News today is that the SADC Tribunal has been suspended, delaying a decision on Zimbabwe land reform. This via VOA News:
Southern African leaders have put off confronting Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe for his refusal to abide by a regional court's ruling that rejected controversial land reforms in favor of a group of white farmers.
The tribunal of the Southern African Development Community wrapped up a two-day summit in Namibia's capital, Windhoek, Tuesday. It gave itself six months to review the stand-off, effectively delaying any decision until the next summit in 2011.
The SADC tribunal ruled in 2008 that 78 white Zimbabwean farmers could keep their land, saying they were unfairly targeted because of their race. Mr. Mugabe has refused to respect the ruling even though Harare signed the treaty that created the court, which has no power to enforce its decrees except through summit decisions.
More than 4,000 white-owned commercial farms have been seized by supporters of President Mugabe since 2000. The seizures were part of a politically charged land reform program that was supposed to re-allocate the farms to landless blacks.
The president said the program was aimed at correcting colonial-era injustices. However, critics say much of the land was given to ruling party supporters with little farming experience, and that the new farmers were not given the equipment, seeds or fertilizer to keep the farms productive.
Patrick Chinamasa's views on this have been given extensive coverage via The Herald today (state-controlled media):
Speaking to local journalists after the issue was tabled in the summit yesterday, Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the region should accept the fact that a treaty does not come into operation unless ratified.
He said as currently constituted, the tribunal - which was ratified by only five of Sadc's 15 members - was a legal nullity.
To be operational, it needs ratification by 10 member-states.
"The decision of summit is that they approved the recommendation of the ministers of justice that a review be made.
"There was then a discussion if the tribunal should continue entertaining cases.
"The decision which has emanated from summit is that the tribunal should stop entertaining cases until completion of the study when it is hoped that the tribunal will be reconstituted and come up with a new mandate which would clarify its jurisdiction.
"This will also clarify its relationship with domestic courts; its relationship with community law versus domestic law.
"So the tribunal, as decided by summit, will not have power to entertain cases," he said
Some white former commercial farmers took their cases to the tribunal to try and reverse the land reform programme after the State acquired their farms for redistribution to the landless majority.
The tribunal subsequently courted controversy when it passed judgments that contravened Zimbabwe's constitutional position on land reform.
Government made it clear it was not bound by the rulings as the tribunal's constituting treaty had not been ratified by two-thirds of Sadc members as required.
Zimbabwe is one of 10 countries that have not ratified the protocol that seeks to give the tribunal force.
Harare's position was backed at an Extraordinary Sadc Summit in Pretoria, South Africa, in August 2008 where leaders resolved that the tribunal's standing be reviewed.
The review was not forthcoming, forcing summit to re-state its position when it convened in Kinshasa, DRC, last year.
Summit tasked justice ministers and AGs to commission a study on the whole concept and mandate of the tribunal.
The justice ministers resolved to make recommendations to commission the study.
This development created complications on the tribunal's operations since the terms of office of five of the 10 judges had expired while one commissioner resigned.
This left the tribunal with only four substantive judges.
The summit was expected to extend the terms of the five judges whose tenure had expired.
However, regional leaders queried the wisdom of extending their tenure when the tribunal's very legitimacy was in question.
Minister Chinamasa said: "The issue of the five judges still remains. There are four of them (remaining), whether or not they will continue to sit, the decision was that they will not entertain cases.
"We hope that as the Committee of Ministers of Justices and Attorneys-General, when we are carrying out this review, this study, we can include - wherever possible - whoever has served on this shortlived tribunal to put an input into the sort of animal that we want to see for our region."
Minister Chinamasa said Zimbabwe was not opposed to the concept of a tribunal, but simply wanted a properly constituted organ acceptable to all and which would only deal with matters referred by Sadc members.
"We need a tribunal, by whatever name, it is a necessary instrument for our integration but it must be done on a sound footing which recognises negotiations between member countries over those issues member countries want to refer to the tribunal," he said.
He cited the example of possible disagreements over issues like the customs union, the Free Trade Area and a regional currency, which national
courts cannot resolve.
The minister said Zimbabwe would raise concerns with the Sadc secretariat's legal department over the tribunal's operations, which appeared to have been hurriedly constituted as a bloodhound against the revolutionary land reform programme.
''When it (the tribunal) was rushed, almost immediately there were cases against Zimbabwe.
"So it's like the tribunal was rushed and put into operation in order to reverse the land reform programme, but happily it has not succeeded and will not succeed,'' he said.
At the time it began hearing cases on Zimbabwe, the constituting treaty for the tribunal had been ratified by only two member states.
''At the moment it's trying to reverse the decisions of our Supreme Courts, in fact it's purporting to rewrite our constitutions.
"As you know our land reform is constitutional, and our courts have adjudicated over the matter and given the ruling that the land reform is legal, it's constitutional.''
Minister Chinamasa expressed hope that the six-month review, which he pointed out was really inadequate, would result in a properly constituted tribunal that would not overstep its jurisdiction.
''The tribunal should never be the court of first instance . . . the way forward is to clarify issues so that member countries will have confidence in the tribunal,'' he said.
There are also reports that the tribunal has ruffled South African feathers as some citizens of that country are reportedly approaching the body directly while sidestepping national courts.
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/5940
The 30th general summit of SADC has
just been concluded in Windhoek,
Namibia. That meeting was important in
defining key milestones and signposts
to the end-game of the Global
Political Agreement.
It will be recalled that pursuant to the Maputo
troika meeting of 5 November
2009, the negotiators of the political parties
were asked to deal with 27
agenda items of dispute, a task they concluded on
the 3rd of April 2010.
Following this, the principals debated the
negotiators' report on 8 June
2010, and forwarded a report to the SADC
facilitator, President Zuma, on 10
June 2010.
Of note is that of the
27 dispute issues, the principals agreed on 24
leaving outstanding the
deadlocked issues of:
(a) The swearing of Roy Bennett
(b) The
appointment of the Attorney-general, Johannes Tomana
(c) The appointment
of the RBZ governor, Gideon Gono.
Also significant is that on the 4th of
August 2010, the principals agreed on
an implementation matrix on the 24
agreed issues. These include among other
things, the process of the land
audit and security of tenure, the
appointment of the board of the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the
Mass Media Trust, hate speech,
national heroes and issues of external
interference. It will also be
recalled that the facilitation team was
extensively involved in the
negotiation processes with all the political
parties. In the run-up to the
SADC summit, the facilitation team held
meetings with all the principals and
indeed received written submissions
from the same.
