http://af.reuters.com
Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:07pm GMT
By
Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's cabinet retreated to a holiday
resort on
Saturday to review the performance of a unity government set up to
repair a
battered economy, but analysts say the country's future lies in
securing
massive foreign aid.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who
joined arch-rival President Robert
Mugabe in February in a bid to end a
decade of political hostility and
economic crisis, chaired the closed door
meetings to assess the government's
first 100-day targets.
Mugabe,
85, is on a week's holiday.
Critics see the retreat as a waste of money
by a bankrupt government
struggling to pay its workers, including hundreds
of doctors who went on
strike two weeks ago over wages.
Although
Mugabe and Tsvangirai's adminstration has managed to stem
Zimbabwe's rapid
economic decline, analysts say it has missed most of its
short-term targets
due to financial problems, a lack of focus and haggling
over policy
reforms.
"The future lies in Zimbabwe getting huge capital and investment
injections,
in getting some massive foreign aid," politcal scientist Eldred
Masunungure
of the University of Zimbabwe told Reuters.
"But it is
also very clear now that we are not going to be getting that from
the
traditional Western donors until issues of governance and human rights
have
been addressed," he said.
Tsvangirai went the United States and Europe in
June but was told the West
would only come to Zimbabwe's aid when it created
a democracy and improved
human rights after decades of what critics say was
Mugabe's repressive
one-party rule.
The new unity government has so
far only managed to raise about $1 billion
in credit lines from African
countries against $10 billion thought necessary
to rebuild pot-holed roads,
bare hospitals, dilapidated schools and ease 90
percent
unemployment.
The government wants to lift industrial capacity
utilisation to 60 percent
from 10 to 20 percent, but economists say they are
only half way to meeting
that target.
In January, Harare lifted a ban
on the use of foreign currency to stem
hyperinflation of more than 230
million percent that had rendered the
Zimbabwe dollar almost
worthless.
The decision led to falling prices and a flood of goods onto
previously
barren supermarket shelves, but ordinary Zimbabweans are still
struggling in
an economy in which state workers earn an average $150 a
month.
"These retreats are a waste of time and money because the
government knows
the economy will not get right simply on good plans when
the politics is bad
and the national pocket is empty," said Lovemore
Madhuku, chairman of the
National Constitutional Assembly, a political
pressure group.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare , August 22, 2009 -
There was public outrage, Saturday, at the
manner in which state media
organizations are covering political events in
the
country.
Speaking at a public meeting organized by
Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Media, Information, Publicity,
Communication and Technology to
collect public views on the state of the
public media in Zimbabwe, members
of the public accused the Herald and the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) of biased reporting.
"We
wonder what this Global Political Agreement (GPA) is all about.
Because it
is a one sided affair when it comes to coverage of issues. Why
should the
President be required to appoint the ZBC board, that should stop
unless if
there are some ulterior motives. There must be interviews and
those suitable
should simply take up the jobs," said Kurai Madzonga, of FEBA
Radio
Zimbabwe.
Indigenous businessman, Paddington Japajapa, told the meeting
that
despite the existence of an inclusive government the state media has
decided
to take sides. "The state media has decided to become the mouthpiece
of Zanu
PF yet it is supposed to be a platform for the voiceless. Pikirayi
Deketeke
and Caesar Zvayi are continuing to feed this nation with
propaganda
and rubbish continuing to pour vitriol and scorn even on the
office of the
Prime Minister. These people are a shame," said
Japajapa.
"Parliament must with immediate effect make some changes at
ZBC and
Herald if the GPA is to work," said Japajapa.
The
parliamentary committee was represented by its chairman, Gift
Chimanikire
and Bright Matonga.
A young high school girl, Precious Chidhuku told
the meeting: "ZBC
should not be collecting any license fees from
Zimbabweans because it is not
providing any service. I can't watch ZBC
because there is nothing to watch.
If I had my own house I would not pay any
license fees. It is so pathetic
that it makes many of us young people
dislike our country."
