Zim Online
Wed 12 April 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe State Security
Minister Didymus Mutasa on Tuesday
ratcheted up pressure against the
opposition threatening to "use guns" to
thwart anti-government protests and
warning its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai,
he will pay with his life if he
called such protests.
Mutasa, in charge of the government's spy
Central Intelligence
Organisation and probably the most powerful of
President Robert Mugabe's
lieutenants, boasted that Mugabe and his ruling
ZANU PF party had "shed
blood before" to free Zimbabwe from
colonialism.
The Security Minister, who was responding to questions
by ZimOnline on
whether the government would permit peaceful protests by the
opposition,
said Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party would
"pay dearly" if they tried to take to the streets against
Mugabe's
government.
Mutasa said: "Anyone,
particularly Tsvangirai who threatens peace and
stability in this country
will get capital punishment .. and we mean it. We
maintain organs of
national security such as the army to protect the
stability and integrity of
our country. They will be instructed to use all
resources at their disposal,
including guns (to stop protests)."
In a most chilling reminder to
the opposition, Mutasa added: "We have
shed blood before to achieve
independence. So let no one be fooled that we
will fold our arms while they
(the opposition) cause mayhem and violence to
remove democratically elected
governments. They will pay and pay dearly."
Tsvangirai, who says
the MDC has lost faith in elections as a
democratic tool to change the
government because Mugabe always rigs polls,
has vowed to call mass
anti-government protests this winter to force the
government to accept a new
and democratic constitution that would ensure
free and fair
polls.
The MDC leader last Sunday told thousands of supporters at a
rally in
Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo that he was ready to
lead from
the front in street protests to force Mugabe to accept democracy
even if it
could lead to his own death.
The rally attended by
more than 5 000 supporters was the fourth the
opposition leader has held in
major cities in the last two weeks to mobilise
Zimbabweans for mass
anti-government protests whose date he has not yet
announced.
Mutasa's outburst is the latest in a series of similarly strongly
worded
threats by the government against Tsvangirai and the MDC with Mugabe
having
warned the opposition leader last month that he would be "dicing with
death"
if he tried to instigate a mass revolt against the government.
The
State Security Minister last month threatened to "physically
eliminate"
opposition leaders if they attempted to remove the government
from power
through mass protests.
Zimbabwe has been on edge since Tsvangirai
and his MDC party resolved
at a congress last month that they would no
longer limit themselves to
elections but would use what they called "people
power" to pressure Mugabe
to embrace democracy.
Political
analysts say the MDC that enjoys strong support in urban
areas is best
placed to organise streets protests against the government.
But they also
caution that the opposition party is at the moment too
weakened to confront
the government and its army in the streets after it
split into two rival
political parties last year.
Besides the Tsvangirai-led MDC - that
is widely seen as the main rival
to Mugabe and ZANU PF - there is another
faction of the opposition party
that is led by former student activist
Arthur Mutambara. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 12 April 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Major Craven Nkiwane yesterday
confirmed that the army was recruiting more soldiers, indicating that the
hiring of more men and women had in fact begun this week.
In a
statement that was also given to ZimOnline, Nkiwane, who is
administrative
officer of ZNA's One Brigade, said the recruitment exercise
kicked off
earlier this week in the southern Matabeleland region.
Young men
and women aged between 16 and 22 years, with a minimum
height of 1.6 metres
and weighing around 55 kilogrammes started registering
to join the army from
Sunday to yesterday at Tshololotsho and Lupane police
stations in
Matabeleland.
ZimOnline had erroneously reported on Tuesday that
the recruitment
exercise would only begin on April 26, which in fact is the
date when the
new recruits are scheduled to begin their six-month training
programme.
According to Nkiwane's statement, more young men and
women will be set
to join the army at Binga police station on April 19,
Hwange police station
on April 21, Nyamandlovu and Nkayi police stations on
April 25 to wind off
the exercise in the Matabeleland region.
Nkiwane said in addition to stated physical qualities, the aspiring
soldiers
should also have "five Ordinary Level passes, a long birth
certificate and a
national identity document."
Each of the country's ten political
provinces are expected to
contribute to the 5 000 men and women that the ZNA
wants to hire in an
apparent reversal of the government's defence policy
that in recent years
has focused on reducing the army by about 25 percent to
between 30 000 and
35 000 soldiers.