On our part, in
addition to the deadlocked issues, we raised concern on the
lack of
implementation of the agreed issues. Further, we raised concern with
the
issue of unilateralism as manifested in the unilateral appointment of
judges
and ambassadors in breach of section 21 of schedule 8 of the
Constitution of
Zimbabwe. Unilateralism was also reflected in the alteration
of ministerial
mandates, particularly that of the Ministry of Information,
Communication
Technology.
Our fourth set of issues related to what we termed "toxic"
issues. These
included the persistent and pernicious hate speech in The
Herald and other
State media, the infamous jingles and the continued
debasement of the office
of the Prime Minister.
Over and above this
was the old issue of provincial governors whose term of
office expired on 31
July 2010. Common to the issues raised by both parties
was the need to
define a clear exit strategy to the inclusive government.
Self evident to
all parties is the fact that the inclusive government is a
transitional
arrangement and therefore it was imperative to define an
orderly process for
exit. In short, an iron-clad roadmap to legitimacy.
These thus are the
issues that were before the summit. The facilitator
presented his
comprehensive report to the Organ Troika on Defence and
Security on 14
August 2010. The facilitator's report and recommendations
were adopted by
the Organ Troika. We are grateful for this.
In broad terms, both parties
accepted that an exit strategy should be based
on:
(a) The completion
of the Constitution-making exercise
(b) The conduction of the
referendum
(c) The holding of an election
From this the following
explicit recommendations were proposed and adopted.
1. The parties,
assisted by the Troika, should discuss the outstanding
matters in keeping
with the decisions of the Maputo Troika summit and
resolve them within one
month as part of a confidence-building measure,
based on appropriate
consultation in keeping with Zimbabwe's law and any
other relevant legal
instrument.
2. The inclusive government and the Zimbabwe political parties
should
find an uninterrupted path towards free and fair elections and the
removal
of impediments as and when they arise.
3. The Troika should
persuade SADC to help Zimbabwe to draw up guidelines
for a free and fair
election where intimidation and violence will not play
any part and where
the result of such elections would be credible.
The facilitator's report
and recommendations were endorsed and accepted by
the full summit and we
express our great appreciation to SADC, its
chairperson President Pohamba
and the outgoing chairperson, President
Kabila.
It is now critical
for flesh to be put into the summit decisions. In our
view, the SADC
decision is an important milestone and its successful
implementation is the
only answer to the successful restoration of
legitimacy to this
country.
However, it will be important for Zimbabweans and indeed the
parties in the
inclusive government to:
(a) Implement the GPA in
general and the 24 items on the implementation
matrix in
particular.
(b) Strengthen JOMIC and indeed the SADC oversight on
compliance.
(c) Deepen the work on national healing
(d) Deepen and
enhance the work on reform and democratization of the
media
(e) Deepen
and consolidate the stabilization, growth and transformation
of the
economy.
(f) Consolidate and deepen democratic reforms, the rule of law
and
strengthening independence of State institutions.
(g) Completion
and deepen electoral reforms and strengthening of
electoral
institutions
(h) Deepening work in the National Security Council and in
particular
dealing with security sector re-alignment.
Once again, we
would like to express our gratitude to the leadership of
SADC, the vision of
the facilitator and the SADC secretariat. The people of
Zimbabwe have long
suffered and quest for real change. The SADC roadmap is
an excellent
foundational stone towards the fulfillment of this vision.
This entry was
posted by Sokwanele on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
18 August 2010
Government leaders in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) have
resolved to suspend the human rights court
of the region, over Zimbabwe’s
refusal to honour its rulings on the land
grab campaign.
SADC leaders this week shied away from confronting Robert
Mugabe for
ignoring the rulings made by the SADC Tribunal, deciding at the
end of a two
day Summit to ‘review’ the Tribunal instead. This is despite
warnings that
Zimbabwe’s contempt of the regional court was a threat to
SADC’s
credibility. A communiqué issued at the end of the summit said: “The
summit
decided that a review of the role functions and terms of reference of
the
SADC Tribunal should be undertaken and concluded within six
months.”
Joao Samuel Caholo, the deputy executive secretary of the 15-member
bloc,
told journalists the Tribunal would not be able to conclude any old
cases or
take on new ones, before the end of the review to be carried out by
SADC
Justice Ministers.
The decision will come as a serious blow to
Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers
who continue to face persecution under
Mugabe’s land grab campaign. The
farmers were left with no choice but to
turn to the SADC Tribunal for
justice, after losing farms and property as a
result of the land grab. The
Tribunal ruled in 2008 that the exercise was
unlawful and discriminatory,
and ordered the Zimbabwe government to protect
the farmers, their rights to
their land, and pay compensation for land
already seized.
But in Zimbabwe the Tribunal has been snubbed by the
government, with Mugabe
and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa declaring
that the Tribunal’s rulings
were ‘null and void’. The High Court then ruled
that the Tribunal’s orders
on land reform have no authority in Zimbabwe,
despite the country being a
signatory to the SADC Treaty.
The
government’s refusal to honour the ruling has also left a number of
South
African farmers fighting to protect their properties in Zimbabwe.
Those
farmers eventually turned to the South African courts to try and have
the
SADC Tribunal ruling enforced.
The South African courts this year set a
precedent by recognizing the SADC
ruling as being enforceable, ruling in
favour of the farmers.
The farmers have been represented by South African
civil rights initiative
AfriForum. The group legal representative, Willie
Spies, told SW Radio
Africa on Wednesday that the decision to suspend the
SADC Tribunal was “a
source of serious concern.” He warned that it is “very
bad news” for the
Southern African region if disregard for the rule of law
is supported in
this way.
“We do not want to be sending a message
from Africa that we are disregarding
human rights. We do not want to send a
message that the rule of law is being
tramped on when it does not suit the
rulers in power,” Spies said.
He added: “Unfortunately this latest
development to review the SADC Tribunal
just has this affect and we are very
concerned about it.”
http://news.radiovop.com
18/08/2010
20:25:00
Harare, August 18, 2010 - The Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
executive secretary Tomaz Salamao denied on Wednesday that
the SADC Tribunal
had been suspended as claimed by Zimbabwe Justice Minister
Patrick
Chinamasa.