Another member of the public who identified
himself as Joseph Muchena
lashed out at senior ZBC and Herald journalists,
saying they have no place
in the profession.
"These people are
practicing what can best be called gutter or under
the tree journalism,
whether they are doing it for Mugabe or whoever, we
just want to tell them
that the time shall come when we will deal with them
because these are the
last kicks of a dying horse," said Muchena. He was
referring to the
Herald's Caesar Zvayi, Sunday Mail's Munyaradzi Huni and ZBC's Reuben
Barwe
and Judith Makwanya.
Another participant claimed he had evidence that
the news from the
Herald were first vetted at the Ministry of Information
before published.
Another Harare resident asked Parliament to consider
moving a motion
for the full privatization of ZBC and Herald, saying the
government had no
business in running media organizations.
Chimanikire promised that his committee will bring change to the
country's
media landscape.
"We will ensure that we bring change in the media,"
said Chimanikire.
From Radio VOP, 21 August
Harare - The Labour Ministry has stopped the planned
retrenchment of 500
workers by troubled Air Zimbabwe. The loss-making
airline had announced this
week that it planned to go ahead with the
downsizing exercise in order to be
viable. Rogers Matsikidze of Matsikidze
and Mucheche Legal Practioners,
representing the workers said: "The Labour
Court has ruled in favour of the
workers and the Ministry of Labour ordered
the planned retrenchment should
not go ahead." The lawyer said several
factors had been taken into account
by the Labour Court in setting aside the
planned retrenchment including
depriving the workers and their families a
livelihood. Zimbabwe national
carrier applied to the Retrenchment Board in
the Ministry of Labour to grant
it the permission to lay off 500 workers in
a, in a bid to prevent the
embattled airline from going under. "We have no
option other but to
right-size or else we are dead," Air Zimbabwe chief
executive Peter Chikumba
said on Tuesday.
Nearly a decade of
economic and political crisis has seen annual passenger
numbers for the
struggling airline drop from a peak of one million in 1996
to just 300 000
now, the company said. The state-owned airline formed in
1980 after the
country's independence has been beset by a string of
financial problems. The
company currently has a US$30 million debt, and has
asked the government to
sell its stake in the airline in a bid to raise
desperately needed cash from
private investors. Last year at the height of
the country's hyperinflation,
which officially hit 231 million percent but
was believed many times higher,
Air Zimbabwe was forced to sell tickets in
the virtually worthless local
currency. That left the airline struggling to
pay its membership fees with
the airline regulation body, the International
Air Transport Association
(IATA), while it couldn't pay landing fees at
London's Gatwick Airport. Air
Zimbabwe's fortunes nosedived so dramatically
that one flight in 2005
arrived from Dubai carrying a single passenger. The
route has since been
closed, along with other ill-advised destinations such
as Kinshasa and
Luanda, while the airline has concentrated on busy routes to
South Africa,
Britain and Zambia. The company has also been hit hard by the
national brain
drain as experienced personnel such as engineers and pilots
are poached by
rival carriers in the region and Europe.
http://www.radiovop.com/
HARARE, August 22, 2009 - The Health and Child
Welfare Ministry has
fired 10 junior doctors who are part of the on-going
strike, the Hospital
Doctors Association has said.
Dr
Brighton Chizhande, the Hospital Doctors Association president,
told VOP
that the 10 junior doctors had been served with their termination
of service
letters. The junior doctors have also been ordered to vacate
their
residences at Harare and Parirenyatwa Hospitals.
Dr Chizhande said the
termination of service was part of the tactics
by the regime to cower them
into submission. In some incidents, Dr Chizhande
said some senior
consultants were threatening the junior doctors.
He said the doctors
would continue with the strike.
Doctors at government hospitals, have
been on strike since ealry
August, pressing for an urgent review of their
salaries to USd 1 000 and the
reinstatement of the car loan scheme. The
doctors are currently earning a
salary of USd 220 plus USd 170 allowance
from donors.
