The ZIMBABWE Situation
An extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE - a country in crisis
Please note: You need to have 'Active content' enabled in your IE browser in order to see the index of articles on this webpage
“MDC Real
Change Peace Rally” Angers Zanu-PF
http://www.radiovop.com/
Marondera, October 15, 2011 - The
armed military and riot police have
maintained a heavy presence here ahead
of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
star rally to be held at Rudhaka
Stadium.
Graham Nyahada, the MDC-T provincial spokesman, said the
atmosphere was
quite "exciting" as people awaited the arrival of their party
leader.
Nyahada confirmed the heavy presence of soldiers and policefrom the
support
unit.
“They are stationed at Marondera Central Police Station
and more arrived
Friday. They have been going around the neighbourhoods
singing in their
trucks but the people here are adamant that they will not
be cowed,” said
Nyahada.
It also emerged on Saturday that Zanu-PF
Mashonaland East provincial
executive formally complained to the police over
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC-T) posters plastered in and around the
town advertising
Tsvangirai's rally dubbed the "MDC Real Change Peace Rally"
in Marondera.
Tsvangirai, the MDC-T leader, is expected to address the
rally, according to
a statement from the party's information and publicity
department.
Party officials said the heavy presence of uniformed soldiers
and riot
police was intended to intimidate residents from attending the
rally.
The officials added that the high military and police presence in
the small
town of Marondera started being noticed on Friday evening,
alleging that
Zanu-PF feared a huge turnout.
The same officials said
the Rudhaka Stadium peace rally, with nine similar
ones having taken place
in other provinces, would afford Tsvangirai an
opportunity to report back to
the people of Mashonaland East and the nation
on the progress being made in
the inclusive government and challenges faced.
"He will also address the
election roadmap as a prerequisite to the holding
of a free, fair and
credible election as well speak on and denounce the
disturbing violence that
has resurged in the country," read part of a
statement issued by the MDC-T's
information and publicity department.
The MDC National Executive this
week condemned in the strongest terms, the
continued state sponsored
violence that has taken place in most societies of
the country.
In
particular, the National Executive Committee noted that the funding and
use
of violence by Chipangano, a terrorist group in Mbare, Harare, has to
stop,
and the thugs arrested if peace is to be achieved.
“The MDC urges the
Police to act professionally and fulfill their
constitutional mandate of
protecting the citizens of the country. Its the
hope of the MDC that the
heavy presence of the police is not meant to
intimidate the law abiding
citizens but should act as a deterrent to Zanu-PF’s
hooliganism as the party
has shown discontent at the holding of the peace
rally by the MDC,” said
MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora.
On Wednesday, Zanu-PF
representatives in Marondera town reported to the
police that they felt
offended by MDC posters that had been pasted in and
around the
city.
"The people of Zimbabwe deserve peace, true national healing and an
immediate stop to the persecution of democratic forces and the harassment of
innocent citizens of Zimbabwe. The people’s struggle for real change: Let’s
finish it," read part of the posters.
Illegal
Panners Should Not Be Arrested: Minister
http://www.radiovop.com
Minister of Indigenisation,
Youth Development and Empowerment warned the
police to abstain from
arresting panners saying there was nothing illegal
about the
panning.
Speaking at the Midlands State University during a public
lecture on Poverty
Alleviation Through Indeginisation, Minister Savior
Kasukuwere urged the
police to stop harassing and arresting illegal panners
in the country
despite the fact that environmentalists’
concerns.
Kasukuwere said it was a shame that the mining sector which is
foreign owned
continued to loot the country’s resources while being escorted
by the police
while local panners who he said were trying to eke an honest
living were
being harassed by the same police.
“It’s high time we
woke up as Zimbabweans. Mining firms continue to extract
and loot our
minerals while we watch, folding our hands. When the minerals
are mined
using local labour, we then authenticate their looting and
stealing by
allowing our police to escort them to the borders. The same
police officers
would then crack down on our indigenous panners as they try
to eke a living
from their own minerals,” Kasukuwere said.
“When the panners are raided,
they are sent to the courts where they are
given long sentences as
punishment. We should put an end to that and make
sure that we help each and
every Zimbabwean enjoy his or her mineral
resources by legalising their
operations,” he added.
The Illegal panners leave open pits after
extracting the minerals and in the
Midlands Province, the Environmental
Management Authority has blamed them
for destroying the environment. They
are even digging under the major
highway linking Zimbabwe to South Africa in
search of gold.
Kasukuwere vented out his anger also on foreign owned
mines warning that he
was coming out for them for failing to give 10percent
of their shares to
local communities while applauding Zimplats that has
already done so. He
said stakeholders should now move from talking to
action
“We have talked a lot on this subject about indigenisation and
economic
empowerment and how it should be implemented. It’s now time to make
sure
that this programme has been implemented so that the majority of
Zimbabweans
who are owners of the huge deposits of minerals in this country
directly
benefit. We will crack down on all mines to give away the
10percent. We will
move on to Mimosa, to Unki, Murowa and all the mines,” he
said.
The Minister also said Government has set aside a national
revolving fund,
which will require companies to contribute part of their
profits towards
future use.
“In as much as we are proud to posses
such huge mineral deposits in our
country there will come a time when these
mineral deposits along the Great
Dyke will be exhausted. As Government we
have set asidea national revolving
fund whereby mining companies are
compelled to contribute funds towards the
fund for future use,” Kasukuwere
explained.
Citrus
farms lie idle as land grabbers give up
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Citrus farms that used to
generate foreign currency for the country as well
as providing oranges for
local beverage companies are lying idle.
14.10.1112:24pm
by Leona
Mwayera
A survey conducted by this newspaper indicates that Zanu (PF)
politicians
who grabbed the most productive citrus farms in Chegutu from
their
commercial owners have deserted them after disposing of valuable
equipment
to other local farmers. Lionsvalle citrus farm (Big Orange), owned
by Thomas
Beattie before it was invaded by former deputy minister of
Information and
Publicity Bright Matonga is in a sorry state with orange
trees dying from
lack of attention. Most of the equipment grabbed by Matonga
from Beattie is
grounded, while some tractors are just heaped in a rusting
workshop.
“Matonga has failed dismally - he is now producing lemons
instead of
oranges. The oranges he is producing are not even fit for human
consumption,
never mind for export because they are sour. The equipment he
took over from
our former boss is now a heap of scrap metal as you can see.
A number of
skilled workers with knowledge in citrus farming left due to non
payment of
wages and poor working conditions,” said Biggie Zulu, a former
worker at
Lionsvalle farm.
Former workers now languishing in poverty
said it was a shame that such a
productive farm, which used to supply fresh
oranges to European and regional
markets earning foreign currency had
collapsed. Workers at the farm told
this paper that Matonga rarely spend
time on the farm and has lost interest
in the citrus
business.
Recently, a magistrate at Chegutu civil court ruled in favour
of Beattie,
ordering Matonga to return farm equipment he seized from the
commercial
farmer. The equipment includes ploughs, harrows and tractor
grader. Matonga
failed to attend court sessions for three consecutive times,
forcing the
courts to pass a verdict in his absence. The story is the same
at Stockdale
Estates, formerly owned by the Etheredge Family before it was
grabbed by
Senate President Edna Madzongwe`s son.
Sources said the
Madzongwe abandoned the farm after selling the Equipment.
He is said to have
moved over 30 cattle to an unknown destination.