"Let's be clear on this. The (SADC) Tribunal was
not suspended," said
Salamao in a telephone interview to Radio VOP on
Wednesday. "No-one took a
decision to suspend the Tribunal. What was said is
that the Tribunal 's role
or responsibility has to be reviewed by
professionals and experts to come up
with clear recommendations," he
said.
Salamao, in a direct rebuttal of Chinamasa statement to the state
media on
Tuesday, said the review of the SADC Tribunals role and
responsibilities
will firstly be done by a committee of SADC Justice
ministers and Attorney
Generals within a period of six months.
"In
the meantime, they don't entertain any new cases but they can deal with
those they have at hand," he said.
Chinamasa claimed that the SADC
Tribunal, which had previously issued
judgments unfavourable to Zanu (PF)
regarding its land reform programme
which saw the government seizing land
from white commercial farmers for
redistribution to landless blacks, had
been suspended by the regional
leaders meeting in Windhoek Namibia early
this week. He said it would would
not be hearing any cases for the next six
months.
Meanwhile the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai said was 'reasonably' happy with the outcome of
the SADC
meeting.
The meeting recommended that the outstanding issues
in the unity government
would be negotiated within one month.
"The
summit recommended that the constitutional process be completed
followed by
a referendum... after the referendum Zimbabwe will go for an
election,"MDC
secretary general Tendai Biti told journalists in the capital
Harare.
"SADC also recommended that the outstanding issues be
discussed and resolved
within a month."
"On the issue of Zimbabwe
personally I have never seen a more focused
meeting in terms of the
direction and I am absolutely no doubt in my mind
that if SADC and the
people of Zimbabwe are able to implement the
recommendations of the
facilitator and are able to stay within the
parameters of the broad roadmap,
constitution, referendum and elections I
think that we can achieve the
transformation of the transition to
legitimacy," Biti said.
"With
some kind of caution we are pleased with the outcome of the summit,"
Biti
said.
Outstanding issues in the unity government include the appointment
of
provincial governors, Attorney General, Reserve Bank governor , removal
of
targetted sanctions and electoral and media reforms.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/5905.html
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18 August, 2010 05:15:00 John Gambanga - Editor Daily
News
HARARE - The US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray says
Washington will
only lift sanctions imposed against President Robert
Mugabe's administration
if there is real change on issues of human rights,
the rule of law and media
reforms.
Briefing senior journalists in Harare
Wednesday, Ambassador Ray said his
government wants to see the full
implementation of the Global Political
Agreement(GPA) before it can lift
sanctions.
" We are looking at the issue of sanctions and will review
them before
making any firm commitment but the full implementation of the
Global
Political Agreement would be a step towards us taking action to
remove
sanctions," he said.
"We recognise that the issue of lifting
sanctions is a process that must be
reviewed and evaluated against what is
happening on the ground in Zimbabwe.
Sanctions will remain in place until
there are real and positive
developments that improve the lives of the
people of Zimbabwe," he said.
He conceded that the Zimbabwean political
crisis is not a simple one.
"There are no simple solutions to the
situation in Zimbabwe. We need a
reasonable process to reach an amicable
solution to the crisis," he said.
Commenting on the proposed Zimbabwe
Sanctions Repeal Bill moved by
Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma
,early this month Ambassador Ray
said it remains a proposal until both the
Senate and Congress endorse it
in a vote and the President signs it into
law.
Asked to comment on whether or not Zimbabwe was ready for
elections,
Ambassador Ray said it was up to the people of Zimbabwe to
decide.
"The people must answer because they are the ones who will vote.
But my view
is that before elections are held, there should be free access
to
information so that people can make informed decisions when they cast
their
votes. There should be no intimidation or violence against the people
and we
expect a coherent and clear voters registration process with minimum
irregularities during the election process," he said.
He added that
there should also be commitment by all stake holders to
respect the outcome
of the election process provided it is conducted freely
and
fairly.
On relations between his government and Harare, Ambassador Ray
said these
had had improved .
He tactfully avoided the undiplomatic
incident where he and two other
foreign diplomats walked out while President
Mugabe was speaking at the
burial of his sister Sabina at the National
Heroes Acre after the Zimbabwean
leader had said "the West can go to hell,"
to loud applause from his
supporters.
Ambassador Ray noted that now
there is less vitriol than before between
Harare and Washington and the
coalition government in place was a positive
development, but the situation
could be better.
"Progress," he noted, " has not been what people want.
Yes, there is now
less violence than before but the political space is still
not that open nor
is it really closed. There is some freedom of expression
but more should be
done in that direction."
Ambassador Ray said his
government wants to improve Zimbabwe's health sector
for the well being and
prosperity of the Zimbabwean people.
"The United States is a friend of
the Zimbabwean people and stands ready to
work together and be partners with
anyone in Zimbabwe who seeks to build a
better future for all Zimbabwean
citizens," he said.
He said his government wants to see a Zimbabwean
government that is
productive, peaceful and responsive to the needs of the
Zimbabwean people.
" The US supports those working for full
implementation of the GPA and those
who strive to ease the suffering of the
Zimbabwean people and to eliminate
corruption and
repression."
Ambassador Ray said American support will be available when
Zimbabwean
leaders request it but the US cannot build Zimbabwe, only
Zimbabweans can
do that.
Washington , he said, wants to see an open
political space and the free
flow of information in a Zimbabwe that is
moving forward as a "multiracial,
African democracy that can succeed on the
world stage." -Daily News
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
06 August, 2010
Police in Masvingo central are reported
to be hunting down MDC officials
after an incident related to the
constitutional outreach on Monday. Two MDC
officials are in custody and
police are reported to be hunting down five
more, who they claim were
involved in the same incident. But MDC officials
in Masvingo told SW Radio
Africa that the whole incident has been fabricated
in order to block them
from mobilizing their supporters ahead of the
constitutional outreach
meetings in the area.
MDC-T provincial secretary Tongai Matutu said that
the current tension
started on Monday when a group of ZANU PF members
reported to the police
that MDC members had disrupted their meeting. They
claimed that the MDC MP
for Masvingo Urban, Tachiona Chiminya, had
threatened them with a pistol
during the incident. Chiminya was arrested for
possession of an illegal
firearm, but was released late on Tuesday night
when the accusers failed to
pick him out in an identity parade. No pistol
was ever found.
On Wednesday morning Masvingo police arrested the
Masvingo Ward 4 councilor,
Daniel Muchuchutu, and the director of elections,
Muranganwa Chanyahwa, in
connection with the same incident. They are
reported to be searching for
five other MDC members who they claim were
present at the original incident
on Monday.