The hiring of more soldiers
comes as the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) prepares
for mass anti-government protests in the
winter.
President
Robert Mugabe, who has in the past deployed soldiers and
police to crush
street protests by the opposition, has told MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai he
would be "dicing with death" if he tries to instigate
popular revolt against
the government. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 12 April
2006
HARARE - Struggling national carrier Air Zimbabwe on Tuesday
announced
it was retrenching 30 percent of its workforce as part of what
board
chairman, Mike Bimha, said was an exercise to rationalise staff and
keep the
airline afloat.
"The airline is embarking on a staff
rationalisation exercise," Bimha
told journalists in Harare. "This will
result in a 30 percent reduction out
of the 1 200 staff. The overriding
objective of the shareholder, the board
and management is to return the
airline to viability."
The reduction of staff levels at Air
Zimbabwe comes in the backdrop of
a drastic decline in the number of
tourists visiting the economically
troubled and potentially unstable
southern African country.
Bimha said staffing levels had remained
generally the same over the
years despite the drop in passenger uplifts as
well as operating a smaller
fleet of aircraft, and the loss of market share,
as foreign tourists shunned
Zimbabwe because of reports in the international
media of political violence
and a breakdown in the rule of law in the
country.
Zimbabwe was less than a decade ago one of the most stable
African
countries with a vibrant economy but now stands on the brink of
civil
conflict. The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party has
threatened to call mass protests against President Robert Mugabe whom they
accuse of stealing elections and running down the economy.
Mugabe denies ruining Zimbabwe's economy and has threatened to unleash
the
army to crush street protests against his government.
Air Zimbabwe,
like other businesses operating in the country, has also
grappled a tough
operating environment characterised by erratic fuel
supplies, declining
passenger numbers, foreign currency shortages, declining
customer confidence
and escalating costs.
With flights frequently cancelled for one or
another reason, Air
Zimbabwe quickly lost its reputation as one of the more
reliable airlines in
Africa and has only survived this far because the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
has regularly pumped money into the airline to keep
it afloat. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 12 April
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe opposition legislator, Blessing Chebundo,
has
resigned from a faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party
led by former student leader Arthur Mutambara.
He has
rejoined the faction of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai,
recognised by many
political analysts as the main faction of the divided
opposition
party.
Chebundo, who was recently appointed director of elections
and chief
whip in parliament of the Mutambara faction, tendered his
resignation to
secretary general Welshman Ncube last Thursday citing
personal reasons.
"It is with deep regret that I have to advise
that, due to very
personal reasons, I am no longer able to continue as the
'Director of
Elections, and as Chief Whip' of the MDC side led by Prof A
Mutambara.
"My resignation from the above two positions is with
immediate effect.
I trust, and wish the 'side' all the best," said Chebundo
in his terse
resignation letter which was also copied to Mutambara and the
faction's
deputy president Gibson Sibanda.
Chebundo's
resignation appears to deal a serious body-blow to the
Mutambara faction of
the MDC which has been struggling to attract huge
crowds to its rallies
around the country.
Chebundo told ZimOnline last night that he had
been "pressurised by
his constituency" to rejoin the Tsvangirai
faction.
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who is the deputy
secretary general
of the Mutambara-led MDC, confirmed Chebundo's resignation
but claimed the
Kwekwe legislator had been threatened with unspecified
action by
Tsvangirai's camp.
"The Tsvangirai faction has used
the same tactics that ZANU PF has
been using over the years. It is not that
Mavhaire (Dzikamai) wanted to come
back to ZANU PF but was put under intense
pressure just like Chebundo. You
cannot blame him," she said.
Mavhaire was however never expelled from ZANU PF although he was once
suspended from the party after calling on President Robert Mugabe to step
down.
Spokesman for the Tsvangirai-led faction, Nelson Chamisa,
welcomed
Chebundo's return saying the legislator had "recommitted himself to
the
noble cause of liberating Zimbabwe."
The MDC, which had
presented the greatest challenge to Mugabe's
26-year old grip on power, is
embroilled in a bitter factional war after it
split into two factions last
year over the senate elections.
The factions have since held two
separate congresses during which one
faction retained Tsvangirai as leader
while the other elected Mutambara as
president. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 12 April
2006
HARARE - Fifty-one members of the National Constitutional
Assembly
(NCA) civic group who were arrested last Friday for staging an
illegal
demonstration in Harare were on Monday released from police custody
after
the Attorney General's office declined to prosecute them.