“The young man just
destroyed the farm and rendered more people jobless. The
inclusive
government should conduct an audit to flush out such culprits
because they
are frustrating efforts by Finance minister Tendai Biti to turn
around the
shattered economy,” said a farm worker who declined to be named
for fear of
victimisation.
Hippovalle farm, which was grabbed by Zimpapers journalist
Emilia Zindi, is
also being underutilised. She and her two sons are accused
of vandalising
and selling farm equipment.
Army
campaigns for Zanu (PF)
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
In a desperate attempt to prop up the dwindling
support base for Zanu (PF)
in rural areas, the partisan Zimbabwe National
Army has embarked on an
`input donation` scheme across the
country.
14.10.1110:53am
by Leona Mwayera
The exercise is being
bankrolled by the army charity programme run by ZNA
Commander Lieutenant
Phillip Sibanda. The inputs were sourced from seed
houses like Pannar. On
Wednesday, over 21 chiefs from Manicaland province
gathered in Nyanyadzi
were they received the inputs from Major General
Martin
Chedondo.
Villagers who gathered at the venue were told that the army was
working with
chiefs to make sure that Zanu (PF) regained all the seats it
lost to MDC-T
during the 2008 harmonised elections. The controversial
Infantry Brigade
Commander, Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba also warned
villagers not to vote
against President Robert Mugabe as “he was not going
anywhere”.
“We are giving chiefs inputs to feed the people so that they
cannot sell
their country to NGOs because of hunger,” said Nyikayaramba,
clad in army
regalia. Political analyst said the dolling out of the inputs
by ZNA was a
ploy to buy the loyalty of traditional leaders ahead of the
crucial election
next year.
Evans Mutambara, a local villager, said
they were not happy that the army
was using the chiefs to reverse the will
of people.
“We are not happy about this exercise. If they are genuine why
can’t they
donate to vulnerable groups such as the disabled, orphans and the
elderly?
They are trying to influence the chiefs so that they can force
us to vote
for Zanu (PF),”complained Mutambara.
Harare
Brought To A Halt As Women Rapists Appear In Court
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, October
15, 2011 -A group of women accused of raping men around
Zimbabwe at gunpoint
brought the Harare magistrate court to a standstill on
Friday.
The
three women dressed in designer clothes and fancy hairstyles looked
unfazed
by the bizarre charges that they are facing. They were quite relaxed
as they
appeared in the dock.
Sophie Tendai Ngwenya, 26, Netsai Monica Nhokwara,
24 and Rosemary
Chakwizira, 28, attracted a huge crowd of onlookers when
they were brought
before Harare magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini on
Friday.
Seventeen men including a soldier and a policeman have stepped
forward
claiming that they were “raped” by three women who were recently
found with
sperm filled condoms in Gweru.
The trio is facing
aggravated indecent assault charges. The women are
suspected to be part of a
syndicate of women “rapists” who have gone on a
rampage along the country’s
major highways, “raping” men at gunpoint for
their sperms believed to be
sold in South Africa to a sperm bank and for
ritual purposes.
The
women are jointly charged with Thulani Ngwenya, 24, who is believed to
have
been driving the car involved in the accident where the 33 condoms were
discovered.
The state alleges that the women rushed to the scene of
the accident to
collect their “valuable loot” which was in the car that
Ngwenya was driving.
They however could not salvage their valuable
property after police arrived
before them at the scene of the accident where
they discovered the 33
condoms four of which were filled with
sperms.
According to state papers, on various occasions the women would
use
different tricks to lure men before spraying them with unknown
chemicals.
They would take advantage whenever a victim would have passed
out and drive
them to secluded places, where they would force them to drink
some
concoctions which were used to stimulate sexual desire, the court
heard.
The court was told that the women would take turns to have sexual
intercourse with the victim before leaving him lying unconscious.
The
women were remanded in custody until October 28 was they will have an
opportunity to make bail application.
17
men implicate rape suspects
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Tendai Kamhungira, Court Writer
Saturday,
15 October 2011 14:18
HARARE - Seventeen men including a soldier and
a policeman have stepped
forward claiming that they were “raped” by three
women who were recently
found with 4 semen-filled condoms and 31 used ones
in Gweru.
The three women, Sophie Tendai Ngwenya, 26, Netsai Monica
Nhokwara, 24 and
Rosemary Chakwizira, 28, attracted a huge crowd of
onlookers when they were
brought before Harare magistrate Kudakwashe
Jarabini yesterday.
The women are facing aggravated indecent assault
charges.
Dressed in designer trousers, spotting fancy hair styles and
looking exotic
they strode into the dock, in a rare case that drew a huge
following and
left the court room packed to the hatches.
The women
are suspected to be part of a syndicate of women “rapists” who
have gone on
a rampage along the country’s major highways, “raping” men at
gunpoint.
The three were arrested on Sunday at an accident scene on
the 43-kilometre
peg along the Gweru-Lower Gweru road.
The women are
jointly charged with Thulani Ngwenya, 24, who is believed to
have been
driving the car involved in the accident where the 35 condoms were
discovered.
The state alleges that the women rushed to the scene of
the accident to
collect their “valuable loot” which was in the car that
Ngwenya was driving.
They however could not salvage their valuable
property after police arrived
before them at the scene of the accident where
they discovered the 4
sperm-filled condoms and 31 used ones when they
randomly searched the
vehicle.
The women were arrested after trying
to retrieve the paper bag containing
the condoms.
The state alleges
that 17 men who have in the past been victims of gun-point
rape, managed to
positively identify the women as their tormentors.
The women “raped” men
ranging from age 19 to above 35.
According to state papers, on various
occasions the women would use
different tricks to lure men before spraying
them with unknown chemicals.
They would take advantage whenever a victim
would have passed out and drive
them to secluded places, where they would
force them to drink some
concoctions which were used to stimulate sexual
desire, the court heard.
The court was told that the women would take
turns to have sexual
intercourse with the victim before leaving him lying
unconscious.
They moved around the country from Chinhoyi to Mutare
driving in
unregistered posh vehicles ranging from Mercedes Benz to Toyota
Regius
models.
The women were remanded in custody and advised to
apply for bail at the
High Court.
They will be back in court on
October 28.17 men implicate rape suspects.
Political
violence grips Masvingo
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Godfrey Mtimba
Saturday, 15 October 2011
14:13
MASVINGO - Ugly scenes of political violence have revisited
rural Masvingo
with suspected Zanu PF thugs setting ablaze the homestead of
a mainstream
MDC official in Bikita South.
The attack on MDC
secretary Hazwell Muchemwa’s homestead in Matiore village,
comes barely a
week after a bus belonging to Bikita South MP Jani Vharandeni
was
torched.
The resurgent violence has angered the MDC in Masvingo and party
members
have vowed to launch revenge attacks.
MDC Masvingo provincial
spokesperson Harrison Mudzuri warned Zanu PF and
government that his party
will not fold hands and watch while its members
are attacked.
“This
is too much and we are saying whoever is doing this must be stopped
before
we defend ourselves and retaliate. We can’t continue to fold our
hands and
watch when properties belonging to our members are reduced to
ashes by the
people we know."
“MP Vharandeni lost his AVM bus that serviced the
constituency and now
inside three days our district secretary’s house is
razed to the ground,”
said Mudzuri.
Muchemwa the district secretary
said he lost properties worth thousands of
dollars during the
attack.
