http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:23
BY
NQABA MATSHAZI
WITH President Robert Mugabe incessantly declaring that he
wants an election
this year, analysts say Zimbabweans may find themselves
between a rock and a
hard place.
The GPA has, no doubt, provided
some form of stability, despite
pronouncements by political leaders,
particularly, Zanu PF, that it had
failed.
And the fear among many is
damned if Mugabe wins, damned if he loses!
Fears are that if
Mugabe wins an election, contentious programmes such
indigenisation, may be
accelerated, much to the detriment of the country’s
fragile
economy.
Coupled with that, Mugabe has made no secret of his wish to
see the return
of the much-reviled Zimbabwe dollar, and this has raised the
spectre of the
economic collapse that climaxed in 2008.
On the
other hand, if Mugabe loses the election, it is feared that a reign
of
terror, reminiscent of 2008, may be unleashed.
Zanu PF is
increasingly making it obvious that it wants Mugabe to be the
life-president
and it is highly unlikely that in the event that he loses an
election, the
party will just roll over and accept an electoral loss.
The president
has repeatedly said that he was fighting neo-imperialism and
he “will not go
until all the power to manage industries and the mines is in
the hands of
the people of Zimbabwe.”
This means he would not countenance the idea
of losing an election and has,
in the past, also likened an MDC-T victory to
a reversal of the gains of the
liberation struggle.
“We are not
going to give up our country for a mere X on a ballot. How can a
ballpoint
pen fight with a gun?” Mugabe declared in 2008, meaning he would
not be
ready to go.
This, coupled with Mugabe’s advanced age and rumours
about his ill health,
raises so many contradictions on the country’s
future.
“Without a doubt, if Mugabe wins the next elections it will
be a waste of
national resources,” Charles Mangongera, a political analyst,
said in
reference to the possibility that, if Mugabe won, another election
would be
on the horizon soon, to the detriment of the economy.
“I
know that the longevity of his life is a matter between Mugabe and his
God
but I think we cannot expect him to effectively perform his presidential
functions for another five or six years.”
The political analyst
said the country’s future lay squarely on Mugabe and
Zanu PF’s shoulders and
what reforms they agreed to ahead of elections.
“It depends on whether
Muga-be chooses wise or foolish counsel after the
next election,” he added.
“Ultimately the decision lies with the hardline
cabal that surrounds him and
that includes some in the security apparatus of
the
state.”
Mangongera said of late Muga-be had been speaking about peace
and
reconciliation meaning he could be trying to retain his legacy, but a
lot
rode on the decisions his party makes.
“I do not think that,
in the unlikely event that he wins the next election,
Mugabe would
countenance full scale indigenisation and a return to the
Zimbabwe dollar.
These are just campaign issues that will die down once the
electoral dust
has settled,” Mangongera said.
Mugabe fixated with legacy issues,
says Maisiri
Trevor Maisiri, a senior analyst for southern Africa
at the International
Crisis Group said Mugabe might have become fixated with
his legacy, which he
wanted to redeem.
“He wants a legacy; he
wants to also avoid causing protests by failure to
deliver a better
socio-economic life for the people,” he said. “If he wins
the next election
I am sure he will then work on succession issues in his
party and hand over
power to a party member.”
Maisiri conceded that some Zanu PF members
may try to resist if Mugabe lost,
but was of the view that this would be
nothing but a token resistance, which
would die away.
The South
African-based analyst said with the peaceful change of power in
Senegal,
Zambia and Malawi, the world, Sadc and the African Union were
watching and
Zanu PF would be careful in the way it organised the next
polls.
Dumisani Nkomo, a political analyst, said it would be
catastrophic if Mugabe
were to win the next election.
“If Mugabe
wins it will be a huge disaster. Actually a catastrophe. The
Zimbabwe dollar
may return because it makes it easier for Zanu PF bigwigs to
benefit from
parallel markets and printing of money,” he said.
He also agreed that
Mugabe could use this next election as a means to
restore his legacy and
what was missing were guarantees that if he lost
elections he may not be
criminally liable for violations that occurred
during his
reign.
