing up to 2008. The estates
were
totally derelict with water pumping units and agricultural equipment in
a
state of complete disrepair. Workshops housing agricultural machinery were
in a sorry state informing of the urgent need for capital injection at
Middle Sabi and Chisumbanje. The impact of this was evident on the huge
workforce that ARDA laid off and the dilapidated state of the community
irrigation schemes which relied on technical assistance from ARDA for their
survival.
ARDA needed credible investors. An important factor for ARDA
was to:
- Come up with a format to attract financing considering the
unjustified and
unfavourable investment perception harboured by the
generality of investors
on Zimbabwe as an invesmtnet destination- hence the
Build, Operate and
Transfer partnership model.
- Identify from an
array of wiling partners investors with sufficient
financial commitment and
organisational muscle to inject capital into a
massive infrastructural
rehabilitation programme within and beyond the
estates, and to re-mechanise
all business units while pursuing a vibrant
social responsibility agenda for
the benefit of rural community in
Chipinge – in line with ARDA’S
institutional mandate of rural development.
To date ARDA’s B.O.T (Build,
Operate and Transfer) venture with Macdom and
Rating at Chisumbanje and
Middle Sabi respectively has created 4 265 jobs
and as the project
progresses to the next phases, by 2014 over 10 000 fully
trained local
Zimbabweans will have been employed in the agricultural,
construction and
manufacturing divisions of the ethanol project. The planned
construction of
the Condo Dam for increased water volumes required along
Save River, will
create more jobs for the rural populace. The agricultural
dimension of the
project is highly mechanized and to cater for the skills
gap created by the
use of latest high tech equipment, training centres have
been established on
both estates to absorb local school leavers for on job
training programmes.
Further to this, a steel fabricating unit has been
established in Harare
with a staff establishment of over 100 artisans
involved in the manufacture
of a range of parts required for the ethanol
project. 13 Local commuter bus
companies in Chipinge have been contracted to
ferry labour from the villages
to the project site on a daily basis. More
importantly, 30% of the artisans
employed in the distillery and boiler
sections of the ethanol project are
Zimbabweans previously based outside the
country in South Africa, Swaziland
and Mozambique.
A priority within the investment programme is to ensure
that ARDA has
capacity to carry out its institutional mandate of rural
agriculture
development. Through Rating, the agricultural company at Middle
Sabi, ARDA
has been able to rehabilitate 18 community irrigation schemes
located in a
25 kilometer radius around Middle Sabi. These schemes are a
source of
livelihood for 2 861 families and form part of the horticultural
belt which
has traditionally fed the local industry with fresh produce for
processing
and overseas marketing. A Small Scale schemes water engineering
department
has been created at Middle Sabi to supervise the water conveyance
systems of
these schemes to ensure sustainable viability.
Prior to the
implementation of the B.O.T, the ZINWA water pumping units at
Middle Sabi
was completely broken down. This unit is a lifeline for the
estate and close
to 60 resettled farmers located along the 25 kilometer
canal. Through the
B.O.T, ARDA was able to attract financing for the
rehabilitation of the
pumping unit subsequently reviving A2 commercial
farming through consistent
and adequate water supplies. ARDA’s investment
programme with its B.O.T
partners carries a commercial out grower component
which targets individual
farmers keen to grow sugarcane for supply to the
mill. The farmers are
supplied with all the technical assistance in the form
of land preparation
for 10 hectares and inputs whose costs are deductable
from their total sales
after harvesting. To date 650 hectares have been
developed in the pilot
programme and handed over to the 116 war veterans who
have been farming on
ARDA land on lease agreements.
Chipinge South falls under climatic region 5
which is characterized by poor
rainfall pattern. In the context of the B.O.T
between ARDA and Macdom at
Chisumbanje, 4000 hectares of land is being
developed for community
irrigation at a rate of just 500 hectares per year.
This will effectively
migrate communal farmers from dry land farming to
irrigation and give the
farmers control over their yields. To date just
under 200 hectares of land
have been fully developed and inputs, in the form
of maize and fertilizer,
have been sourced sufficient to crop 200 hectares,
for the first batch of
farmers to benefit from the scheme. The irrigation
development targets
farmers who have been using ARDA land prior to the B.O.T
implementation.