“My homestead was torched by unknown assailants but we believe
they are our
rivals from Zanu PF. I lost property worth thousands of dollars
from the
attack. I wasn’t at home when the incident happened as I had gone
to
Masvingo city but my maid said the attack was done in the wee hours and
she
was awakened by heat from the flame and went out to call for help but it
was
too late,” he said.
He said he believed this was done because
some Zanu PF members were not
happy with role he played together with
Vharandeni in organising transport
for people in the area to go and attend a
recent rally addressed by
Tsvangirai in Gutu.
Vharandeni a transport
operator who owns a fleet of buses under the name
Mubuku bus service was the
first to be attacked when his bus was burnt.
The bus attack took place at
Mashoko Mission business centre where it was
parked for the
night.
“My bus was burnt in the early hours of Monday by people we
suspected to be
war veterans because we have had problems with them over the
Masvingo-Mashoko route it plies,” said Vharandeni.
The two have since
made police reports at Mashoko Police Station were the
police promised to
launch investigations.
Masvingo Police Spokesperson, Inspector Tinaye Matake
declined to comment.
“I am not in the office call me later. I can’t
comment at the moment,” said
Matake.
However, Mudzuri said his party
would be forced to mobilise its youths to
defend themselves.
He
warned the principals of the three political parties to address the issue
of
violence in the country.
“First of all, I want to warn Zanu PF to stop
their thugs and also warn the
leaders of the parties in the inclusive
government to do something to stop
this mess. We are now at a point where we
cannot take that any more. We can
mobilise our members and retaliate and
defend ourselves from these thugs but
we do not want things to go that way,”
Mudzuri said.
He said government should make sure that the people behind
the attacks are
apprehended and instructed police to arrest them and apply
the law in a fair
manner.
MDC legislators and officials in the
province have been targets of arson by
rowdy Zanu PF youths and war
veterans.
Kunonga
strips Anglicans of property worth $40 million
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Renegade Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga has stripped the Anglican Church of Central
Africa of properties
worth over $40 million dollars.
14.10.1112:19pm
by Fungi
Kwaramba
Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the Secretary for the Diocese of
Harare, said in an
interview the church had lost 90 churches countrywide
valued at $4 million
each and also 70 houses valued at $100 000
each.
Apart from churches and houses Kunonga has also taken over schools,
which
were at one point the church’s major cash cow.
Last week the
head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Rowan Williams, met
President Robert
Mugabe and handed him a dossier detailing the abuses that
the church has
suffered in the hands of Kunonga, who is now armed with a
court order in his
favour. But Dzavo says that the church does not hope for
much from Mugabe
who has a soft spot for the ex-communicated bishop.
“We do not hope that
much will come from Mugabe, as he indicated that the
matter is currently in
the courts. But he did promise to look at the issues
to do with lawlessness
being perpetrated by Kunonga.
A recent High Court ruling gave Mugabe’s
bishop control of the church. But
on Wednesday the High Court ordered him to
stop harassing workers at
churches he has seized.
Thousands of people
across the country, who have in the past benefited from
the CPCA charity
work, are falling through the cracks because of the church
standoff and the
consequent flight of donors who are scared of Kananga’s
heavy handed
methods.
Meeting in Harare on Wednesday the MDC-T National Executive
bemoaned the
chaos that has engulfed one of the oldest churches in Zimbabwe
because of
political patronage.
“Churches have ceased to be a place
of worship and spiritual solitude but
have become havens of political
patronage and violence. The Anglican Church
community has, since 2007, been
traumatized as the police and Zanu (PF)
continue to side with a group loyal
to renegade Bishop Nolbert Kunonga to
destabilise parishes and ordinary
people,” said Douglas Mwonzora, the party’s
spokesperson.
Prosecutors
call off strike
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
15/10/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
PUBLIC prosecutors have called off their nationwide strike
after the Public
Service Commission (PSC) promised to look into their
grievances.
The prosecutors had been on strike over the past two weeks,
pressing for
improved conditions of service.
The job action had
paralysed the country’s courts system with no trials
taking place, leaving
suspects stranded in remand prisons around the
country.
However, the
prosecutors agreed to give their employer an opportunity to
their concerns
during a meeting held on Thursday.
Patrobs Dube, the vice president of
the Zimbabwe Laws' Association said
their members had agreed to resume work
while their grievances are being
addressed.
The strike which started last
Tuesday also affected State witnesses with
those coming from outside town
being turned away.
The prosecutors and law officers want the PSC to
address the salary
discrepancies with magistrates insisting they same
qualifications.
Prosecutors currently earn between US$200 and US$300
monthly.
They are demanding parity with magistrates who now take home
between US$500
and US$730 after the salaries were increased in
July.
Public law officers are also understood to be unhappy the alleged
engagement
of prosecutors from the security services claiming this was
compromising the
country’s justice system.
Not
enough ‘chefs’ for all the country's wealth: Kasukuwere
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
15/10/2011
00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
EMPOWERMENT Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere has dismissed claims the country’s
indigenisation programme is
providing cover for the already well-off to add
to their riches, quipping
that there is not enough ‘chefs’ for all the
country’s
wealth.
Critics have questioned government insistence that the process –
under which
foreign companies must localise ownership of at least 51 percent
of their
shareholding – would benefit the ordinary majority.
Central
bank chief, Gideon Gono in May urged the government to review its
current
empowerment model warning: “It has to be realised that not everybody
can fit
or benefit from the equity-ownership model we are pursuing. Only a
few will
and that's a fact.”
But speaking a public lecture at the Midlands State
University in Gweru on
Friday, Kasukuwere defended the programme adding the
so-called chefs were
also entitled to the country’s resources.
"It is
quite surprising that people keep referring to chefs as the big
beneficiaries of the indigenisation programme. But honestly how many serious
chefs are in the country. There are just but less than 1 000. All the other
people referred to as chefs are not. So can only 1 000 people benefit from
the country's wealth. The resources are for everyone,” Kasukuwere
said.
"In any case is it bad for those chefs to benefit from the country's
resources?"
The empowerment programme has also divided the coalition
government with
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently warning that the
policy was
ill-thought out and undermining investor
confidence.
Harare-based economic consultant John Robertson, also told
IRIN news that
policy would force many foreign-owned companies to close
down, leading to
further job losses, while people struggling to find jobs
would fail to do so
because investors would keep away.
“This policy
is the direct opposite of empowerment. The number of
Zimbabweans who are
poor, and those who will become poorer, will increase.
The net effect is far
much more poverty and far less self-sufficiency,” he
said.
Investor Fears of Zimbabwe's Empowerment Law Choke Off Capital
Flows
http://www.voanews.com
14 October
2011
China, once described by President Robert Mugabe as an all-weather
friend,
invested US$200 billion in Africa last year but has put only US$150
million
into the Southern African country so far this year
Gibbs Dube
and Blessing Zulu | Washington
Zimbabwean Investment Minister
Tapiwa Mashakada says foreign direct
investment is drying up with potential
investors - including those from
China - withholding capital due to
apprehension over Zimbabwe’s black
economic empowerment
program.
Mashakada said investors who might like to put money to work in
the
country's mining sector are currently unwilling to commit funds because
of
the government’s demand that foreign companies transfer a 51 percent
equity
stake to local black investors.
He said China, once described
by President Robert Mugabe as an all-weather
friend, invested US$200 billion
in Africa last year but has put only US$150
million into the Southern
African country so far this year.
Mashakada told VOA reporter Blessing
Zulu that the indigenization program is
seriously hindering Zimbabwe’s
efforts to attract meaningful foreign direct
investment.