The three analysts concurred that the indigenisation policy
was a populist
mantra, which the veteran ruler could ditch if he won an
election.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:17
BY NUNURAI
JENA
THE gold rush that rocked Chinhoyi a few weeks ago has turned
ugly with
police officers and top Zanu PF officials at each other’s throats
over
mining rights at Heinz farm just outside the Mashonaland West
capital.
Thousands of villagers and Chinhoyi residents recently
descended on the farm
following the discovery of gold, but were driven off
by riot police.
Soldiers and police officers also joined the gold rush and a
number of them
were arrested after they were caught illegally panning for
the precious
mineral.
Police sources in Chinhoyi told The
Standard that former Zanu PF MP, Idah
Mashonganyika, had allegedly enlisted
the support of Senate president Edna
Madzongwe in a bid to block rival
group, Muduma Mining Syndicate, formed by
senior police officers in the
province.
They said Mashonganyika had used the police to force Muduma
Syndicate to
cease operations in the disputed area.
But
Mashonganyika was allegedly allowed to continue mining at the farm
which,
ironically, was allocated to a senior Chinhoyi police officer after
it was
forcibly acquired from Gerry Heinz several years ago under the
government’s
land reform programme.
The sources said some of the officers involved
in the mining venture were
said to have been transferred to as far as
Beitbridge and Victoria Falls.
Mashonganyika insisted that she was
the rightful owner of the mining claim
at Heinz farm, claiming that she had
documents from the mining commissioner
to prove that.
“We went to
the police who requested others to produce their papers but
no-one came,”
she said. “So we were given the green light by the police to
operate.”
A member of the Muduma Mining Syndicate, who spoke on
condition of anonymity
for fear of victimisation, disputed Mashonganyika’s
claim saying the
consortium of police officers had been holding the rights
to mine in the
area since 2010, while the former MP allegedly applied for a
licence only
this year.
Madzongwe also distanced herself from the
saga, suggesting that certain
people could be using her name to “frighten”
competitors.
“I don’t know anything about the mining issue in Chinhoyi,” she
said. “I am
hearing it from you for the first time. Maybe my name was used
to scare
other contestants in the dispute.”
Mashonaland West
police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara was
singing a different
tune insisting that the police had stopped all
operations at the
mine.
“We stopped all operations at the mine site because we want to
verify the
legal owner of the claim,” he said.
Sources at the
ministry of mines accused politicians of using their
influence to bulldoze
their way into mining claims already given to other
people. They also blamed
the mining commissioner of allocating one claim to
several people thereby
causing confusion.
Mashonaland West mining commissioner, a Chihota,
referred questions to chief
mining commissioner, a Mabhena, who could not
be reached for comment.
“I cannot comment now because we are looking
into the issue. You can however
talk to the chief mining commissioner to get
more details,” he said.
Delays in the issuing of licences and double
allocation of mining rights
have resulted in unresolved claims disputes,
sparking fierce fights between
prospective owners.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 16:58
BY CLAYTON
MASEKESA
MUTARE — Zanu (PF) supporters resettled as A1 farmers in Vumba and
Burma
Valley areas have been accused of destroying the scenic Eastern
Highlands by
indiscriminately cutting down indigenous and exotic trees and
wanton hunting
of wild animals.
Owners of private properties and A2
farmers in the tourist resort area said
A1 farmers, the majority of whom are
war veterans, were illegally hunting
wild animals and destroying the
unique forests in the area.
Operators of tourism facilities said the
area, which is renowned for its
beautiful scenery and forests, was fast
losing its value.
John Maengamhuru who grows flowers and operates an
indigenous tree sanctuary
said the destruction of natural environment had
been worsened by people who
invaded areas that were not suitable for
habitation.
The illegal settlers are allegedly farming on mountain
slopes, water
channels and along riverbeds, thus speeding land degradation
which is
threatening productive farming in the area.
This has
also worsened the siltation of the two major rivers, Nyamakari and
Nyamataka
whose water is harnessed to irrigate the rich loam soils in the
area, once a
major force to reckon with in horticultural production.
One
horticulturalist Admire Mazaretu said one of the two sources of
Nyamakari
River, which is begins from Bedza Mountain, was already severely
silted as
the illegal farmers, who are said to be backed by senior Zanu (PF)
officials
in the province, were cultivating on the mountain slopes.