Matutu said it appears that
all known MDC activists in the area were being
targeted. He believes the
idea is to compromise the constitutional outreach
programme by silencing MDC
supporters. Matutu pleaded with all Zimbabweans
to be vigilant and to resist
ZANU PF efforts to hijack the people's
constitution.
He added:
"Masvingo resisted the efforts of war vet Jabulani Sibanda and he
moved on
to other areas, and all Zimbabweans can do the same."
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
18
August, 2010
A group of 7 MDC activists, who were abducted at gunpoint by
Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives in Manicaland on Monday,
are
still being held at Cashel Valley police station. No-one has been
allowed to
visit them but a source within the police department, who chose
to remain
anonymous, said the group had been assaulted. Party and family
members
attempting to bring food and water have been turned away since
Monday.
MDC-T provincial spokesperson, Pishai Muchauraya, told SW Radio
Africa that
the seven were due to appear in court on Wednesday. But police
officers at
Cashel Valley said that they were not aware of what the charges
are and
would therefore wait for further instructions from the CIO division
or
senior police officials.
Muchauraya said he feared that their
jailed party activists were not in good
physical health because, apart from
being assaulted, there are serious
shortages of food and no clean water in
Manicaland jails.
A statement from the MDC-T said the seven were abducted
at gunpoint in Ward
7 Chimanimani East in Manicaland province, on Monday
night. They are Joseph
and Tinashe Chikware, Stanley, David and Wilson
Kuretu, John Jiyamwa and
Matibiri Nyando.
The perpetrators were said
to be CIO agents in the company of the ZANU PF
provincial official, Janet
Knight. "Mai Knight", as she is commonly known,
has been implicated in many
violent incidents in the Chimanimani area. MDC
officials and supporters also
claim that her house is being used as a
torture base by ZANU
PF.
Muchauraya said he believes the group was targeted because they had
been
outspoken at Constitutional outreach meetings, and were also very
effective
organizers of MDC activities and strong mobilisers of people in
the area.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), one of the civic groups that
is shadowing
the outreach process in every province, has reported an
increase in human
rights violations, rape and intimidation in Mashonaland
and Manicaland
provinces. They also confirmed that the perpetrators are war
vets, ZANU PF
youths, the police, soldiers and CIO operatives.
http://www1.voanews.com/
Joe DeCapua
18 August 2010
Southern African leaders leaders have given themselves
another six months to
review a 2008 tribunal ruling on Zimbabwe land
reform. The decision not to
act came at this week's Southern African
Development Community (SADC) summit
in Windhoek, Namibia. A SADC tribunal
had ruled that nearly 80 white
Zimbabwe farmers had their land unfairly
taken from them due to their race.
John Worsely-Worswick, chief executive
officer of the Justice for
Agriculture Trust (JAG) in Zimbabwe, says he
considers the SADC tribunal a
human rights court.
"We're very, very
concerned," he says, "because as far as we're concerned
this is overdue
already in terms of action being taken."
President Robert Mugabe has
ignored the ruling, saying it failed to take
into account a 1979 agreement
with Britain about land reform following
independence. The tribunal has
found the government to be in contempt three
times.
"The farmers that
went there (tribunal) for protection and the farm
workers.have not been
protected at all," he says.
Business as usual?
Worsely-Worswick
says the decision to have a six month review of the
tribunal ruling comes as
no surprise.
"This has been the case for a long time with the Mugabe
regime," he says,
"And it's a case of always politics versus the law. In
the country here it's
always been the politics that have ruled.. And now
for the first time we've
seen the same effect, political effect, in a
regional court."
He says even if SADC leaders agree to enforce the
ruling, things cannot
return to the way they were prior to the farm
seizures.
"We are not against land reform at all. One has got to
understand though
that what we witnessed in the last 10 years here in
Zimbabwe is not land
reform at all.. It's destroyed agriculture in the
country and even communal
area agriculture. So certainly carrying on with
the status quo is not a way
forward," he says.
The JAG leader says a
"new way forward" must be found and "a just solution
for
all."
Agriculture was king
He describes Zimbabwe as an agriculture
driven based economy. "We don't see
a way forward driven by either mining
or tourism. Certainly that's not
going to create the stability that's
required in terms of employment in the
country.food security and also the
foreign currency security that's
required," he says.
He's calling for
a "de-politicized level playing field."
"Issues with regard to tenure of
the land, the title to the land, and we
have a historical injustice dating
back a hundred years on that front....
These issues need to be dealt with in
the national interest and in the
interest of citizens of Zimbabwe without
political effect," he says.
Recently, the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization and the World Food
Program said despite agricultural
improvements in the country, nearly 1.7
million Zimbabweans will still need
food aid over the next year.
Worsely-Worswick says agriculture has
suffered greatly in recent years.
"Most of production has dropped by 80
percent. The only area that hasn't
dropped was really on cotton production
and that's because it lends itself
to smallholder production. And then for
the first time we've seen a
reversal slightly in the level of tobacco
production," he says.
http://www1.voanews.com/
Peta Thornycroft
| Johannesburg 18 August 2010
Movement for Democratic Change
Secretary-General Tendai Biti said Wednesday
that three outstanding issues
from the political agreement with ZANU-PF two
years ago will be implemented
within a month. The Southern African
Development Community and South
African President Jacob Zuma are guarantors
of the political agreement which
brought the unity government to power in
February last year. The
information Biti revealed at a press conference was
not made public at this
week's SADC summit in Windhoek.
Tendai Biti, who is also MDC finance
minister in the inclusive government,
said there is a road map for Zimbabwe
towards fresh elections.
He said the most significant outstanding issues
of the political agreement
were President Robert Mugabe's appointment of a
ZANU-PF attorney general,
after the political agreement was signed. He said
another was Mr. Mugabe's
close associate, central bank governor Gideon Gono
who remains in office. He
said the third was Mr. Mugabe's failure to swear
MDC treasurer, Roy Bennett
into office as deputy agriculture
minister.
Bennett was recently acquitted of what the MDC says were
trumped up treason
charges.
Biti said there was no clear time table
for fresh elections as much
preparation was needed, such as a new voters'
role and fresh and independent
boundaries for voting areas.
He said
the constitution writing progress had to be concluded and it had
only
seriously started recently with meetings of ordinary people around the
country. The MDC says some of these meetings have been disrupted by Mr.