Economic
commentator Walter Mbongolwane said foreign investors will remain
sidelined
until the country's Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act is
revised.
Elsewhere, South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe Vusi
Mavimbela met with
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday to express
concern over the
indigenization drive and the displacement of South African
citizens whose
farms were taken over by supporters of Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party,
destituting them.
Tsvangirai spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka
quoted Mavimbela as saying his
country is not happy with the way South
African businesses are being
targeted despite a bilateral investment
promotion and protection agreement
in place since 2009.
Tamborinyoka
said Mavimbela believes South African businesses operating in
Zimbabwe are
threatened by indigenization. He said Mr. Tsvangirai promised
to "vigorously
pursue" the issue given the concerns outlined by Pretoria's
ambassador in
Harare.
Economist and former Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries chief
Calisto
Jokonya said dialogue is needed between Harare and Pretoria to
resolve such
issues.
Mr. Mugabe this week launched a community share
ownership trust in
Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mashonaland West province, that is to
receive a 10 percent
stake in Zimbabwe Platinum Holdings or Zimplats,
controlled by South Africa’s
Impala Platinum Holdings.
Based on
recent estimates of Zimplats's value, that stake is worth some
US$97
million. Its market capitalization plummeted this year as investors
realized
the Harare government intended to take a 51 percent stake on
uncertain
compensation terms.
Inflation Surges to 4.3 Percent in Year Through
September
http://www.voanews.com
14 October
2011
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington
Zimbabwe's consumer
inflation for the 12 months through September jumped to
4.3 percent from 3.5
percent in August on significantly higher electricity
rates and increased
food and transport prices, the Zimbabwe Statistical
Agency said
Friday.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority boosted its commercial
rates 31
percent last month and businesses passed the cost through to
consumers,
economists said.
The latest inflation rate is not far from
the 4.5 percent rate set by
Finance Minister Tendai Biti as a target for the
end of this year, with
three months of data yet to come.
Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe Director Rosemary Siyachitema told Ntungamili
Nkomo that
although inflation remains relatively low, high utility charges
are of
concern.
"Within the consumer basket itself we see an increase of about
$14 or $15
attributed especially to electricity charges," she said. "Food
prices remain
relatively stable."
Economist Eric Bloch said the ZESA
electricity rate hikes were not
justified.
Moyo
plot thickens
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Chris Goko, Senior Assistant Editor
Saturday, 15 October
2011 13:53
HARARE - The more that serial political flip-flopper
Jonathan Moyo tries to
extricate himself from some of his plots to oust
President Robert Mugabe
from power, the more he appears to sink deeper into
the mire.
Sir Richard Branson dealt a fatal blow to Moyo’s desperate
attempts this
week to persuade Mugabe and other Zanu PF bigwigs that he is
not a CIA agent
as alleged when the British billionaire not only
re-confirmed conniving with
the former junior information minister to
dethrone Mugabe from power, but
also went on to provide more damaging
details about the ill-considered plot.
The two were so joined at the hip
in this mission that he, Branson, even
took care of the travel and
accommodation arrangements of the man who is now
also notoriously known as
America’s “useful messenger” in Zimbabwe.
“We did put him up in
Johannesburg for a few days, but we decided not to
continue with him,”
Branson said in an interview with a British newspaper.
The mogul told The
IndependentMoyo plot thickens that in 2007, he had held
covert meetings with
Moyo and several respected African statesman.
He also claimed that he had
also held direct discussions with Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono, who was
then seen as a close ally of Mugabe.
Taking a swipe at Moyo, Branson said
that the plot to oust Mugabe from power
fell apart when he and his
colleagues began to have serious reservations
about whether the notorious
flip-flopper and his supporters were entirely
suitable people to go into the
business of nation-building with.
“I was approached by the man who was
mentioned in the WikiLeaks, Jonathan
Moyo, and listened,” he
said.
“Eventually, we decided not to do anything with him. We just
weren’t
completely sure that his was the best approach. We have subsequently
done
some things for and in Zimbabwe, on some of the issues that were
discussed
at those meetings, but we ultimately just felt that working with
him was not
necessarily the right way forward.”
Getting into details
about his alleged interactions with Gono, Branson said
the anti-Mugabe
scheme initially came into being after he had a chance
meeting with the
central bank governor at an airport in South Africa early
in 2007.
At
the time, Zimbabwe was suffering from debilitating volatility and
hyperinflation, and this was in advance of scheduled elections the following
year.
They allegedly had a short discussion at which several ideas
for Mugabe’s
removal were raised.
Those ideas were later fleshed out
via email and then elaborated in several
days of face-to-face meetings which
Moyo curiously attended in Johannesburg
in July that year.
This
account contradicts sharply with an earlier version of events by Moyo,
who
claimed that he was the conduit between Branson and Gono.
Moyo himself
appeared to clear Gono on the airport meeting in an interview
with a United
Kingdom-based website and in the process described Branson as
a
racist.
“I am pleased that Sir Richard just about confirms everything
that I have
said about this initiative, except that he can’t remember
whether he met me
or Gono, or whether the two of us were at the
airport.
“I am not sure whether that’s just a memory weakness or a
cover-up.
But whatever it is, it reminds me of racists in the American
south who
suffer from the folly that all black people look the
same.”
Gono continues to refuse to comment on all the claims and
counterclaims.
Under the plan that Moyo hatched at least according to
Branson and
WikiLeaks, Mugabe was to have been approached by Nelson Mandela
and a
collection of other respected figures from the region.
They
would have tactfully claimed that they wished to protect his legacy,
and
safeguard Zimbabwe’s future by organising a peaceful transition of
power.
Mugabe was to be offered immunity from future prosecution, as
well as the
chance to appoint an interim prime minister.
In return,
he would co-operate with a truth and reconciliation process
modelled on
South Africa.
The existence of the scheme was made public this week, when
WikiLeaks
published a series of classified cables written by Eric Bost, the
US
ambassador to Pretoria. He had got his hands on several emails between
Sir
Richard and Moyo, and was eager to outline their plan to his superiors
in
Washington.
The Daily News, which broke the WikiLeaks story on
Sunday, has reported that
its sources claim that Sir Richard had been
prepared to offer Mugabe a £6,5m
($10 million) incentive to stand down as
part of the plan. Branson says that
this element of the story is
untrue.
“It was never discussed. It would have been cheap at the price,
but it just
happens not to be true,” he said — in a statement that could be
taken to
mean that the figure that may have been under consideration may
have been
higher.
Sir Branson said he was troubled by the revelation that
a US diplomat had
apparently been able to get hold of sensitive private
e-mails.
“Obviously, they must be listening in, or doing something. I
have no idea
how they got them. I’ve no idea how it happened,” he
said.
His recollection of the affair raises questions about the public
statements
that Moyo, who is now a member of Zanu PF’s politburo, has made
this week.
On Tuesday, for example Moyo told The Independent of UK that
his only
meeting with Branson had come in a check-in queue at Johannesburg
airport in
April 2007.
“We chatted for about an hour and a half,”
Moyo said. “When he learned I was
an MP, he was interested in my
views.”
Although the 2007 scheme came to naught, Sir Richard said that
the “elders,”
a group of world leaders he subsequently helped form, played a
key role in
setting up Zimbabwe’s coalition government after the 2008
elections.
He stressed that his interest in easing Mugabe from office was
in no way
motivated by a desire to expand any of his Virgin ventures into
Zimbabwe.