Through Macdom at Chisumbanje, ARDA has commenced
rehabilitative works on
key public service facilities which include schools,
roads and health
centers. Work has commenced in this direction with initial
focus on
educational facilities on both estates and the major health
referral centre
closest to Chisumbanje -St Peters Hospital at Checheche with
constructive
repairs and giving additional capacity through the construction
of new
structures to cater for the swelling service demand created by the
volumes
of staff on site.
On average, US $2 million is injected into
Chipinge South every month as
wages, salaries and procurement finance for
construction material. This has
resulted in increased commercial traffic.
The newly constructed mobile
communication boosters by the three major
companies in and around
Chisumbanje, the new branches of 5 commercial banks,
reports from the
Chipinge Rural District council of a swell in the demand
for commercial and
housing stands at Checheche from around 100 applications
before the project
to over 2000 – all inform of an upward trend in commerce
in Chipinge South.
On the 19th of October in 2009, an official launch of the
project was
conducted. This brought together various stakeholders from the
community who
included traditional leaders, government officials from
various ministries,
council officials, ARDA and the investors. A major
outcome from the launch
was an idea to create a forum to oversee the
implementation of the project
with a responsibility to protect the
livelihoods of the people who had been
farming within the designated Greater
Chisumbanje area. The Chisumbanje
Joint Ethanol Project Advisory Committee
(JEPAC), a locally constituted
community development forum, was created.
JEPAC has an immediate mandate to
develop a sustainable irrigation model for
the affected dry land farmers so
that their livelihoods are maintained or
improved. JEPAC has the
chairmanship of the Chipinge District Administrator
and comprises
representation from the traditional leadership through the
paramount Chief
Garahwe and his council of headmen, Chipinge Rural District
Council, ARDA,
local police and Agritex. Within JEPAC, there are ground
committees headed
by the headmen and the area counsellor whose immediate
responsibility is to
ensure that as the community irrigation development
rollout programme is
implemented, deserving beneficiaries affected by the
project are given
priority to migrate from dry land farming.
From
JEPAC
LAUNCH OF THE 2011/12 GOVERNMENT FUNDED AGRICULTURAL INPUT SUPPORT
FACILITIES
Introduction
1. Honourable Ministers, the 2011/12
agriculture season has started in
earnest with farmers already preparing for
the season following the recent
rains received throughout the
country.
2. The agricultural sector remains one of the key sectors of the
economy
together with communications and mining. To that extent it is
therefore
critical for government to create conducive environment and policy
framework
to maintain sustainability of the same.
3. In this regard
the Government has since 2009 ensured meaningful financing
to agriculture
together with the private sector and cooperating partners.
4. Between
2009 and 2011, the Inclusive Government together with
international partners
and private financiers have committed a total of
US$1.9 billion into the
agricultural sector. Budget support on its own has
totaled US$552
million.
Support to Agriculture (US$)
Source of Funding 2008/09
2009/10 2010/11
Government support 79,040,040 300,206,439
172,730,737
Presidential facility 30,000,000
Development partners
74,000,000 60,000,
Bank sector support 94,765,128 331,242,000
411,628,246
Lines of credit 162,746,635 150,379,749 14,500,000
Total
336,551,803 855,828,188 688,858,983
Total as % of Total Budget 37 40
25
Total as % of GDP 6 13 8
Support to Agriculture by Government,
Development Partners & Private
Financiers; & Agricultural Growth
Rates: 2008/09 Season – 2010/11 Season
5. Government finance alone has
risen from US$79 million in 2009 to the
projected US$248.2 million in
2011.
6. The table below shows Government’s contribution to agriculture
over the
past three years.
Item 2009 2010 2011 TOTAL
Grain Procurement
5,650,000 101,345,967 75,050,000 182,045,967
Input Support 60,000,000
87,400,000 45,000,000 192,400,000
Capitalisation of Agribank 17,000,000
2,500,000 19,500,000
Extension & Other Support Services 13,390,040
93,617,472 103,853,800
210,861,312
Irrigation Development 843,000
11,763,500 12,606,500
Total 79,040,040 300,206,439 238,167,300
617,413,779
2011/2012 Crop Input Support Facilities
7. Government has
committed itself to mobilize and coordinate banks,
development partners,
seed houses, farmers unions, fertilizer companies as
well as individual
farmers to put in place the necessary financing
arrangements for the
2011/2012 Summer Cropping Season.