“Efforts to
have the illegal settlers removed seem to be hitting a brick
wall as we now
fully understand that there are political forces behind
this,” said
Mazaretu.
Tourism players and farmers in the area said it was now
imperative that the
responsible authorities join hands with
conservationists to address the
situation.
“If the practice is
left to continue for two seasons or more, Vumba and
other areas like Burma
Valley risk turning into a desert and farming
infrastructures maybe
destroyed,” said Peter Magosvongwe a local strawberry
farmer.
EMA steps in to stop the rot
The
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) provincial environmental officer,
Kingston Chitotombe said efforts were being made to engage all stakeholders
in order to rectify the situation.
He said the agency was working
with various stakeholders including the
local government, police and other
relevant key ministries.
“We held a meeting with these stakeholders
together with the farmers last
month and explained to them the implications
of cultivating on mountain
slopes, water channels and cutting down trees,
which speeds-up land
degradation that would threaten productive farming,”
said Chitotombe.
He said illegal settlers have been given a deadline
to vacate the area,
failure to which they would be forcibly
removed.
“The resettled farmers have agreed to vacate the area soon
after they
harvest their crops. Failure to do that we will have to act
through the
courts,” said Chitotombe.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:22
THE family of
Brown Mwale, the senior Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) officer who
was murdered in Glen Norah two weeks ago, has said the
deceased was not
related to Joseph Mwale, a fellow operative who is wanted
for allegedly
murdering two opposition activists 12 years ago.
Brown was murdered in the
early hours of Independence Day over a
misunderstanding involving the
payment of a taxi fare.
Two soldiers, Blessing Nyakwina, Nkuzimulo
Nkomo and their two accomplices,
Damascus Tafa and Vitalis Nyakwina, a
pirate taxi driver, last week appeared
before Harare Magistrate Anita Tshuma
on murder charges and were remanded in
custody to May 11.
Brother
of the deceased, Fungai said apart from the fact that they shared
the same
surname, the family was not related to Joseph. He said although
Brown worked
in the same organisation with Joseph, the two never met or
communicated.
Joseph is believed to be based in Manicaland where
he was recently part of
the security team accompanying Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai during a
visit to the diamond fields of Chiadzwa. Joseph
has not been prosecuted
despite being accused of having petrol-bombed a
vehicle driven by Tichaona
Chiminya and Talent Mabika while they were
campaigning for Tsvangirai in
Buhera in the run up to the 2000
elections.
Fungai said although his brother worked for the CIO, he
was not associated
with violence or intimidation and was “popular” in
Harare’s western suburbs
where he used to socialise with many people at
different drinking holes.
“Brown is somebody we were proud of
regardless of the perception associated
with his job,” he said. “Our family
has lost a pillar of strength and
breadwinner for his wife and four kids.”—
By Our Staff
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:25
BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
ZIMBABWEAN journalists will this week commemorate World Press
Freedom Day
amid renewed calls to implement meaningful media reforms and end
the
continued harassment and threats against media practitioners, whose work
continues to be curtailed by repressive laws.
Media practitioners believe
the inclusive government has adopted a piecemeal
approach to implementing
promised sweeping reforms in accordance with
Article 19 of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)
Zimbabwe national director,
Nhlanhla Ngwenya acknowledged some positive
developments had taken place
since the inauguration of the coalition
government over three years ago.
These include the registration of
more than 30 publications including
NewsDay and the controversial licensing
of two commercial radio stations,
Zimpapers Talk Radio and Supa
Mandiwanzira’s ZI FM.
“But these developments should not be used to
gloss over the infrastructure
of media repression that continues to pause
threats to the very
sustainability of the newly licenced media and impede on
citizens’ civil
liberties,” he said.
Ngwenya said the same legal
instruments that were used to erode the media
space and citizens’ right to
freedom of expression could still be used to
silence new platforms of
communication.
He said instead of holistically addressing issues
affecting the media as per
the instruction of government principals, the
relevant ministry of media,
information and publicity has either openly
defied its superiors and
defended the perpetuation of the status quo or
superintended over the
superficial reforms that have been
implemented.
“Resultantly, an illegal Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe board has been
allowed to controversially issue licences to
companies viewed as Zanu PF
allies at the expense of those perceived to be
genuinely independent
aspiring broadcasters,” he said.