A lawyer representing the protesters, Alec Muchadehama, told ZimOnline
on
Monday that the AG's office had refused to prosecute the demonstrators
who
had been in custody since Friday.
"I highlighted to the police on
Friday that there was no basis to
arrest my clients. But the police insisted
on detaining them over the
weekend," said Muchadehama.
Muchadehama said they had to pay Z$250 000 each admission of guilt
fines to
have his clients released from police custody.
"We only accepted to
pay fines as we did not want to continue exposing
our clients to inhumane
conditions in the police cells. Otherwise, a trial
in court would have
proven that these people are innocent," said the lawyer.
NCA
chairman, Lovemore Madhuku, welcomed the release of the protesters
and vowed
to stage more protests to demand a new, democratic constitution
for
Zimbabwe.
"We are obviously happy about the release, but we are
concerned by the
systematic way in which the regime is trying to instil fear
in our members,"
said Madhuku.
"The arrest was just meant to
embarrass and harass the NCA membership
to stop these demonstrations. But
that will not deter us. We will only stop
after there is a new
constitution," he said.
Under Zimbabwe's tough security laws, it is
illegal for organisations
to demonstrate without first seeking approval from
the police. But the NCA
has often defied the law resulting in a number of
their members being
arrested during protests. - ZimOnline
By Violet Gonda READ MORE A fuming Raymond Majongwe from the main teaching union, the
Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), said a new circular titled
“Termly teacher rating by pupils” was distributed to all provinces to tighten
the screws on the already suffering teaching population. It’s reported that some of the issues that pupils from both
primary and secondary schools would be assessing their teachers on will include
questions like, does the teacher teach any politics in class? Does the teacher
talk about politics? The outspoken leader said the teachers are again and again being
subjected to torture; “This is violence against teachers and it’s unfortunate
really because we would have expected the same government to say, let’s get our
citizens and assess our ministers and I am sure the whole ministry of education
would lose their jobs.” This latest edict about teachers will ultimately create a culture
where students - who have no training to assess their superiors – will be
reporting about what a teacher does or does not do. The PTUZ warned it will not
allow this to happen and will take the government to court. This kind of system was made famous by Chairman Mao and Adolph
Hitler who both used children to report any deviance from official policy.
Majongwe said there is no law in Zimbabwe that allows this. He said; “Statutory
1 (of the education act) of 2000 does not allow for such things to happen. These
are things founded on threats and intimidation.” Majongwe believes whatever the government may try to do it won’t
work because it does not have the capacity. It does not even have the money to
print the forms to be distributed to all the schools. He said bottom-line, teachers need money; “If they are well
remunerated and there are good conditions of service, the results will be
positive.” If the government goes ahead with this plan it’s also feared that
this will simply bring animosity between teachers and their pupils and
ultimately it is the children who will suffer. Majongwe warned that teachers will adopt a position that will
liberate them from what he termed, “This rank madness that is gripping the
education ministry.” He said the bottom-line has to be made very clear; “Citizens of
this country must decide. As long as they keep quiet then they deserve the
leadership they have if they just sit down and just cry and not do anything with
their feet.” The PTUZ General Secretary also called on the civic and political
leaders to physically lead from the front. “ We have gone beyond talking… we
have been talking about leadership and there is no leadership. We have been
talking about change. The change doesn’t come. People must start to walk the
talk!” FULL AUDIO INTERVIEW; Archives http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/archives.php click on Tuesday
archives HOT SEAT PROGRAMME - 11 APRIL
2006
A showdown is
looming between teachers and the government after a memo was sent to schools
saying that starting next month school children will be assessing the teaching
methods of their teachers.
Majongwe said this
time the Ministry of Education has gone too far. He said; “It is nothing but
madness. Teachers will be assessed by their pupils in areas like punctuality,
the standard of dress, attendance, whether they are being given adequate work,
whether they are prepared for lessons, whether they are being given homework,
whether they know the subject or not, whether teachers are able to explain new
concept, whether they are providing a stimulating learning environment.”
It’s feared that more teachers, who are already smarting from poor salaries
and politically motivated factors, will resign.
[ This report does
not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 11 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - Parents and educationists
in Zimbabwe
have warned that a rise of more than 1,000 percent in school
fees will force
larger numbers of children to drop out and preclude others
from all
education.