Mugabe's supporters.
Biti said that Mr. Zuma and SADC continued to
guarantee that Zimbabwe would
move ahead towards fresh, free and fair
elections.
Most people in Harare do not know what went on at the SADC
summit this week
as Mr. Zuma did not speak in public about this latest road
map for
Zimbabwe's political progress.
People on the street say they
believe Mr. Zuma's report will commit Zimbabwe
to a new election next
year.
Misheck Chimusipu is a rapporteur with the constitutional outreach
program
and he says, in the current state of things, it would be impossible
for
Zimbabwe to hold free and fair elections.
"We still believe there
is no political tolerance among our peoplem," he
said. "The organ on
reconciliation has not done much to the most affected
people who were
affected in past elections, and also if there is no
reconciliation I don't
think we will be able to have a free and fair
election."
Others on
the street say memories are still fresh of elections of 2008, and
the
violence which forced MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat Mr. Mugabe
in
the first round of the presidential poll, to pull out of the run-off in
June, 2008 citing violence against his supporters.
Isaac Mufumi, a
shopkeeper in Harare says the inclusive government has not
done enough to
ensure the next polls will be peaceful.
He also says Mr. Mugabe will use
continuing western travel and financial
sanctions against the ZANU-PF
leadership and some companies the party
controls, as an excuse to commit
political violence in any upcoming
elections.
"Zimbabwe is not ready
for elections any time now or anytime soon, The
inclusive government hasn't
done anything, nothing has been done on the
ground," he said. "Zimbabwe
needs to reconcile its people. Not this
rhetoric that Mugabe is always
talking about."
The SADC summit decided to defer any action against
Zimbabwe for refusing to
recognize a judgment by the SADC Tribunal which
ruled, more than two years
ago, that a group of evicted white Zimbabwean
farmers had been unfairly
targeted because of their race. Mr. Mugabe says
the formation of the SADC
Tribunal was not properly constituted. SADC
leaders at the summit agreed
that they will revisit the controversy over the
Tribunal in the next six
months after a justice committee has concluded its
analysis of the formation
of the Tribunal.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by
ZESN
Wednesday, 18 August 2010 15:15
Harare – This statement is a
response to an article that appeared on the
13th of August 2010 in the
Zimbabwe Independent on the opposition to
electoral reforms by the Police
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri.
Earlier this year political parties
in the GNU agreed to reform electoral
laws in Zimbabwe and this included
among others a change in the role of the
police in electoral processes. The
three political parties in the inclusive
government agreed to restrict the
role of the police in electoral processes
to maintaining law and order
outside the polling stations as per
international standards.
ZESN
welcomed this development as the police’s role in previous elections
overstepped the boundaries of maintaining law and order.
ZESN has over
the years raised concern about the presence of the police in
the polling
stations which it views as intimidatory. The electoral
insecurity argument
that the Commissioner is allegedly proffering in his
reported efforts to
stall electoral reforms is blind to a number of issues
pertaining to the
role of the police in enhancing electoral democracy. It
is outside the
polling station that voters are barred from entering the
polling station.
Police presence outside the polling station will aid in
restraining
political parties that campaign within 100 meters of the polling
station. In
addition, the deployment of the police outside the polling
station will
deter other forms of electoral irregularities similar to those
that took
place in June 2008 such as the recording of names of voters by
some
political parties.
Further, past elections have shown that electoral
insecurity takes place
well before and after voting while polling days have
been largely peaceful,
making the insecurity argument even weaker. ZESN
seeks to reiterate that the
role of the police in providing security to
citizens has not been
effectively executed as shown by the partial manner in
dealing with cases of
political violence in the past. The many complaints by
victims of political
violence between March and June 2008 that they did not
get police protection
for their persons and property but rather that they
were arrested and
prosecuted at the instance of their attackers made the
electoral changes
attractive.
Assisting voters: In previous elections the
role of the police in electoral
processes has been contentious as it went
beyond maintaining law and order
to being present in the polling stations
and being present when assisted
voters were voting. ZESN has since welcomed
the move to remove police
presence when assisted voters where casting their
vote and further
recommended that those who are illiterate bring a trusted
friend or relative
to assist them and braille ballot papers for the visually
impaired.
Postal voting: In addition, the postal vote has been a thorny issue
as the
vote has been free from observer scrutiny and has been shrouded in
secrecy.
The application process has not been transparent and this lack of
transparency has extended to the actual voting on issues that relate to the
number of people in the security sector that will be eligible for postal
voting, the number of ballot papers distributed, the actual voting process
and counting of votes and the documented partisan pre-election statements by
the Commissioner General.
The proposed reforms that provide for police
officers to vote two days prior
to polling are a welcome development that
can foster transparency. There is
no need for the police to vote thirty days
before the poll as this removes
confidence in the integrity of the process
as it allows for tampering with
ballot boxes and the outcome of the
election. While the police sector was
not audited, there is evidence that
not all police officers need to be
deployed outside the areas where they
vote and so can vote in their
respective areas where they are based.
ZESN
recommends special voting as the case in most countries and not postal
voting for the police. Voting that takes place two days before the election
and which is also open to ZEC officials, the body that is mandated to run
elections in Zimbabwe. We recommend that this process must be transparent
and open to observation as well by both domestic and international observers
and political parties. In the past postal voting took place before the
accreditation of observers, which resulted in an opaque process that lends
itself to much speculation, criticism and controversy, which damages the
credibility of the country’s elections.
Members of the police as election
officials: ZESN is concerned with the
fact that in the past police
commanders have been engaged as presiding
officers. The role of presiding
over elections is best carried out by
civilians and not the security sector.
The role of the security sector in
elections is to promote peace and ensure
that the will of the people
prevails. An independent and well resourced ZEC
must be allowed free and
unrestricted mandate to run the entire election
while arms of government
only play a supportive and not a participatory
role. History has lessons.
It is against this backdrop that ZESN strongly
condemns the proposed return
of the police officers inside polling stations
during polling and the use of
police and security commanders as presiding
officers when the police and
military vote. ZESN continues to advocate for
comprehensive electoral
reforms that includes media reforms; security
reforms; an overhaul of the
voters’ roll; the creation of a conductive
election environment; and
transparency and accountability in the whole
electoral process.
http://www1.voanews.com/
Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu dismissed as inconsequential a campaign launched
last
week by the Rapaport diamond trading network of New York, warning its
members not to buy diamonds from the Marange field
Sandra Nyaira |
Washington 17 August 2010
A Harare magistrate on Tuesday relaxed bail
conditions for Mutare-based
diamond activist Farai Maguwu, accused of
publishing or communicating
falsehoods prejudicial to the state in
connection with the Marange diamond
field.