A number
of media practitioners have been arrested in the past months, with
journalists from The Standard bearing the full brunt of an assault on media
freedoms.
These include editor, Nevanji Madanhire and reporters,
Nqaba Matshazi and
Nqobani Ndlovu, who were last year arrested on criminal
defamation charges.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:18
LESLEY
WURAYAYI
Prospects of Zimbabwe’s economic recovery will remain shaky until
the
country’s political situation stabilises, a prominent South
African-based
human rights activist, Eleanor Sisulu has said.
Delivering
an inaugural Hope/Fay lecture series hosted by the Women’s
University in
Africa (WUA) on Friday, Sisulu who has worked closely with the
Crisis
Coalition in Zimbabwe, said the violent land reform programme was
gratuitous
and impacted negatively on women refugees in South Africa.
“As for
the economic development of Zimbabwe, it is unpredictable. It might
go very
bad or get better and I hope it won’t turnout for the worst,” she
said.
“And I commend the country for its agricultural production,
though it has
been immensely affected by HIV prevalence that has caused
incalculable
destruction in southern Africa, thereby destroying capacity to
produce food
for the people.”
The lecture series, which is a
partnership between Women’s University in
Africa and the United States
embassy, seeks to address critical issues
affecting women and transforming
their lives around Africa.
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray,
said he was proud to be part of the
initiative that would see women and
girls being transformed for the better.
“Women and girls, not only in
Zimbabwe but in Africa, deserve more than what
they are getting out of life
and this initiative seeks to improve the lives
of women, which will lead to
greater economic growth,” he said.
This year marks the 10th
anniversary of the WUA and these lectures are
designed to empower and
inspire more women in all spheres of life.
The university’s vice
chancellor, Hope Sadza, said WUA has come a long way
to what it was
today.
“For women, the issue of hunger is critical, as the woman has
to contend
with those issues in the home,” she said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:19
BY
NQOBANI NDLOVU
BULAWAYO — A local civic group, Bulawayo Agenda, has unveiled
a devolution
framework it wants adopted by political parties during the
ongoing
constitution making process.
Under Bulawayo Agenda’s devolution
framework, there would be a provincial
assembly, governor, auditor, police
commissioner and a public service
commission with legislative powers to run
the affairs of a province.
The central government would remain with
powers to oversee the country’s
national affairs, mainly the national
budget, army and foreign affairs,
according to the group’s
framework.
Groups calling for devolution have said the system of
governance would
remove bottlenecks and red-tape created by the current
centralist governance
system, politically and economically while empowering
Zimbabweans
regionally.
However, there has been no framework
offered by civic groups, political
parties and regions campaigning for
devolution, detailing how it would be
implemented if
adopted.
According to the Bulawayo Agenda document, each province
would be run by a
provincial government, also known as the provincial
assembly, headed by a
governor.
The document says members of the
provincial assembly would be elected to
represent constituencies within
their province, with other members elected
in terms of a system of
proportional representation.
“An Act of Parliament must provide for
an equitable formula, determining the
exact number of seats of each
provincial assembly, the equitable formula for
allocating the seats of
members and the form of proportional representation
to be adopted,” Bulawayo
Agenda said in its devolution document.
Bulawayo Agenda says a constitutional
court will have to be set up “to
determine and resolve any dispute between a
provincial assembly and
Parliament over the exercise of
power.”
The civic group also proposes the setting up of a provincial
revenue fund,
the appointment of an auditor and attorney. But the attorney
and auditor can
be voted out of office by the provincial
assembly.
“There will be a provincial attorney, who will be appointed
by the governor
on the recommendations of the provincial assembly by a
resolution supported
by a majority of its members,” the document
reads.
A provincial public service commission will oversee the
employment of
qualified “persons” into the government.
The
document also proposes the setting up of a provincial police department
with
no more than 50 members and headed by a provincial police
commissioner.
While calls for devolution have heightened, President
Robert Mugabe and
Zanu-PF hardliners have dismissed it as
divisive.
Framework empowers provincial assembly to enact
laws
The proposed Bulawayo Agenda document says the provincial
assembly will have
legislative powers to enact provincial laws “through the
passing of a Bill
by a simple majority”.