8. Therefore, Government has, in
partnership with local input producers, so
far secured agriculture inputs
worth US$75 million to be accessed by both A2
and Vulnerable farmers as
highlighted below.
US$30 million Input Facility
9. The scheme
targets farmers that have delivered grain to the Grain
Marketing Board and
have not yet been paid for their deliveries. The farmers
will access inputs
such as maize seed, fertilizers and lime against
outstanding amounts for
grain deliveries.
10. The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and
Irrigation Development
has already proceeded to sign contracts with
individual producers of inputs
on 7 October 2011 and inputs are being
delivered to GMB depots.
US$45 million Input Facility
11. The
scheme which we are launching today (13 October 2011) will target
500 000
vulnerable farmers including 100 000 vulnerable households and will
be
complemented by cooperating partners, whose support will be announced in
due
course.
12. The scheme is structured as follows:
i. US$8.1 million
Agriculture Input Support Facility for the Vulnerable –
This facility will
support 100 000 vulnerable farmers with an input package
comprising 1x 10
kgs maize seed or 1x5kgs of sorghum, 1×50 kgs compound D
and 1 x 50 kgs
Ammonium Nitrate.
The farmers will access the inputs from GMB depots for
free through a
voucher system.
ii. US$20.3 million Communal Farmers
Subsidised Agriculture Inputs Support
facility – This facility will support
250 000 communal farmers with an input
package similar to the one mentioned
above.
The identified farmers will be given a voucher which will enable
them to
access inputs at subsidised prices from GMB depots on cash
basis.
iii. US$ 17 million A1, Small Scale Commercial and Old
Resettlement Farmers
Subsidised Agriculture Inputs support facility – This
facility will support
150 000 A1, Small Scale Commercial and Old
Resettlement farmers with an
input package comprising 1x 25kgs maize seed,
1×50 kgs compound D and 2x 50
kgs of Ammonium Nitrate valued at US$17
million.
Access to inputs by this category of farmers will be through the
same
mechanisms as outlined under the Communal Farmers Subsidised
Agriculture
Inputs Support Facility.
Comprehensive Agriculture
Strategy
13. Government finance alone does not deal with the problems of
agriculture.
It is important to deal decisively with the problems which lead
to
inefficient spending and wastages. As I indicated in my Mid Term
Statetment,
there is need for a paradigm shift.
14. Identified areas of
intervention include:
• Finalisation of the Fast Track Land Reform
Programme and the Land Audit;
• Defining the judicial framework governing
property rights and in
particular the restoration of the land market through
a judiciary
enforceable title;
• Development of Human Capital,
infrastructure, biological capital and
research including climate
change;
• Strengthening use of technology including ICT;
• Establishing
reliable and consistent private sector model of financing
agriculture;
•
Establishment of open commodity exchange markets for agricultural outputs;
and
• Resolving the issues of compensation as defined in the GPA.
•
Complementing the above will be measures aimed at enhancing farmers‟
productivity through improvements in mechanisation, high yield seed
varieties, use of fertilisers and chemicals, irrigation and provision of
extension services.
Pricing Policy
15. Consistent with the
liberalisation measures instituted by Government
since 2009, the Strategic
Grain Reserve should operate and be managed on a
revolving basis, to allow
for renewal of old stocks and stabilization of
grain supplies and prices in
the market.
16. However, the current pricing policy where the maize floor
prices (US$285
per ton for 2011) remain above regional parity prices (US$220
per ton) is
resulting in grain stocks accumulating without any outflows,
thereby putting
unnecessary pressure on the fiscus to finance procurement of
grain and
storage costs.
Buyer of Last Resort
17. Now that the
country has achieved the targeted threshold of 500 000 MT
of grain, it is
necessary for us to institute policy measures and strategies
that guarantee
our farmers access to markets for their produce in a
sustainable
manner.
18. Sustainable marketing arrangements will need to be put in
place to
ensure that GMB becomes the buyer of last resort unlike the current
situation where the parastatal is the buyer of first choice more so given
the competing demands on the fiscus.