Lawyers for Maguwu,
director of the Center for Research and Development in
the eastern border
city, said that the tight conditions imposed on Maguwu
when he was granted
bail were curtailing his freedom of association.
VOA Studio 7
correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported from the Zimbabwean
capital.
Elsewhere, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu dismissed as
inconsequential a
campaign launched last week by the Rapaport diamond
trading network of New
York, warning its members not to buy diamonds from
the Marange field.
Immediately after the auctioning of 900,000 carat
diamonds in Harare last
week, the Rapaport Network, also known as RapNet,
warned its members to
avoid those diamonds or risk being suspended by the
organization.
Rapaport said that although some Marange diamonds have been
approved for
sale by the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, it will not
allow its
members to trade in them as it is suspected that human rights
violations and
illegal smuggling continue in the alluvial diamond field in
Marange district
of Manicaland province.
Members found to have
knowingly offered Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet
will be expelled and
their names will be publicly communicated, the
organization said in a
statement.
Mpofu said he was not fazed by the RapNet announcement,
arguing that the
only organizations that matter in the global diamond
industry are the
Kimberly Process and the World Diamond Council.
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
18th
Aug 2010 04:36 GMT
By a
Correspondent
Windhoek - Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Tuesday
urged all
Mozambicans to remain calm following the news reporting the
discovery of oil
in the Rovuma Basin, in the northern region of the
country.
Guebuza, who was speaking to Mozambican reporters in Windhoek,
the Namibian
capital, on the sidelines of the just ended 30th Ordinary
Summit of Heads of
States and Governments of the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC),
said that Mozambicans must remain calm and wait for more
detailed
information on these findings.
"The first thing I
would like to say is to advise people to remain calm
until we have more
information on the discovery," said Guebuza.
According to Guebuza, even
if oil is found in commercially viable amounts,
people should never set
aside other means of livelihood, such as
agriculture.
On Monday,
Mozambique's Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias,
announced in
Maputo that the US oil company Anadarko has found oil deposits
in the Rovuma
Basin.
Bias, who was speaking during a press conference, explained that
it is still
a technical presence of oil, because there is still a long way
to go for the
evaluation of its commercial viability.
Oil was found
at a depth of 5100 meters, with the Minister claiming that it
is the first
time that oil was found off shore in the East African region.
In 2006,
Anadarko signed a contract with the Mozambican government for the
drilling
of six exploratory wells in the Rovuma Basin.
Last February, Anadarko
announced that the Windjammer exploratory well, off
the coast of Cabo
Delgado province, encountered more than 480 net feet of
natural gas pay in
high-quality reservoir sands, with a gross column of more
than 1,200
feet.
Apart from Anadarko there are another three companies prospecting
hydrocarbons in the Rovuma basin, including ENI from Italy, Petronas
(Malaysia) and Statoil (Norway).
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Caroline Mvundura Wednesday 18
August 2010
HARARE -- Indian buyers snapped up about 83 percent
of diamonds from
Zimbabwe's controversial Marange mines that were auctioned
in Harare last
week, according to reports from the Asian
country.
Industry players yesterday told a leading market watcher, the
IDEX Online,
that Indian buyers bought US$60 million worth of the gemstones
from the
auction which raised a total of about US$72
million.
According to Zimbabwean government officials buyers from the
United States,
Lebanon, Russia and Israel took part in the diamond auction
that went ahead
only after the Kimberley Process (KP) lifted a ban imposed
on the Zimbabwe
stone10 months ago following reports of human rights abuses
by security
forces guarding the Marange mines.
The report released
yesterday quoted one leading investor as saying; "we
look forward to future
imports from Zimbabwe".
Investors from the Asian country however
expressed concern that a flood of
goods from diamond-rich Zimbabwe will
erode diamonds prices.
The report by IDEX Online came as Indian
ambassador to Zimbabwe Venkatesan
Ashok has indicated that his country was
willing to invest in the Zimbabwe's
diamond sector.
"We have been
good friends for generations, even in bad times, and India
will continue to
assist Zimbabwe in its economic turnaround," he said in a
recent
interview.
"India is prepared to maintain its historically close
bilateral relations
with Zimbabwe and further consolidate them in order to
assist the country's
capacity building efforts to improve its economy and
technology," said
Ashok, explaining that India's large diamond polishing
industry will be
beneficial to Zimbabwe's diamond industry.
The news
of India's heavy involvement in last week's auction will be most
welcome by
Zimbabwean authorities, who on Monday said they would look to
Asia's
economic giants and Russia for a market for its diamonds after a
major
Western diamond trading network said it would ban the Marange stones.
The
US-based Rapaport Diamond Trading Network (RapNet) advised its members
to
boycott diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange fields, threatening to expel and
blacklist anyone who violated the ban on trading in gems from the
controversial area.
But Mines Minister Obert Mpofu dismissed the ban
saying Zimbabwe could
alternative buyers of its stones from Russia and
Asia.
The Marange gems have divided world opinion, with African and Asian
countries backing Zimbabwe's bid to sell the diamonds, while the West and
rights groups opposed the sale, charging that the military killed several
people while driving out illegal miners from the fields in
2008.
Zimbabwe finally won its battle to sell the Marange diamonds after
President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Tsvangirai's MDC put up a united
front
urging the West to drop its opposition to the auctioning of the
gemstones at
a World Diamond Council meeting last month in Russia. -
ZimOnline.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Tobias Manyuchi Wednesday 18 August
2010
HARARE -- The size of Zimbabwe's economy is probably double the
figures
provided by authorities in Harare and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF),
a leading asset management firm has said.
Imara Asset
Management firm said the southern African country's economy may
be as high
as US$10 billion or double the $5 billion given as the value of
the economy
by the IMF and Harare.
"We find it hard to understand why both the IMF
and government are being as
cautious as they are," Imara chief executive
John Legat said in a statement.
He added: "Their views give a rather
sobering view of the economy rather
than an upbeat and exciting outlook for
a country barely in its second year
of reform. That makes the current stock
market capitalisation of 3.0 billion
look very cheap... the Zimbabwe economy
is pumping!"