The provincial assembly
will have powers to pass legislation on provincial
planning, tourism, public
transport, environmental management, housing,
finance and taxation,
education, human and animal health, rural development,
shop and liquor
licensing, roads, water management and other matters not in
the exclusive
jurisdiction of the national government.
However, all legislative
authority will be vested in the governor, with
Parliament of Zimbabwe also
having powers over the provincial assembly.
Parliament can also nullify an
act passed by provincial assembly “if that
legislation is prejudicial to the
economic or security interests of another
province or the Republic of
Zimbabwe as a whole or is grossly unreasonably.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:10
By
Simbarashe Majamanda
AS a movement that seeks to address problems that
residents face in
interacting with service providers and elected
councillors, the Harare
Residents Trust (HRT) is concerned by shocking
housing developments in
Mabvuku.
Residents in this community have always
been on the record for raising
concerns with council over the archaic
billing system, unaffordability of
council rates and lack of community
service while council was billing them.
It is astonishing that after
engaging the City Treasury Department, based at
Rowan Martin Offices, on the
issue of debts that residents are drowned in,
there are reports that
officials from the messengers’ court have started
attaching properties from
households in Mabvuku.
The Town Clerk of Harare City council, Tendai
Mahachi, mayor Muchadeyi
Masunda and the city treasurer, Misheck Mubvumbi,
have stated that it is
false that council is attaching residents’ properties
over outstanding
debts.
However, from information received by the
HRT, Masunda and the Deputy
Minister of Local Government, Sesel Zvidzai,
visited some households which
were reported to have lost properties to some
debt collectors last week.
The findings of this team have not been clearly
publicised.
Concurrently, there is also an organisation named Welfare
Trust going around
in the communities claiming that if residents pay US$20
to them outside the
US$1 as membership fees at the District Offices and
other council premises,
the organisation will be able to negotiate slashing
of their debts.
Residents of Harare are urged to desist from becoming
part of such
arrangements and instead resist attachment of properties by
council.
The Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural
Development, Ignatius
Chombo, has also remained silent on this issue instead
of taking lead to
adress the problem.
an urgent response from his
office is required as well. If council is not
attaching properties, then
criminals are robbing residents in the
communities.
It then becomes
necessary to deploy municipal police officers in the
identified communities
to deal with this situation.
What is also surprising and may serve as
testimony to the fact that council
is attaching residents’ properties, is
that debt collectors are visiting
specific households which have council
debts.
So if they are not being sent by council, how could they be so
accurate?
Residents losing property to
council
Information received by the HRT on February 20 this year
from the Deputy
Mayor of Harare, councillor Emmanuel Chiroto (Ward 42
Hatcliffe), also
revealed that the City Treasury Department had attached
residents’
properties in some suburbs.
He said that officials
from the credit control section at Cleveland House
had sent messengers of
court to attach properties over outstanding debts
without the approval of
the City Treasurer. He said an order had been given
that the properties be
returned, but there has been no compliance to this
effect.
The
HRT also visited three households on February 26 following reports that
residents had their properties attached. HRT officers realised that the
community was gripped with fear.
After clarifying the purpose of
the visit, residents felt they could
confide in the HRT officers and
indicated that debt collectors were
patrolling the community on a daily
basis, telling residents with
outstanding debts that they would lose their
properties soon.
A visit to Mabvuku District Office on February 22,
where interviews with
officers were held, revealed that residents had their
properties attached
due to default judgements in court.
This is
in conflict with what the City Treasury management and council
management
officials had initially said.
On February 17, the HRT team discovered
the following at the following
households:
l At Number 43 Mazari
Street Mabvuku, residents had an outstanding debt of
US$1 606,63. They lost
a four-piece black lounge suit and an upright Defy
refrigerator.
l at number 16 Kurudzi Mabvuku, where there is a
debt of US$724, they lost
four kitchen chairs, one table, one Phillips
television set, a DVD player,
three piece kitchen unit and a Defy fridge
upright.
l at another house at which the resident preferred to be
anonymous, there
is a debt of US$1 001 and they lost an upright fridge, a
Philips television
set, DVD player, radio, a microwave and
sofas.