“It was nothing to do with my businesses,” he said.
“Most
of my time now, about 70 percent, is spent on philanthropic work. And
if I’m
in a position to help with resolving conflicts, I believe I should do
so.” –
with The Independent of UK.
We
will not be forced to vote for Zanu (PF)
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Villagers here have vowed that
Zanu (PF) candidate Gilbert Nyanhongo will
never win the seat - no matter
how much violence and intimidation Zanu (PF)
thugs
use.
14.10.1112:22pm
by Leona Mwayera
They have demanded that
perpetrators of violence who killed innocent people
be brought to
book.
Nyanhongo, a retired Brigadier who is deputy minister of Power and
Energy
Development, is eyeing Douglas Mwonzora’s Nyanga North
constituency.
Villagers said they were being intimidated by overzealous
war veterans and
militia and blamed the police for being partisan and
unprofessional. “We
wonder why the police are applying the law selectively.
Those who are
terrorising us are walking scot free, while innocent villagers
are
persecuted,” said one villager who declined to be named for fear of
reprisal.
“Please Zanu (PF) give us a chance to elect people of our
choice. We are
sick and tired of your dirty political tactics. We don’t see
the reason why
people should be beaten up for supporting a candidate of
their choice. We
don’t want candidates who splash money but those fight to
democratise
political space,” said Chris Kagoyo.
“We want to petition
the Prime Minister as Head of Government to discuss the
matter with Zanu
(PF) leader President Mugabe because we are fed up with
this cheap
politicking,” said Muchadura Maromo, an MDC-T activist.
Villagers
sacrifice herds to get decent news
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Impoverished villagers have sacrificed
their livestock to invest in
free-to-air satellite dishes as local
broadcaster ZBC continues to churn out
coarse propaganda in support of Zanu
(PF).
14.10.1112:05pm
by Staff Reporter
South African
Broadcasting channels 1-3 and Botswana television are
available in Zimbabwe
via satellite.
Irate villagers told The Zimbabwean that ZBC mostly
screened historical
material which was irrelevant to their lives
today.
“We are tired of propaganda by ZBC. Although we are poor we have
seen it fit
to sell some of our livestock and subscribe to foreign media
where there is
better programming.
We don’t eat history,” said
Misheck Mwonzora of Ruwangwe village who has
subscribed to DS-TV.
“We
are missing a lot from what is happening in our country because some
people
have turned a national broadcaster into private property. We rely on
foreign
stations such as Voice of America, Studio 7 and SW Radio and
newspapers such
as The Zimbabwean which keep us well informed and updated,”
said Rudo
Kamanga, a vendor. Villagers blasted ZBC for continuing to operate
as a
mouthpiece of Zanu (PF) instead of serving citizens objectively as
national
broadcaster.
“How can we say we are living in a democratic country if
people are being
denied such a critical service of being informed
objectively by a national
broadcaster. It’s a disgrace. Key development
information which is supposed
to reach to people remains elusive,” said a
local political observer Lucas
Dangirwa.
S. Africa's Continued Deportations Of Zimbabweans Signals Moratorium
Over
http://www.voanews.com
14 October
2011
Zimbabwean Co-Minister of Home Affairs Theresa Makone said Harare
and
Pretoria worked hard to regularize the status of the estimated 1.5
million
Zimbabweans in South Africa, but relatively few took up the
offer
Tatenda Gumbo & Blessing Zulu | Washington
South African
and Zimbabwean officials confirm that deportations of
Zimbabweans living
illegally in South Africa have resumed following a
moratorium called to
allow those living there illegally to seek residency
permits, saying the law
is now being enforced.
Reports said South African immigration authorities
deported some 600
Zimbabweans to their homeland this week, signaling an end
to the moratorium.
South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe Vusi Mavimbela
said Thursday that
Pretoria was not targeting Zimbabweans, but that
officials were merely
applying immigration laws. It is estimated that at
least 1.5 million
Zimbabweans are living in South Africa, but only about a
quarter of a
million filed applications for residency permits by the end of
2010.
Zimbabwean Co-Minister of Home Affairs Theresa Makone said both
governments
worked hard to regularize the status of Zimbabweans in South
Africa, but
that relatively few sought to regularize their status and
authorities have
exhausted their options.
During the documentation
period some 275,000 Zimbabweans sought permits to
live, work and operate
businesses in South Africa.
Members of the Zimbabwean Stakeholders Forum
in South Africa said the
resumption of deportations came as a surprise.
Gabriel Shumba of the
Zimbabwe Exiles Forum said he and colleagues were told
that they would be
informed before the moratorium ended.
Elsewhere,
deserters from the Zimbabwean National Army living in South
Africa are
urging soldiers at home to resist being deployed against citizens
in the
national elections which are generally expected to be held some time
next
year.
Former Zimbabwean troops told VOA reporter Benedict Nhlapho they
fled the
service so they would not have to take action against civilians.
Red
Cross welcomed
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Villagers in the Marange district have welcomed the
intervention of the
Japanese Red Cross to alleviate the food crisis in the
area.
14.10.1111:05am
by Leona Mwayera
The Japanese government
has donated $1, 4 million through Red Cross Society
to avert starvation in
the diamond-rich community.
The area has been affected by a series of
droughts and villagers have not
been able to harvest their fields for
consecutive farming seasons. Locals
have been surviving from food aid from
NGO’s. Despite efforts by Plan
Zimbabwe to unveil inputs to the people of
Marange, droughts have impacted
their efforts to boost food
security.
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society general secretary, Emma Kundishora,
revealed that
they had launced a programme to start food distribution
immediately. She
added that the food programme would be a joint venture
between the
International Federation of Red Cross, the Red Crescent Society
and the
Japanese government.
“The programme will also assist other
affected people across the country.
The assistance we are receiving from our
international partners will go a
long way towards alleviating hunger among
suffering villagers,” said
Kundishora.
A visit to the area by The
Zimbabwean indicated that most villagers were
relying on food aid from donor
agencies.
“Our crops are now a write-off because of lack of sufficient
rains. Although
other areas have received much rainfall, our place has been
hit by a series
of droughts,” said Tatenda Munongedzo, a local
villager.
Villagers said the government should use the proceeds from the
diamonds
fields to initiate irrigation schemes in their drought prone
area.
“It’s a pity that we are sitting on diamonds, but we are the
poorest people
in the world,” said another villager.
According to a
recent report by Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Food
Programme,
Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission an estimated 1, 7 million
people in
the country are food insecure.
Death
penalty ungodly: former judge
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Former High Court Judge Justice Simpson
Mutambanengwe has described capital
punishment as ungodly and also decried
the political violence in the
country.
14.10.1107:14am
by Fungi
Kwaramba
Matambanengwe, who sent several people to the gallows in his
tenure as
judge, delivered a powerful message at a workshop organized in
Harare to
talk about the death sentence.
“‘Thou shalt not kill’ those
are the words of God and I am a creature who
must obey those words,” said
Mutambanengwe, who is now the head of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the
body charged with presiding over
elections in the country.
Zimbabwe
is yet to decide whether the death sentence should be part of the
supreme
law. However, Mutambanengwe said that there is no need to debate the
death
penalty as it is the law of God that was given to Moses.
“Zimbabwe is
duty bound to obey the word of God and it is therefore not a
matter of
opinion. It is a matter of faith and obedience, life is sacred,”
said
Mutambanegwe.