Inflation has hit a new high of 913 percent,
bringing a 12-fold rise in the
cost of essentials. All schools, including
those run by the government, said
they would have to enforce the increases,
effective from May.
This is the second time this year that school fees
have been hiked. Parents
had to fork out more money in January this year
after private and missionary
schools raised tuition by between 150 percent
and 500 percent. From May, the
fees in government-run primary schools will
go up from US $4 a term to $18,
while pupils in missionary schools will pay
$564 instead of $221 per term.
Pupils in private schools will have to lay
out around $1,000, up from $440
they paid last term.
"To say the
increase is too much is to understate this problem - it is
simply
unaffordable for everyone. This is no longer a matter of haves and
have-nots; this increase is too much for everyone, poor and rich," a parent
in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, remarked.
According to the
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, an average family of five
requires at least
$350 every month for essential food and services, but
average monthly
incomes are often less than $100.
Leonard Nkala, former president of the
Zimbabwe Teachers Association, told
IRIN that the new fee structure could
only worsen the school dropout rate,
and many children would miss the
opportunity of ever going to school.
"Inasmuch as people struggle to send
their children to school, even in these
difficult circumstances, we have
come to a point where people just want to
give up. Many people are now
talking more about practical courses, which are
cheaper and shorter, than
the academic process, which has just become
unaffordable," he
commented.
According to UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) statistics for the
period 1996 to
2004, only 44 percent of boys and 42 percent of girls
enrolled in a
secondary school attended classes. "Zimbabwean children are
faced with some
of the worst hardships confronting children anywhere in the
world," said
UNICEF spokesman James Elder.
Zimbabwe has been
experiencing runaway price increases since 2000, causing
living standards to
plummet as salaries failed to match the rate of
inflation. Many parents told
IRIN that their children would have to drop out
of school and look for work
to help support the family.
The high cost of schooling has eroded the
long-held notion that education
was the right of every Zimbabwean, said
Nkala. "Education is now for those
with the money ... given the widespread
retrenchments, soaring unemployment
rates and a food crisis that refuses to
go."
The ministry of education was unable to comment on whether the
government,
which reimposed price controls on basic commodities last week,
would move to
act against the tuition fee increases.
By Lance
Guma
11 April 2006
The embattled government of Robert
Mugabe intends to sink over Z$250
billion in propping up the New Ziana news
agency amid a worsening human
rights record. New Ziana boss Munyaradzi
Matanyaire told the parliamentary
portfolio committee on Transport and
Communications the agency had been
unbundled into three strategic business
units but needed money to begin
operations. The agency plans to set up radio
and satellite television in
addition to the news agency already running and
churning out state
propaganda. War veteran and broadcaster Happison
Muchechetere has been lined
up to run the stations.
Matanyaire,
who was presenting oral evidence to the committee,
conceded that the proposed
New Ziana short-wave radio project in Gweru was
political and could not
generate 'the much needed revenue'. He said the
radio and satellite
television stations were meant to counter what he called
'negative publicity
against Zimbabwe by the hostile Western media.'
Observers have however
pointed out that given the country's dire economic
situation the Z$250
billion needed for this propaganda campaign would better
serve the interests
of ordinary people via the purchase of food and
medicines.
Zoe
Titus a programme Director with the Media Institute for Southern
Africa
(MISA) told Newsreel 'the government has no business operating
media
institutions.' She said authorities in Zimbabwe should be
providing
platforms for other players to enter the broadcasting sector
instead of
trying to control it. The government could avert negative
publicity by doing
positive things in the media and that includes granting
licences to
community broadcasters and local FM stations. Titus also said the
billions
of dollars they wanted to use in the propaganda war could be better
spent on
essential services for poor Zimbabweans.
The government
has also invested heavily in equipment thought to be
from China to jam the
shortwave transmissions of independent stations like
SW Radio Africa. Harsh
media laws like the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act
(AIPPA) have been selectively used to shut down
4
newspapers.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
stations
By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 04/11/2006 12:41:03
THE
Zimbabwe government will sink Zim$152 billion setting up a propaganda
radio
and satellite television station targeting its nationals in the
Diaspora as
it fights to win the hearts and minds of a restive population.