Simbarashe Majamanda is a HRT membership
officer
Residents must settle bills: Gwindi
Lesley
Gwindi, Harare City public relations manager, said reports that the
council
was attaching houses for non-payment of bills were not new.
“We have
said people should pay and they continue defaulting. How do they
expect us
to be able to provide service if they are not paying? How do they
propose to
settle the bills?” said Gwindi.
“There is nothing like a free lunch,
there is a cost to everything, people
should settle their
bills”.
“All this talk about lack of service in Mabvuku is a lie. We
prioritise
Mabvuku and I am with the councillor at the Zimbabwe
International Trade
Fair and he is not complaining”.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012 17:07
BY LESLEY
WURAYAYI
FOR Dambudzo (46), a widow and member of the Johanne Marange
Apostolic sect,
HIV and Aids are a result of sin. She abhors the use of
modern health care
facilities.
All her eight children have never been
immunised due to her religious views.
Dambudzo is oblivious to the fact that
in Zimbabwe, the under-five mortality
rate has, over the past few years,
risen from 77 to 100 per 1 000 live
births due to a number of factors, among
them lack of immunisation.
She and others members of her religious
sect believe that if a child gets
diseases such as measles, the best
treatment was for the parents to abstain
from sex during the
illness.
Dambudzo, whose late husband was in a polygamous
relationship, said if the
other wives continued to indulge in sex, the child
would continue to be
sick.
“If you take your child to the clinic, the
Holy Spirit will find out and the
prophets will know and you won’t enter the
gates at church,” she said. “You
are therefore supposed to confess and
repent and then be cleansed before you
are accepted back in
church.”
The sect, which believes in polygamy, claims that HIV which
causes Aids does
not exist among the righteous and dedicated members of the
church.
Ignoring the fact that the practice of polygamy and wife inheritance
can
spread the virus, their line of defence is that “mweya” (holy spirit)
can
detect one’s HIV status.
The ultra-conservative gro-ups
Johanne Marange, Johanne Masowe and Madhidha,
all view death as the will of
the “Holy Spirit” even if the cause of death
was some ailment that could be
treated.
These groups experience higher levels of maternal and
infant mortality and
morbidity compared to other religions.
The
Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey held a few years ago noted that
poor
health outcomes among apostolic women and children were linked to low
or
poor utilisation of modern maternal and child health care by its
members.
Manicaland has the highest child mortality in the country as
it is the home
of most members of the apostolic sect.
World
Health Organisation representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said in 2010
they
convinced some conservative members in the province to get their
children
immunised to reduce the high child mortality rates in the area.
“It
was a struggle to convince them to get their children immunised.
Religion is
passed from generation to generation so it is hard to fully
convert them to
subscribe to modern health care facilities,” she said.
Prayers
more powerful
A recent study by the Collaborating Centre for
Operational Research
Evaluation (Ccore) and United Nations Children’s Fund
(Unicef) revealed
that the spiritualisation of illness and diseases made
the apostolic sect
members reject modern health facilities since they
perceived these to be of
no benefit to the matters of the
spirit.
“We weigh and consider which is more powerful; prayers or
modern medicines,”
said a 57 year old women member of the church. “That is
why most members of
the apostolic churches would rather use healing sessions
at the church
rather than hospitals.”
Naomi (18) said if members
of the sect fell ill due to “evil spirits” or
other diseases they were not
allowed to seek treatment at modern health
facilities.
“We go to prophets
who will pray for us and give us holy water until we are
cured. Witchcraft
and evil spirits cause these illnesses,” she said.
Unicef
representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Peter Salama said pneumonia and
diarrhoea
were the two biggest killers of children under the age of five in
the
country.
“The introduction of the two life-saving vaccines against
these diseases are
a step towards ensuring child survival,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012
16:54
BY NQOBILE BHEBHE
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says
government is not in a hurry to
privatise loss-making parastatals as this
will expose Zimbabweans to
exorbitant utility rates.
Addressing
an International Business Conference in Bulawayo, which ran
concurrently
with the just ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF),
Tsvangirai
said there was a general misconception about
parastatals.
“There are those parastatals that are of a
social nature, those that provide
services such as electricity and water,”
he said.