Mutambanengwe added that Zimbabwe should obey every word of
God who gave the
country the freedom that it is enjoying today.
Commonwealth
in bid to ensure free, fair polls
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Tonderai Kwenda, Deputy News
Editor
Saturday, 15 October 2011 14:09
HARARE - A United
Kingdom-based organisation working through the
Commonwealth structures to
help Zimbabwe recover from a decade long
political and economic crisis says
the grouping of former British colonies
should find ways of working with the
regional Sadc body to ensure that the
country holds free and fair
elections.
The Commonwealth Organisations Committee on Zimbabwe (COCZ)
says
Commonwealth governments should find ways of helping Zimbabwe hold free
and
fair elections when they meet later this month in Perth, Australia for
the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.
“The Committee
encourages the Commonwealth Secretariat, in co-operation with
the Southern
African Development Community (Sadc), to engage with the
Government of
Zimbabwe to identify those areas in which it can use its
expertise to assist
with technical and relevant electoral advice to help
secure satisfactorily
conducted elections, in the context of the Harare
Declaration, which could
make Zimbabwe’s return to the Commonwealth
possible,” COCZ said in its
latest report titled: Zimbabwe: Routes to
Progress.
The organisation
says there has been some positive changes in the recovery
of the country’s
economy since the formation of the coalition government in
2009 but remains
worried by the wanton disregard of the rule of law and
violation of people’s
human rights.
“The Committee notes with concern the lack of progress with
constitutional
reform, which is the essential prelude to a framework for
future elections.
As a result, there have been numerous violations of human
rights which
should be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the report
stated.
COCZ was formed in London following the formation of the
government of
national unity.
Its purpose was to bring together
organisations including, but not
exclusively, civil society with a
background of work within Zimbabwe, who
wished to assist with the rebuilding
of the Zimbabwean economy and
democratic structures in a climate where a
degree of political consensus had
been achieved.
Now in its third
year, the organisation works through its member
organisations and relevant
Zimbabwe counterparts to facilitate regular
democratic, economic, social and
technical improvements within the country.
The report also stated that
there has been no significant progress made in
the country’s constitutional
reform process and the committee remains
worried at the concerns raised by
the Sadc troika on politics, defence and
security over the rising cases of
political violence across the country.
The committee urged commonwealth
member states through its institutions to
“engage with the Government of
Zimbabwe, the parties to the GPA and relevant
governments in the region to
identify and promote those aspects of the GPA
process which serve the
welfare and security of the people of Zimbabwe.”
This it says will help
Zimbabwe comply with the principles of the Harare
Declaration which will
lead to the establishment of conditions necessary to
enable Zimbabwe to
rejoin the Commonwealth family of nations.
The Harare Commonwealth
Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of
Nations setting out the
Commonwealth Nations setting out the Commonwealth’s
core principles and
values detailing the Commonwealth’s membership criteria
and redefining and
reinforcing its purpose. The Declaration was issued in
Harare, Zimbabwe on
20 October 1991.
President Robert Mugabe dragged the country out of
Commonwealth in 2003 in
protest against a barrage of criticisms directed at
him for running a deeply
flawed election which was marred by incidents of
violence. He also barred
European Union (EU) election monitors to the
election.
The committee recommended an urgent reconstitution of the
Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), licensing of aspiring private
broadcasters and
community radio and reconstitution of the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) governance board to ensure that the
broadcaster fulfils its
public-service mandate.
In addition it also
urged the coalition government to urgently repeal or
extensively amend laws
that impinge on freedom of expression and media
freedom, and citizens’ right
to access to information, notably Aippa,
Broadcasting Standards Authority
(BSA), the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act and the Interception
of Communications Act.
COCZ says the coalition government has managed to
stabilise the civil and
political environment but has not bought peace and
justice in the country.
“There are growing concerns over the failure of
the Inclusive Government to
abide by the provisions of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) and its
apparent inability to address the social, political
and economic crisis
still facing the country,” the committee
reported.
“During 2011 there has been an upsurge in cases of political
violence, which
has spread throughout the country with impunity. The
environment for human
rights defenders is hostile, with routine harassment.
Citizens are arrested,
and subjected to repression or violence for speaking
out against rights
violations."
“The nation continues to be
polarised, with freedom of association and
assembly curtailed. The law is
flouted for political gain.”
The committee recommended the reforming and
re-training of members of the
judiciary, including the introduction and
enforcement of a Code of Conduct
for judges and the protection of the
independence of the magistracy.
Zim
and the Commonwealth
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
As yet another CHOGM looms, it seems appropriate to
ask the question in
respect of Zimbabwe - “who divorced whom?” This is a
fair question, given
the standards by which the Commonwealth ought to
operate in the aftermath of
the Harare Declaration, and its historical basis
in South African and
Zimbabwean history.
14.10.1112:17pm
by The
Zimbabwean Harare
However, Zimbabwe, just like Southern Rhodesia
before it, has created major
problems for the Commonwealth, but, unlike
Southern Rhodesia, the
Commonwealth has failed Zimbabwe.
Greatest
success
This is even the view of one of those who fought so hard to bring
Zimbabwe
into existence, Sir Malcolm Fraser. As he put it:
“Zimbabwe
is not only one of the greatest successes of the Commonwealth – in
terms of
what happened in 1979 – but also one if its greatest failures. The
Commonwealth could have made it extremely difficult for President Mbeki to
stand up and support Mugabe.”
Fraser’s Commonwealth partner on the
Southern Rhodesia problem, Kenneth
Kaunda, is more upbeat:
“Now the
Commonwealth should be trying to engage more proactively with the
Government
of National Unity. Quite a number of leaders have been involved
in Zimbabwe
quietly already, and it has had some good results. Why should
the case of
Zimbabwe be treated so differently to that of Southern
Rhodesia?”
Firstly, Zimbabwe is not Southern Rhodesia. There is no
treasonous
Unilateral Declaration of Independence, no Cold War, and no
apartheid. The
Commonwealth is not the club that it was in 965, but an
organization with
standards, principles and mechanisms of enforcement. It
now has substantial
instruments for dealing with the misdemeanours of its
members.
Secondly, it seems evident to all that Zimbabwe’s withdrawal
from the
Commonwealth was not an expression of the will of the people of
Zimbabwe,
but a result of Presidential action alone.
The opprobrium
of the Commonwealth and Zimbabwe’s subsequent withdrawal from
the group
should not be treated lightly. This was certainly not the case
when South
Africa withdrew, or the case when Southern Rhodesia declared an
illegitimate
independence from Britain. The Commonwealth stood firm in the
defence of the
ordinary citizens of those countries.
Flawed elections
In
Zimbabwe’s case, however, the Commonwealth itself concluded that the
elections in 2000 and 2002 were seriously flawed, with the obvious
implication that the government subsequently established was
illegitimate.
The Commonwealth meekly let Zimbabwe off the hook. This was
pointed out in
considerable detail by Zimbabweans themselves and the point
has been pressed
by Zimbabwean civil society.
The 1991 Harare
Declaration, was the flagship for the Commonwealth’s new
standards,
demanding that its members commit themselves to a code of human
rights
observance and good governance. The Commonwealth then went much
further than
this: it later provided for enforcement of the standards
embodied in the
Declaration concluded in Harare. Zimbabwe repeatedly
violated these
standards. The non-adherence to the Abuja Agreement by
Zimbabwe, and the
discredited elections of 2000 and 2002, gave the
Commonwealth the first test
of its commitment to its own standards. It
failed miserably. This is not
withstanding the commitments made at
Millbrook.