In a
report to the parliamentary portfolio on Transport and Communications
presented Monday, New Ziana Chief executive officer Munyaradzi Matanyaire
said George Charamba, President Robert Mugabe's press secretary had told him
that the projects had the "support from the highest level and I repeat from
the highest level".
Former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Co- oporation
television anchor and Zanu PF
adhererent Happison Muchechetere would be in
carge of the stations.
Matanyaire also said all the equipment for the
radio project was already in
place.
The Zimbabwe government has
enacted harsh press laws that have resulted in
the closure of four
newspapers in an effort to stem negative publicity
triggered by its ruinous
policies.
Recently, the government has been funding visits by journalists
on guided
tours from Asian countries as part of Mugabe's 'Look East'
project.
Matanyaire said: "The radio programme to be on Shortwave (SW)
and the
satellite television would solely target our people in the diaspora
to
counter the negative publicity from those countries."
The station
would be stationed in Gweru, but would have separate offices
from the
state-run Power FM which targets locals. Matanyaire added that they
would
needed $152 billion from treasury to implement the two projects.
Over the
years, the government has been blaming negative publicity over its
appalling
human rights record by the international media as the cause of an
unprecedented economic crisis.
Presenting his monetary policy in
January, the country's central bank chief
Gideon Gono also blamed the
economic mess on negative publicity that he said
portrayed Zimbabwe as a war
zone.
Gono said: "The negative publicity by local, regional and
international
media has thus, in effect, worked to undermine and destroy
business
confidence and investor sentiment towards Zimbabwe."
Reuters
Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:09 AM ET
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has lifted a
freeze on private health care
charges, the official Herald newspaper said on
Tuesday, allowing fees to
double in a move likely to add to the woes of
Zimbabweans grappling with
soaring inflation.
From April 1, general
practitioners' consultation fees have gone up by 100
percent to 5.8 million
Zimbabwe dollars ($58), the paper said, adding that
specialist physician
fees have also been doubled to 8 million.
Zimbabwe's health sector is
among those hardest hit by a deepening economic
crisis widely blamed on
President Robert Mugabe's mismanagement, and showing
itself in perennial
shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel as well as
constant water and
electricity cuts.
"I do not want to kill the private sector. I want it to
thrive so that it
can complement the public health sector," Herald quoted
Health Minister
David Parirenyatwa as saying in justifying the price
hike.
It follows a raft of basic commodity price hikes over the weekend
in
response to a sharp jump in inflation, now the highest in the
world.
Parirenyatwa was not immediately available for
comment.
Official figures released last week showed inflation vaulted to
913.6
percent in the year to March, triggering a 60 percent jump in the cost
of
bread for struggling urban dwellers whose salaries have failed to keep up
with soaring costs.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says an average
family of five requires at
least 35 million Zimbabwe dollars every month but
an average middle class
citizen earns just 15 million.
Political and
economic analysts say many urban Zimbabweans have so far
survived the
country's long-running economic crisis through wheeling and
dealing and
through subsidies from relatives abroad who send money for
groceries.
Private hospitals and doctors, who still offer far better
service than the
country's run-down government hospitals which are
chronically short of drugs
and trained staff, had wanted to hike fees by up
to 240 percent.
Government doctors and nurses have staged a number of
strikes over the last
seven years to press for better pay, while thousands
others have moved to
neighboring countries and further abroad in search of
greener pastures.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in
1980, rejects charges he
has misruled Zimbabwe and blames its economic woes
largely on sabotage by
his opponents in retaliation for controversial land
reforms that has seen
white-owned farmland forcibly redistributed among
blacks.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
HEALTH for
all by the year 2000 was one of the most prominent of
slogans during the
ruling Zanu PF's hey days of office. But the year 2000
marked the beginning
of the country's worst political and economic crisis
and millions in the
country no longer have access to health facilities.
Consultation fees and
the cost of medication continue to skyrocket as like
all the other things in
the country, the health delivery system continues to
crumble.
Today
was World Health Day and the day was marked under the theme
"Working
Together For Health" but many Zimbabweans have nothing to
celebrate. The
Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)
marked the day
registering its concerns for health rights in Zimbabwe.
"This year's
theme focuses on health workers and the essential
contribution they make
to
strong, functioning health systems. We recognize that realization of
the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
remains a
daily struggle for all health workers in Zimbabwe," the ZADHR said
today.