“Those we will continue to protect because they provide an
essential
service. If we privatise them, we would be exposing the people to
exorbitant
rates, so we will continue protecting
them.”
Government has over the years continued to protect water and
electricity
provision arguing that they are strategic sectors, but services
have
continued to deteriorate leading to calls for
privatisation.
As part of measures aimed at improving parastatals’
operational efficiency,
government prioritised the privatisation and
commercialisation of 10
entities in 2010.
However, State
Enterprises and Parastatals minister, Gorden Moyo, has
previously blamed
line ministries and management for lack of commitment
towards completing the
restructuring process.
Critics say most of Zimbabwe’s parastatals
have been ruined by poorly
qualified managers, many aligned to Zanu PF, who
were put in charge of the
government-controlled firms because of their
political connections rather
than technical expertise.
Zimbabwe
has 78 parastatals, which at full capacity can contribute 40%
towards the
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Yes, there are those
parastatals that need to be privatised because the
government does not need
to be in business. Business should be business.
Why should the
government be in manufacturing? Therefore, those parastatals
that are in
manufacturing should be privatised,” said Tsvangirai.
Parastatals
have continued to be dogged by challenges that include
undercapitalisation,
obsolete infrastructure, low capacity utilisation, lack
of working capital
caused by low debt collection, outstanding long-term
loans, non-compliance,
lack of good corporate governance and the existence
of substantial
inter-parastatal debts.
The premier said government would identify
firms that it could enter
partnerships with.
Suggestions were
made at the conference that all heads of ailing state
enterprises be
fired.
Contributing to the discussion, Deputy Prime minister Arthur
Mutambara told
delegates that in China, parastatal bosses who continued
making losses would
be viewed as economic saboteurs and shot.
“In
China such bosses are treated as economic saboteurs. They are shot dead,
but
we should not do that here,” he said.
The government has lined up 10
firms for privatisation that include the
Grain Marketing Board,
fixed-telephone line operator, TelOne and its sister
cellular company,
NetOne, Cold Storage Company, Allied Timbers, Air Zimbabwe
and Agribank
among others.
Most parastatals’ operations have recently come under
the spotlight, owing
to continued losses incurred despite continued
assistance from fiscal
authorities.
Tsvangirai says farmers need
leases
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai said government should give farmers
leases in order to
facilitate their access to capital.
He said
the new black farmers continued to fail to produce enough to feed
the nation
because of lack of capital, as their land was not “bankable.”
“I
cannot over-emphasise the need for government to move with speed to
restore
the collateral value of land and other commercial assets to leverage
our
natural heritage. One of the reasons our farmers and indigenous
entrepreneurs have not been as successful, is the failure to access the
much-needed capital as land remains a dead asset with huge potential for
financial leverage,” Tsvangirai said.
Government once released
99-year-leases, but these have been criticised as
not being bankable because
of clauses in the offer letters. The 99-year
leases do not give rights to
banks to grab land once the lessee defaults on
loan repayment. Instead, the
minister of lands is the one with powers to
repossess
land.
Agricultural experts have said the lack of secure land tenure
has been a
major disincentive to those who want to invest in agriculture,
saying this
was the reason why much of the once productive land is either
lying idle or
producing very little.
The Commercial Farmers Union
(CFU) has previously stated that agrarian
reforms rendered land dead
capital, as it could no longer be used as
security when applying for loans
for farming activities. — BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012
16:43
BY CLAYTON MASEKESA
FORMAL business investors in Mutare have
complained that they are being
pushed out of business by the informal sector
through competitive threats
posed by cheaper products and services.
The
growth in informal trading was exacerbated by the closure of major
industries and the scaling down of operations by some companies in the
eastern border city during the past few years.
The period from
2007 to 2009 saw major companies that include, Mutare Board
and Paper Mills
(MBPM), ZimBoard and Plate Glass (PG), among others, closing
down. The
remaining companies like Tanganda Holdings, Cairns Foods, Wattle
Company and
Border Timbers scaled down their operations, resulting in more
employees
losing their jobs, the majority of whom, have now entered into
informal
trading.
In an interview with The Standard last week, a Mutare shop
owner, Shaquil
Ahmed said: “I understand that there are no jobs, but now
almost everyone is
involved in the informal business. We have been pushed
out of business, as
some of the informal traders are selling wares that I
also sell, just in
front of my shop.”