Imara has given a lead with investment facilitation into
Zimbabwe and
provides regular updates to international
investors.
Legat said: "We remain unconvinced and further don't believe
the underlying
number used for the economy - US5 billion - is
correct."
He added that the IMF believes Zimbabwe has an economy worth
just over "US$5
billion, though it admits supporting data has "serious
shortcomings".
To make his point Legat compares consumer spending in
Zimbabwe - which once
had the second largest economy in the region after
South Africa - with that
of neighbouring Zambia whose economy is valued at
US$14 billion.
The two countries have populations of a similar size, but
until its 'lost
decade', Zimbabwe's economy was about 50 percent bigger, he
said.
According to the Imara boss Zambia's two biggest breweries reported
sales of
$230 million last year, revenue at Delta Corporation, Zimbabwe's
biggest
beer maker, totaled $324 million, he said.
This year, Econet
Wireless, Zimbabwe's mobile-phone operator, expects
revenue of $500 million,
while Zambians are expected to spend $280 million
with Zain Zambia, that
country's biggest mobile-phone company, Legat said.
"According to the IMF
and government, Zimbabwe's gross national product per
capita is US$450,
which compares with Zambia at US$1,200 per head. Spending
patterns in both
countries suggest the opposite!"
Significant Zimbabwean spending power is
also indicated by food purchases
from the Innscor fast foods business,
Colcom, National Foods and the Spar
retail chain. Imara estimates sales here
at over US$1.1 billion a year.
"Excluding manufacturing and tourism,
exports from agriculture and mining
might top 2.3 billion or higher in
2010," he said. "That's a bigger number
than the IMF forecast that includes
manufacturing exports."
Finance minister Tendai Biti has revised the
country's growth prospects this
year from 7 percent to 4.5
percent.
The economy registered its first growth in a decade last year
after
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
power-sharing
government implemented measures, including the adoption of
multiple
currencies that doused hyperinflation.
However economic
experts as well as the IMF maintain that economy recovery
remains fragile
because of the government's heavy dependence on imports and
increasing wage
demands from unionists at a time the country does not have
access to balance
of payment support.
The IMF and other multi-lateral lenders have refused
to provide fresh loans
until Harare clears outstanding debts, while rich
Western nations are also
reluctant to provide soft loans and grants,
insisting the government must
first step up the pace of democratic reforms,
do more to uphold human rights
and the rule of law. -- ZimOnline.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Lizwe Sebatha Wednesday 18 August
2010
BULAWAYO -- A senior police officer in Zimbabwe's second city
Bulawayo has
been sentenced to five months in jail or a fine of US$500 for
fatally
shooting a 25-year old man during New Year's Day celebrations three
years
ago.
Passing sentence Bulawayo High Court Judge Nicholas
Mathonsi said
Superintendent Milos Moyo deserved criminal sanctions for his
reckless
behaviour when he opened fire on a group of people who were
celebrating the
New Year and hit Artwell Magagada in the head, killing
him.
In his defence, Moyo told the court that he was trying to shoot at a
fleeing
robber but misdirected his shot and instead hit and killed
Magagada.
But the judge dismissed the Moyo's testimony, telling the
police officer:
".the law demands that criminal sanctions be visited upon
you. You were
overzealous in your chasing of the criminal and did not get
your bearings
right in discharging your firearm resulting in the loss of
life. You were
careless in firing at a crowded place the way you
did."
Zimbabwe's police are routinely accused of torturing political
opponents of
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party and general high
handedness against
civilians. -- ZimOnline.
http://www1.voanews.com
Zimbabwe Minerals Marketing Corporation CEO Mubayiwa was
suspended together
with ZMDC Finance Director Robert Karemba, Group
Technical Services Manager
Albert Chitambo and Corporate Secretary Tichaona
Muhonde
Gibbs Dube | Washington 17 August 2010
The
construction of a multi-million dollar mansion on in Harare's affluent
Borrowdale suburb by a senior executive of the Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation is said to have drawn attention and triggered investigations
that led this week to his suspension and that of four other top ZMDC
managers, says a leading Zimbabwean journalist.
Investigative
journalist Dumisani Muleya, who is also deputy editor of the
Zimbabwe
Independent weekly newspaper, said the mansion under construction
by ZMDC
Chief Executive Dominic Mubayiwa triggered investigations into the
operations of the ZMDC where some US$40 million in gold and diamond proceeds
cannot be accounted for.
Muleya said the three-story mansion has
become a center of attraction in the
city where most people are struggling
to make ends meet as slow growth and
tight financial liquidity haunt the
semi-comatose economy.
Efforts to contact Mubayiwa were not successful as
he was said to be out of
the city.
Mubayiwa was suspended together
with ZMDC Finance Director Robert Karemba,
Group Technical Services Manager
Albert Chitambo and Corporate Secretary
Tichaona Muhonde, government sources
said.
Muleya told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that under the current
economic
situation, very few Zimbabweans can build a dwelling to match the
grandeur
of Mubayiwa's Borrowdale estate.
http://www1.voanews.com/
A civil society observation team that visited Murehwa North
constituency in
Mashonaland East province and attended two outreach meetings
concluded that
the public comment process there was not free of
coercion
Jonga Kandemiiri, Patience Rusere and Irwin Chifera |
Washington, Harare 17
August 2010
The Zimbabwean parliamentary
select committee overseeing revision of the
country's constitution Tuesday
condemned violence related to the public
outreach phase of the process,
saying those instigating or perpetrating
violence were going against the
June call by the three unity government
principals for a tolerant and
peaceful exercise.
In Zvishavane district, Midlands province, the
outreach process was delayed
by an hour on Tuesday after rapporteurs
threatened to go on strike over
delays in their payments. Midlands outreach
team leader Amos Chibaya, a
legislator of the Movement for Democratic Change
formation of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Jonga Kandemiiri the delay was
caused by a hitch at the United Nations
Development Program, a main donor.
Elsewhere, a civil society observer
team visiting the Murehwa North
constituency in Mashonaland East province
and attending two outreach
meetings concluded that the public comment
process was not free of coercion,
Center for Community Development in
Zimbabwe Coordinator Philip Pasirayi
told Jonga
Kandemiiri.
Elsewhere, the Tsvangirai MDC has accused district
administrators of
deliberately causing confusion in Hurungwe district,
Mashonaland West, by
changing outreach dates and venues at the last minute.