The country's health delivery sector is presently in a state of
crisis
with hospitals and clinics countrywide barely functioning due to a
lack of
sufficient nurses and doctors. Operations at referral hospitals in
Bulawayo
and Harare have been severely compromised
with many
district and mission hospitals threatened with closure. Some
district
hospitals are operating without medical officers as a result of the
continued massive exodus of qualified health workers.
"The failure
to retain health workers results from many factors,
amongst them
poor remuneration and lack of basic medical equipment necessary for
health
workers to satisfactorily carry out their work," the doctors
association
said.
The ZADHR also notes with concern the state of the country's main
referral hospital, Harare Central Hospital. The hospital is currently
operating with inadequate medical officers, indefinite closure of certain
wards including the intensive care unit (ICU) and break down of equipment
such as lavatories and elevators being among many other ills facing the
hospital. Harare hospital also has insufficient teaching staff for
undergraduate and graduate students.
"The right to health cannot be
realized without well trained health
workers. We maintain that the economic
challenges prevailing in Zimbabwe do
not justify government's failure to
promote and protect the right to
health," ZADHR said. "Striving to achieve,
at the very least, minimum
standards for health, is the basis of ending
deprivation and inequality in
access to health."
Inadequate
investment in the public health service continues to cause
severe shortages
of staff, supplies and equipment, resulting in unnecessary
deaths and
patient suffering.
Solutions do exist to Zimbabwe's health crisis,
the doctors'
association said. The Government should take the lead in
halting further
deterioration of the Zimbabwean health sector. The
association says the
Ministry of Finance must ensure that health is made a
priority in allocation
of resources by Government with a national public
health strategy and plan
of action being developed to address the current
crisis and lead to
protection and promotion of health rights;
The
association is also calling for the development of effective
measures to
prevent, treat and control epidemic and endemic diseases. With
respect to
Harare Central Hospital, ostensible commitment by the Minister of
Health and
Child Welfare to addressing the crisis prevailing at the hospital
must
translate into effective action. The association says there is also
major
need for more dedication of resources to improving salaries and
working
conditions of health workers.
Zimbabwe Standard
(Harare)
April 10, 2006
Posted to the web April 10, 2006
Our
Staff
COMMISSIONERS running Harare city are now courting the business
community to
repair roads and street lights in the city, The Standard has
learnt.
Officials at Town House are busy working out incentives for
companies
prepared to take up duties traditionally reserved for the local
authority.
A full council meeting on Thursday tasked the City's
Department of Works to
come up with the policy on the Prevention of Inner
City Decay that would
give incentives to the business community prepared to
bail out the local
authority.
According to the minutes, officials
suggested that rates could be reduced
for organisations prepared to maintain
certain roads and streetlights within
the vicinity.
"The committee
felt there was need to make the Central Business District a
more attractive
environment for those who work in and enter it to buy
services and goods and
implored council and all stakeholders to rehabilitate
the centre into a
safe, clean, comfortable and beautiful place," reads part
of the
minutes.
An internal city health department report warned that Harare was
fast
degenerating into a "fly and rodent city" as a result of garbage that
goes
uncollected for months .
The Herald
(Harare)
COLUMN
April 11, 2006
Posted to the web April 11,
2006
Jeffrey Gogo
Harare
ECONOMISTS say the absence of
effective measures to combat inflationary
pressures could deal Zimbabwe's
inflation battle a body blow, at least until
the beginning of the third
quarter.
Although the food situation is projected to improve this year on
the back of
a good agriculture season, economists believe inflation-fighting
policies
have been half-baked, and might fail to contain inflation. A recent
economic
report by a Harare financial firm noted: "The outlook for inflation
remains
grim in the absence of any effective measures in place to curb
inflationary
pressures. "In fact, recent policies announced such as the
gazetting of 1
500 percent increase in the maize producer price, as well as
subsidised
tobacco price will only serve to stoke inflation.
"To
compound the situation, the aggressive mopping-up campaign instituted by
the
Reserve Bank will have negative connotations on money supply growth
which is
now entirely emanating from the public sector." Over the last two
months,
the central bank has been issuing short-term Treasury bills to wipe
out
excess liquidity in the market, and the strategy appears to have worked,
as
the market has persisted in the de ficit.