So what has the
Commonwealth done to fulfil its own standards and this
commitment? How has
it “reinforced the need for change”? It suspended
Zimbabwe, and Mugabe
withdrew from the Commonwealth before the issue of
renewal of the suspension
could be considered. Rather than implementing the
provision cited above, the
Commonwealth appears to have taken the view that
it no longer needed to be
seized with the Zimbabwe issue. How many countries
limited
government-to-government contact? How many countries limited trade
restrictions? How many countries introduced bilateral measures against
Zimbabwe for violating the Harare Declaration? How many countries got
together to introduce multilateral measures against Zimbabwe for violating
the Harare Declaration?
A wistful goodbye
It seems to
Zimbabweans that the most that the Commonwealth did, as a
Commonwealth, was
to wistfully wave Zimbabwe goodbye, and then every country
worked out,
independently, how they would continue to re-engage with
Zimbabwe as a
non-Commonwealth country.
To be fair, the Commonwealth did not entirely
abandon Zimbabwe: it merely
passed the buck to the AU. The AU then passed
the buck to SADC (of which 10
of the 15 members are Commonwealth countries)
and SADC passed the buck to
South Africa.
If the Commonwealth is
serious about re-engagement, then it needs to
re-engage, and the best way to
do this is to convene the Eminent Persons
Group, send them to Zimbabwe and
the SADC region.
This is not the time to discuss re-calibrating
elections, but rather to take
the temperature of Zimbabwe as a nation (and
its wholly sidelined
citizenry), and then think about what steps should be
taken.
Litmus test
As Afari-Gyan, Jahangir and Sheehy pointed out
in Democracy in the
Commonwealth:
“Elections are a litmus test of
democracy. It is the moment one can see most
clearly if people are able to
exercise their fundamental human rights. The
lack of respect for the basic
principles of such a system means that
governments often come to power (or
remain in power) with at best a tainted
legitimacy.”
No better
description can be given of the reasons why Zimbabwe and the
Commonwealth
fell out, and why the Commonwealth needs to ascertain carefully
whether the
“basic principles” referred to above are in place. – Research
and Advocacy
Unit
Africa's despots gather without fear of
arrest
Ginny Stein reported this story on Saturday, October 15, 2011 08:10:00
ELIZABETH JACKSON: In Africa, some of the continent's
most notorious and corrupt leaders have come together for a regional trade
summit. Sudan's president Omar Al Bashir travelled to Malawi for the conference
in defiance of an international war crimes warrant against him. His 26-member
delegation was welcomed with traditional dancers and an honour guard.
Here's our Africa correspondent Ginny Stein.
GINNY STEIN: The
gathering in Malawi is a veritable who's who of the continents leading despots
and dictators.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, never shy from attending an
international gathering flew in, taking out of service one of the national
airline's few remaining serviceable aircraft. Swaziland's King Mswati, who has
presided over his country's economic collapse joined Eritrea's Issaias Afeworki,
who has helped turn his nation into one of the most paranoid and totalitarian
states in Africa. Eritrea is also accused of supporting Al-Shabaab Islamic
militants in Somalia.
Henning Snyman is a political researcher with South
Africa's Institute for International Affairs. He says it comes as no surprise
that Malawi announced prior to the start of the conference that it would take no
action against Sudan's president Omar Al Bashir.
HENNING SNYMAN: He's
cancelled trips in the past to Tanzania and South Africa and a few other
countries that said if he lands here, he will be arrested. But in Malawi they've
come out stronglyto say that he's a free man and they wouldn't arrest
him.
GINNY STEIN: When Omar Al Bashir arrived for the conference, he gave
waiting media a wide berth and headed straight to his downtown hotel in
Lilongwe, Malawi's capital.
As a signatory to the Rome Statute, Malawi
has a treaty obligation to arrest Sudan's president over war crimes committed in
Sudan's troubled Darfur region. But a foreign ministry spokesman, told news
agency AFP, Malawi would not arrest President Bashir as he was a friend of
Malawi's president.
This is not the first time, President Bashir has
travelled abroad with an international warrant hanging over him. African leaders
have turned a blind eye in the past, as has China, which gave him a red carpet
welcome earlier this year.
Henning Snyman says by welcoming President
Bashir, African leaders are making a mockery of the ICC, the International
Criminal Court. And he says it's not likely that leaders who are themselves
accused of committing heinous crimes will likely act any time
soon.
HENNING SNYMAN: It's one thing to sign an agreement and it's
another thing to enforce it. Especially if you're unsure if you might be at the
wrong end of the stick in the future.
GINNY STEIN: Is it a simple case do
you think that many African leaders aren't willing to enforce it because it
could be them next?
HENNING SNYMAN: Correct. And I also think, I mean
there's an argument that the ICC and the UN Security Council are instruments in
the hands of the West and the friendless nations of the world get hammered by
the UN and the ICC which I believe is totally wrong. I mean most of the cases in
front of the ICC right now had been referred by African countries themselves and
not by the ICC.
GINNY STEIN: The example that this sets, I mean it's not
the first time that Omar Al Bashir has shown up in Africa and no one has taken
action.
HENNING SNYMAN: Yes.
GINNY STEIN: For it to continually
happen, what example does that set?
HENNING SNYMAN: I think it make a
mockery of the ICC and actually ending impunity on the continent.
GINNY
STEIN: The UN says at least 300,000 people have died since the uprising in
Darfur started in 2003. President Omar Al Bashir is the first sitting president
to be indicted by the International Criminal Court for charges of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes.
But Darfur wasn't on President
Bashir's agenda at the annual trade summit for Eastern and Southern Africa, he
was there for one thing only, to discuss trade. This was business. Human rights
would have to wait.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Ginny Stein with that report.
"Mugabe
in Grace's hand bag" - WikiLeaks
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By KELVIN JAKACHIRA 21 hours 49 minutes
ago
First Lady Grace Mugabe should not be underrated because she
wields so much
power and influence over President Robert Mugabe.
The
First Lady acts as President Mugabe’s gatekeeper and often controls
people
that see him and what information gets to him. The First Lady also
played a
crucial behind the scene role during the power-sharing negotiations
after
the disputed presidential run-off poll in June 2008.
This information is
contained in United States diplomatic cables intercepted
and leaked by
whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
One cable quotes then US ambassador to
Zimbabwe Charles Ray saying the First
Lady wielded immense influence over
the former guerilla leader, who has
ruled Zimbabwe for nearly 32
years.
Ray made the assessment after a meeting with Norwegian ambassador
to
Zimbabwe Gunnar Foreland, an experienced Africa hand, who provided his
insights on Zimbabwe.
The Norwegian ambassador told Ray on November
25, 2009 that many people did
not appreciate the role the First Lady played
in terms of having the
President’s ear.
“She acts as a kind of
gatekeeper, often controlling who sees him, and what
information gets to
him,” Foreland reportedly told the US top envoy in
Harare.
“In this,
she is assisted by (Reserve Bank governor Gideon) Gono who acts as
(President) Mugabe’s bag man and who has played a critical role in most of
Grace’s ‘businesses’.”