There has been an influx of
informal traders, who are selling their products
on shop pavements. People
have also been witnessing a huge rise of “mobile”
restaurants, which thrive
on door-to-door delivery of food .
A restaurant operator, Farai
Zinyemba, accused unregistered food operators
of creating disorder in the
fast-foods sector.
“Informal traders are selling food openly in the
streets and there are too
many backyard restaurants. Others are even going
door- to-door selling food
in lunch boxes,” he said.
Zinyemba
urged city fathers and the police to address the situation before
more
registered operators are pushed out of business. But some informal
traders
said they were only providing competition to the registered
operators, whose
goods and services were highly overpriced.
City of Mutare Town Clerk,
Obert Muzawazi, said council was also concerned
by the uncontrolled growth
of the informal sector, which has brought
disorder.
“Yes, I admit
that there have been a rising number of the informal traders
of late and
this has been caused by the closure of companies,” he said.
“We have
seen a situation where shop owners in the formal trade are refusing
to pay
rates, as they say the municipal police should arrest the informal
traders
that are operating in front of shops and pavements. We can work with
the
police, but it has become extremely difficult for us.”
council appeals to
govt for help
Muzawazi said council in Mutare was encouraging the
government to implement
national programmes geared towards economically
empowering informal traders.
“We require government funding to build
market stalls or incubators in the
city and high-density suburbs so that
their business becomes formal,” he
said.
Muzawazi said council
had allocated land to some businesses to start major
projects, but due to
corruption and political interference, these have
failed to
kick-off.
He said the government should speed up efforts to fund
small to medium
enterprise activities in the city in order to give birth to
a strong
economic base that can sustain the city and the country at
large.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 28 April 2012
16:41
BY SILAS NKALA
VICTORIA FALLS — OVER 100 workers employed by the
Rainbow Tourism Group
(RTG) at its Matetsi Water and Chikumi lodges in the
resort town of Victoria
Falls, say they have gone for four months without
being paid their salaries
as the group is currently in the process of
disposing of its facilities.
Last month, outgoing Chief Executive Officer,
Chipo Mtasa, told an analyst’s
briefing that the group will exit its
loss-making tour operations in order
to concentrate on the core hotel
business.
Touch the Wild Lodges, Tourism Services Zimbabwe and
Matetsi Water Lodge are
among six operations earmarked for disposal in a
development expected to
raise US$2,5 million for the group. Disgruntled
workers last week said they
were last paid in December, complaining that
they were now failing to pay
school fees for their children, as well as
water and electricity bills.
They said electricity and water at the
lodges had been disconnected due to
non-payment for utility
services.
“We are now drinking unpurified water from Zambezi River,
which is posing a
serious health hazard to us,” said one
worker.
Officials from the hospitality group said RTG owes US$46 000
to the National
Parks and Wild Life Management in outstanding rentals.
“Matetsi Water Lodge
has entered into an agreement with the National Parks
regarding outstanding
rentals and as such, has commenced making the
necessary payments. The lodge
has also engaged Zesa in a bid to come up with
payment plans to settle
outstanding amounts,” said an RTG
official.
RTG Corporate and Communications manager, Eltah Nengomasha,
confirmed that
Matetsi Water and Chikumi Lodges were currently “distressed.”
She could
however not be drawn into giving details about the problem facing
the
facilities.
The performance of Touch the Wild lodges, Tourism
Services Zimbabwe and
Matetsi Water Lodge remained depressed as at the end
of December 2011,
thereby reducing group profits from operations by US$916
741.
Plans to dispose of the loss-making operations were already at
an advanced
stage and the transactions would be concluded by June this
year.
“The Lodges have been facing viability challenges that resulted in
reduced
revenue, making it difficult for the company to pay its employees
timeously,” said an official.
“Plans have been made to pay
workers from cash generated by other operations
while efforts are being made
to rectify the situation as the Group concludes
the disposal of the
lodges.”
RTG is reportedly negotiating for the employees to be taken
aboard by the
new owners. “We have found a buyer who does not want to take
over the
workers and we are still negotiating on that,” said the
source.
Irate workers called for government intervention to assist in
resolving
their problems at the company.