But worrying March inflation
figures have sparked new calls from analysts
for the apex bank to tighten
its inflation-fighting policies, as the scourge
is threatening to get out of
hand. The Central Statistical Office reported
last Friday that yearly
inflation for March had climbed to 913 percent from
782 percent with the
monthly rate coming down to 19,8 percent from 27,5
percent.
However,
the CSO did not give reasons for the slowdown in the month-on-month
figure.
Some economists have predicted that inflation could peak at around 1
100
mid-year before coming off to levels just under 450 percent by year-end.
Analysts say the country might have experienced an above normal rainy
season -- implying a bumper harvest -- but production was severely
constrained by inadequate preparations, and unavailability of critical
inputs such as fertilizer.
"Prospects for a meaningful recovery in
the local economy during 2006 remain
elusive with agriculture and
manufacturing yet to respon d positively to the
policy initiatives aimed at
reviving the sectors," says another economic
report by Interfin Securities.
"Inflation is certain to break the four-digit
mark in the second quarter as
resurgent pressures continue unabated.
"While there might be a seeming
improvement in maize availability during the
harvest season followed by
temporary price stability, the projected deficit
suggests that there will be
continued cost-push inflation pressure arising
from food requirements beyond
the second quarter." Among the challenges
affecting the economy are high
inflation, shrinking gross domestic product,
decline in the real value of
the local currency and high unemployment.
Of late, the country has been
subjected to a spate of massive price hikes,
salary adjustments and tariff
increases coupled with critical foreign
currency shortages that feed heavily
into inflation. It is against this
backdrop that economic experts believe
Zimbabwe is faced with a Herculean
task in its fight against
inflation.
The key to reining in CPI inflation lies in prudent exchange
rate management
and putting a lid on speculative demand, analysts say.
Monetary control has
also remained below desired levels with expansionary
policies still arising
from the need to fund the country's agricultural
sector. This is despite new
targets set by the central bank to slow down the
rate of money supply growth
to levels in line with inflation expectations.
Some economists have urged
monetary authorities to adopt stricter policies
to guard against further
increases in inflation.
April 11, 2006, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 23
seconds ago.
By Tagu Mkwenyani
Harare (AND) WORKERS of
Zimbabwe's power utility company down tools in
what may paralyse supplies in
a country already experiencing frequent power
cuts.
WORKERS of
Zimbabwe's power utility company are on strike. There are
fears that the
industrial action by Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
(Zesa) workers
may disrupt power supplies in the country, already reeling
from power
outages.
The workers went on collective job action Friday saying
the power
utility had reneged on earlier agreements to effect salary
increments as per
an earlier agreement. On March 3 2006, the workers
represented by their
unions, the Zimbabwe Electricity and Energy Workers
Union (ZEEWU), Zimbabwe
Electricity Power Industry Workers Union (ZEPIWU)
and the Zimbabwe Technical
Employees Association (ZTEA) had agreed on a 100%
salary increase with
management.
This was effective from 1 January
and the same percentage hike
beginning April. The salary increments were for
Grades A1 to D2 but ZESA
management refused to implement the agreement on
the basis that it was
facing serious cash flow problems. This prompted the
workers to down their
tools on Friday.
Ian Munjoma, EEWU secretary
general confirmed the on-going strike.
Zesa management could not be reached
for comment as they were reported to be
in a series of
meetings.
Harare (AND)
At the request of the Zimbabwe Association, the ZimbabweVigil is sending out the following Press about the ruling on Zimbabwean Asylum Seekers at the Royal Courts of Justice tomorrow.
Vigil co-ordinator
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
PRESS RELEASE -
From: Zimbabwe Association (ZA), a support group for Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugees in the UK
COURT OF APPEAL RULING ON
ZIMBABWEAN ASYLUM SEEKERS
Date and Time:
Place: Court 71, Royal Courts of Justice,
The
On
The Home Office is appealing the
decision in October 2005 on the Country Guidance Case AA which found that it was
not safe to forcibly remove Zimbabwean asylum seekers from the
The ZA believes that it is NOT SAFE to
return asylum seekers to
The
The situation in
A further deterioration in the situation
is shown in Operation Taguta/Sisuthi (Eat Well) Report from the Solidarity Peace
Trust, April 2006, stating how the army now controls production of food in rural
If we cannot help people within
Media Enquiries: Sarah Harland (ZA coordinator) 07985037198, Yvonne Mahlunge (legal issues) 07984645994, Patson Muzuwa (ZA convenor) 07951725758