The cable said the First Lady had made more
headlines for her “shopping”
than for her political role, but she started
coming into the political
limelight after the March 2008 elections which her
husband lost to MDC-T
leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
In another cable
dispatched on July 25 2008, Gono reportedly said he had
discussed amendments
to the power-sharing deal with the President and the
First Lady and that the
couple was agreeable to an accord with several
amendments, including that
President Mugabe should be allowed to serve as
President indefinitely and
should not have to retire at a certain time.
The cable said the power
sharing agreement was drafted by Econet boss Strive
Masiyiwa.
Another
cable said Tsvangirai told former US ambassador to Zimbabwe James
McGee the
powerful Joint Operations Command (JOC), allegedly supported by
Gono and the
First Lady, discussed delaying the inauguration of the new
government and
marginalising him.
The cable was dispatched on October 10, 2008 before
the coalition government
came into effect.
During the meeting between
Foreland and Ray, the diplomats discussed a wide
range of issues on
Zimbabwe.
Foreland reportedly told Ray the interplay of Shona and Western
culture and
the role ethnicity plays in the relationship between President
Mugabe and
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the relationship of Gono
and the First
Lady to President Robert Mugabe, and the importance of
security sector
reform.
“A long-time observer of the Africa scene
with vast experience on the
continent, Foreland said we in the West often
fail to appreciate the way the
indigenous culture merges with Western
culture to shape the behaviour of
people here,” Ray said in the
cable
“He said, for instance, in Zimbabwe, the dominant Shona culture
often exists
side by side with Western culture and locals see no conflict.
Many
Government of Zimbabwe agencies and officials switch between the two
whenever it is to their advantage.”
Added the US envoy: “He thinks
that Tsvangirai’s deference to (President)
Mugabe, for instance, is rooted
in Shona culture: respect for elders and
respect for a fellow
Shona.
“The ethnic factor also plays a role in the attitude of South
African
President Zuma toward (President) Mugabe. In addition to not being a
‘revolutionary comrade’ as Thabo Mbeki was, Zuma, being Zulu,does not have
the same sense of kinship with (President) Mugabe, a Shona.” - NewsDay
NZ crush Zim by
ten wickets
http://www.iol.co.za/
October 15 2011 at 06:02pm
AP
New Zealand
raced to a 10-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international
against
Zimbabwe.
Harare – Brendon McCullum slammed an unbeaten 81 as New Zealand
raced to a
10-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international against
Zimbabwe at Harare
Sports Club on Saturday.
The New Zealand bowlers
set up the victory by restricting Zimbabwe to 123
for eight in their 20
overs after being sent in, with home skipper Brendan
Taylor the only batsman
to shine, making 50 not out.
Opening bowler Kyle Mills and off-spinner
Nathan McCullum took two wickets
each in a steady New Zealand bowling
performance.
Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill (40 not out) made the
target look
ridiculously easy, needing only 13.3 overs to score the required
runs.
McCullum thrashed six sixes and five fours off 46 balls as he
confirmed his
reputation as one of the world's most destructive hitters in
the shortest
form of the game. Guptill hit two sixes and two fours and faced
30 balls.
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor was delighted with the way his
team played
in their first competitive match since the World Cup in
March.
“When you have been out of cricket for so long, the way we backed
up the
bowlers in the field was excellent. Brendon and Martin were
outstanding with
the bat,” said Taylor.
Zimbabwe were hit by the late
withdrawals of two key players, experienced
wicketkeeper-batsman Tatenda
Taibu because of injury and batsman Vusi
Sibanda, whose mother died early on
Saturday.
Tall seam bowler Mills struck two early blows for New Zealand,
dismissing
both opening batsmen inside the first five overs.
Hamilton
Masakadza holed out to mid-off after hitting Doug Bracewell for six
in the
previous over and Chabu Chibhabha edged an attempted drive to
wicketkeeper
Brendon McCullum.
Taylor and Forster Mutizwa added 28 for the third
wicket before Mutizwa was
leg before to left-arm spinner Luke
Woodcock.
Malcolm Waller tried to lift the scoring rate, hitting Nathan
McCullum for
six, but was caught at deep square leg in the same over.
Charles Coventry
also fell playing an ambitious shot against McCullum caught
at cover.
Hopes of a late flurry were dashed as three wickets fell off
the final seven
balls of the innings.
Mills finished with two for 15
and Nathan McCullum took two for 17 but with
the exception of one over from
James Franklin which yielded ten runs, all
New Zealand's bowlers proved
difficult to score off. – Sapa-AFP
That's my throne!
Dear Family and Friends,
When the Archbishop of Canterbury came to Zimbabwe
last week it gave
us all a lift, regardless of our religious persuasions.
Here was a man
who had the courage to say it like it is, something we’ve been
sadly
starved of for the last two and a half years. Zimbabweans
are
frazzled, worn down and bone tired of the platitudes and
diplomatic
niceties that have come to characterise our once
firebrand
politicians. None of our leaders say it like it is anymore and
that
made the visit of the Archbishop even more refreshing.
The
Anglican Archbishop didn’t mince his words in a sermon he gave
to the
multiple thousands of people who had gathered at the City
Sports Centre in
Harare. To outsiders it may have seemed strange that
Archbishop Rowan
Williams was addressing Anglicans in a sports stadium
rather than in the
Cathedral. But he couldn’t because the previous,
and ex-communicated Bishop,
Nolbert Kunonga, has taken over the Harare
Cathedral and 40 percent of other
Anglican churches in the country.
Kunonga is an open supporter of Zanu PF and
has described President
Mugabe as a “prophet from God.” Speaking to the press
at the
Harare Cathedral, Kunonga said that Archbishop Rowan Williams was
no
threat to him. Kunonga said: “I am in charge of the church, of all
its
properties. I am in the cathedral. That's my throne. He cannot
come
here.”
In the last few months Kunonga got a court ruling and started
taking
over church houses, schools, clinics and orphanages, evicting
anyone
who does not support his breakaway church. Harassed,
intimidated,
beaten, arrested and locked out of their churches, Anglicans
have been
hounded by Kunonga and his band of followers. They have taken
to
holding religious services in private homes, tents and even
under
trees. It is a truly humbling sight to witness this vast body
of
people turning the other cheek.
In his sermon at the sports centre,
the Archbishop’s references to
events of the last decade were obvious. He
said: “God has given so
many gifts to this land. It has the capacity to feed
all its people
and more. Its mineral wealth is great. But we have seen years
in which
the land has not been used to feed people and lies idle; and we
have
begun to see how this mineral wealth can become a curse…” Weaving
his
message into biblical references, Zimbabweans knew exactly who the
Archbishop
was talking about when he asked if we could hear the voice
of the Creator
saying: “ ‘Why will you turn my gifts into an
excuse for bloodshed? Why will
you not use what you have for the good
of a community, not for private gain
or political advantage?’ ”
The day after delivering his sermon, the
Archbishop of Canterbury met
President Mugabe and gave him a dossier
detailing abuses being
suffered by Anglicans in Zimbabwe. The Archbishop
asked Mr Mugabe to
guarantee the safety of worshippers and “put an end to
illegal and
unacceptable behaviour.”
The Archbishop then went on a
visit to Manicaland and described how he
met Anglicans in the area : “They
gathered at the roadside to meet
us, they gathered in extremely smelly
disused cinemas to meet us and
in the middle of a field. …It's been hugely
moving and I'm very glad
I came."
This stoicism and continual turning
of the other cheek in the face of
violence, oppression and blatant theft has
become the national
character of Zimbabwe; it has become our middle
name.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy Copyright �
Cathy
Buckle 15th October 2011. www.cathybuckle.com