The MDC said
residents in Wards 4 and 6 in Chikwangwe Township, Ward 10 in
Chiedza
Township and Ward 8 in Karoi Urban, were unable to participate in
outreach
meetings as the area district administrator changed venues and
times
overnight.
MDC National Council member Biggie Haurovi said
residents were worried
because the outreach meetings have since moved on to
other districts like
Chegutu without their having had an opportunity to
contribute.
http://www.news24.com
2010-08-17 22:33
Musina - Since the
beginning of this year, 14 795 illegal immigrants have
crossed into South
Africa from Zimbabwe over the Limpopo river at
Beitbridge, the SA Army said
on Tuesday.
"This borderline needs a comprehensive borderline plan," SA
Army Colonel
Johan Herbst said during a media visit to the border
town.
All stakeholders in government departments needed to be on
board.
Herbst said there had been arrests every day since the army was
re-deployed
to the area earlier this year to help the police combat illegal
immigration.
The home affairs department and its one-year permits for
illegal immigrants
was repeatedly identified as a hindrance to efforts to
stop foreigners
crossing the game-filled bush and crocodile and
hippopotamus-infested river
to get to South
Africa.
Fences
Another obstacle was the out-of-use electric fence
on the border and
constant sabotage of the barbed-wire fences.
The SA
National Defence Force (SANDF) was trying to find a contractor to
take over
the operation and improvement of the fences.
Herbst said illegal
crossings formed only part of the tactical hurdles the
army faced: there was
also smuggling of animal and plant products.
He said bulk supplies of
contraband cigarettes could be smuggled over the
border for between R5 000
and R10 000.
Last month, perlemoen with a street value of R4m was seized
in Musina after
being offered to a soldier for about R200 000.
"It's
easy to bribe your way through, even our own soldiers can be bribed,"
he
said.
There were also people-peddlers known as the "Gomma-Gommas", who
received a
fee to get people safely over the border.
"It's a system
handed down from father to son," said Herbst.
This was often linked to
violent crimes such as rape and murder if the fee
was not paid or the
authorities were tipped off.
Stray and smuggled animals were also a
concern, as contagious diseases such
as anthrax and foot-and-mouth disease
were prevalent in the area. Despite
the difficulties, Herbst was optimistic
that strides were being made.
On the road to the Musina army base, about
25km from the border post,
soldiers could be seen patrolling the fences and
returning with immigrants
arrested earlier in the day.
In the back of
one truck were a woman and her children. They joined 135
people arrested on
Monday. On Sunday, 34 of the people caught were children.
-
SAPA
http://news.radiovop.com
18/08/2010 09:20:00
Harare, August
18, 2010 - The crack down on the media by the government of
Zimbabwe in the
past decade which led to the closure and bombing of media
houses rendered
hundreds of journalists jobless with some of them resorting
to buying and
selling, a report released by the Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists
said.
The book launched by ZUJ titled: "Journalists or Enemies of the
State"
chronicles the trials and tribulations Zimbabwean journalists went
through
as a result of draconian legislations. Several journalists who
include the
late Mark Chavhunduka, Ray Choto and Gift Phiri were tortured by
state
agents for conducting their duties."
The book mentions sad
experiences of several journalists who were affected
by the ban and closure
of the papers in the last decade they worked for as
they became
unemployed.
"Life was not easy from the time we were rendered unemployed.
During this
time I ended up selling my clothes, shoes and anything that
could be sold to
supplement the little money earned by my wife," narrated
Foster Dongozi, a
former journalist with the Daily News.
The bombing
of the premises of Radio Voice of the People (VOP) and
Association of
Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) has been highlighted as the most
'violent'
attack on the media with the perpetrators still roaming free.
"Violence
against the media took a decidedly ominous dimension with the
bombing of the
Voice of the People private radio station (VOP) and ANZ
printing press in
Harare. To date no arrests have been made of the
perpetrators of these
dastardly acts," ZUJ narrates events in the book.
"The closure of the
Daily News and Daily News on Sunday was clearly one of
the worst and
unfortunate developments affecting the country's media since
independence.
The shutdown left hundreds of workers unemployed, and hundreds
of families
without an income and millions of readers without their daily
independent
newspaper."
Former ZBC news editor-in-chief Shepherd Mutamba said
President Robert
Mugabe was responsible for media onslaught that took place
from the year
2000 and should be held accountable.
Mutamba who was
fired in 2000 after he had refused to endorse the
dismissal of more
than 60% of ZBC senior journalists under the instruction
of the then
Information Minister Johnathan Moyo, said:
"We may waste out time and
efforts documenting and writing voluminous books
accusing people like
Professor Jonathan Moyo. In fact by so doing we will be
giving these people
mileage.What is needed is to interrogate the presiding
officer of these
draconian laws that resulted in the messy we are in. The
man to take to
task is President Robert Mugabe not anyone else," he said as
he narrated his
sad ordeal.
The documented voices of journalists who were affected and
left jobless by
the then ZANU-PF led government from 2000 to 2005.It also
sort to
investigate where the affected journalists were, How were they
surviving,
what happened to them and their families.
Former Daily
News deputy Editor Davison Maruziva was given the chance to
narrate how
the publication was bombed in 2003,before his colleague Geoff
Nyarota took
to the podium to share his experience s in the then
Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo era.
The same occasion also witnessed the launch of another
book called, Women
Walk Silently to Parliament, which looks on how the media
discriminated
women against their male counterparts during the 2008
harmonised elections.
The project recommends the formulation of gender
policies in media
organisations and the establishment of such desks in
newsrooms.
Peace Watch E-Discussion Forum
18th August
Reminder
E-Discussion Forum Topic
“What can communities do to protect themselves against political
violence?”
There have already been reports coming in of politically based
violence and it was noted by violence monitors that this increased once
political party principals started talking about the possibility of elections in
May next year. This is in spite of the fact that Article 18(d) of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) dealing with the Security of Persons and Prevention of
Violence states “that all political parties, other organizations and their
leaders shall commit themselves to do everything to stop and prevent all forms
of political violence, including by non-state actors and shall consistently
appeal to their members to desist from violence.”
With increasing evidence that political violence is happening and
likely to escalate, what can communities do to protect themselves.
We are inviting contributors to send in their ideas on what can be
done to prevent violence within each
community/neighbourhood.
To send a contribution to the discussion
Simply reply to this message with your contribution. Please indicate
clearly if you do not wish your name to be published with your
contribution.
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