19. The implementation of the
Commodity Market Exchange will facilitate
farmers to access markets and
credit in the absence of security of tenure.
20. Additionally, security
of tenure for our farmers is critical to enable
investments in the
agriculture as well as mobilization of funding from the
market, particularly
the banking sector.
21. In this regard, provision of security of tenure
through the issuance of
the 99-year leases becomes critical.
I THANK
YOU
Friday October 14th 2011
This week Robert Mugabe described the Unity
Government as ‘an incompatible
marriage’ ie. a union where the parties are
incapable of existing together
in harmony. That is hardly a description of a
happy union but this week
Patrick Chinamasa went to the UN Human Rights
Periodic Review in Geneva and
reported to the world body that everything in
Zimbabwe is rosy. Despite the
fact that Chinamasa rejected 67 of the 177
recommendations to improve the
country’s appalling human rights record, he
still went on to claim that
Zimbabwe is ‘committed to human rights’ and
blamed the ‘continuing suffering’
in the country on ‘illegal sanctions’. He
defended the infamous POSA as a
‘justifiable piece of legislation’ though it
is hard to see why a nation
would require such draconian legislation if
indeed all is sweetness and
light and its citizens’ rights are protected by
a government committed to
human rights. Mugabe and his sycophantic Zanu PF
ministers continue to
deceive the world with downright untruths about the
state of affairs in
Zimbabwe. You have to wonder who believes them any more?
Today, Friday, we
learn that the report which Chinamasa was touting at the
UN as representing
the views of ‘the government’ had not even been seen by
the MDC ‘partner’ in
this ‘incompatible marriage’ we call the coalition
government!
It was the arrival of the Anglican Archbishop Rowan William
last weekend
that highlighted a specific area of human rights abuse: the
horrific
treatment that Anglicans have suffered at the hands of Norbert
Kunonga. The
Archbishop of Canterbury handed Mugabe a dossier giving a
detailed account
of how Anglican priests, nuns and parishioners have been
targets of Kunonga’s
vicious campaign against them.
“We have asked in the
clearest possible terms,” Williams told the press
after his meeting with
Mugabe, “to use his powers as Head of State to put an
end to all
unacceptable and illegal behaviour.” The question now is whether
Mugabe will
keep his word and rein in Kunonga who with his banner-waving
thugs barred
Rowan Williams from entering Anglican churches in Mutare and
Penhalonga. In
typical Zanu PF style Kunonga has totally distorted the real
issue and
turned it into an anti-homosexual rant. He accused Rowan Williams
of “acting
for homosexuals” not to mention being an envoy of the British.
This was
after Rowan Williams had preached what his colleagues called ‘the
sermon of
his life’ in front of thousands of cheering, ululating Anglicans
in Harare.
That service took place not in the Anglican Cathedral as you
would expect
but in a sports stadium because Kunonga has taken over the
Anglican
cathedral. “I am in charge of the church and all its properties. I
am in the
cathedral. That is my throne. He cannot come here.” declared
Kunonga. No
wonder the Archbishop attacked the ‘injustice and arrogance of
false
brethren.’ More like megalomania than arrogance I’d say.
The question
remains: will Mugabe keep his promise and do something about
Kunonga, a man
whose sole objective appears to be to acquire property. Since
he appointed
himself archbishop in 2008 he has seized 40% of Anglican church
property.
This dispute is nothing to do with theological differences, it is
‘a result
not of schism but of thuggery’ as the Archbishop of Capetown
commented. On a
more hopeful note, twice this week Kunonga has lost High
Court actions and
been ordered to vacate the church properties he has
seized.
Ironically,
of all people it was a group of war veterans this week who said
bluntly that
Zanu PF, to which Kunonga owes unswerving allegiance, had been
“ hijacked by
thieves and crooks, bent on lining their pockets”. That’s
hardly a fitting
epitaph for the party which liberated the country from
colonial bondage;
neither is it a fitting legacy for Robert Mugabe, the
great liberator – as
he would have us believe.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline
Henson author of the Dube
books, detective stories with a political slant
set in Zimbabwe and
available from Lulu.com