In their petition to the Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare, the
doctors contend that the salary and allowance they are getting
were not
enough for their monthly needs.
The doctors wrote to the
ministry seeking an increase in the
allowance, arguing that hospitals were
beginning to generate income that
should be used to improve their
salaries.
Government last month started paying civil servants salaries
after
more than five months of giving them a USd 100 allowance.
The
firing of the doctors came on the day the Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
said the government was working on reviving the doctors' car loan
scheme.
"I am aware that your conditions of service still leave a
lot to be
desired and hence require continual improvement. It is also
unhealthy that
Government can provide cars to our parliamentarians with a
vehicle scheme
when we are not able to provide the same scheme to our
doctors. Since I
assumed my position as Prime Minister, I have worked hard
to improve the
status and conditions of all public employees. I will
continue to do so and
ensure that benefits of our slow but sure economic
revival are felt and
shared by everyone," he said.
He also said the
health delivery system in the country was still in
the intensive care and a
lot needed to be done to improve the situation.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=8323
By John-Chimunhu
Published: August
22, 2009
(HARARE)President Robert Mugabe signed a doctored
version of Constitutional
Amendment Number 19, a move that might jeopardize
the constitutional
referendum expected next year, Zimbabwe's lawyers have
charged.
According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the version
approved by
parliament was whittled down from 36 pages to only 18 without
explanation.
"Half the agreed Bill was removed by the Attorney-General's
Office. Only
half was signed by President Mugabe and gazetted as
Constitutional Amendment
No. 19," said the lawyers group in a commentary
obtained on Friday (Aug 21).
"It is not known if President Mugabe knew of
the cuts and changes to
parliament's Bill before he signed."
ZLHR
said the most important changes related to the removal of two clauses
linked
to the current constitution-writing process.
"In the absence of these
Transitional Provisions and Schedules being enacted
into law, control of any
future referendums remains legally vested with the
President, who can decide
whether or not any referendum can be held, when
and what question to put to
the people, in terms of the Referendum Act
enacted in 2000, which remains
unchanged," the commentary said.
Human rights lawyer Sheila Jarvis said,
"An Act must be enacted by both
Parliament and the President in the same
terms. It is impossible legally to
have an Act in two different versions -
one version approved by Parliament
and another by the President. A President
certainly can never make into law
only half of any Bill that the MPs have
passed. It must be all or nothing.
So in this case, until all of HB2 of 2008
gets a Presidential signature, it
will remain as nothing."
Added
Jarvis,"The AG's office allegedly tried to justify its cuts by
claiming the
missing clauses were meaningless and it wanted to save paper,
but in my
opinion its main motive must have been to keep full control over
the 2010
referendum, and of the new draft constitution to be offered to the
people
then, in the President's Office."
http://www1.sundaymail.co.zw
Sunday,
August 23, 2009
Sunday Mail
Reporter
A HEALTH time bomb is set to explode at one of the country's
biggest
correctional institutions, Khami Maximum Prison, after the Bulawayo
City
Council cut water supplies there over unpaid bills.
Zimbabwe
Prison Service's acting public relations officer, Superintendent
Elizabeth
Banda, last week confirmed that water supply was cut because ZPS
owed the
local authority about US$230 000 in unpaid water bills.
The prison presently
holds more than 2 000 inmates and there are now fears
that diseases such as
cholera could break out.
This development comes amid reports that ZPS is
facing serious budgetary
constraints that have led to malnutrition, poor
sanitation and acute
shortages of drugs to treat diseases such as
tuberculosis (TB).
It is understood that ZPS's debt with utilities runs over
US$1,8 million
against a monthly Treasury allocation of US$150 000 for
rations.
Supt Banda said: "We have got a debt of about US$230 000 that we owe
Bulawayo City Council.
"It is a difficult situation considering that the
inmates have no other
alternative sources of water and this puts the
institution at risk of health
hazards," she said.
Khami Prison has
capacity to hold more than 3 000 inmates and is divided
into four sections
including a hospital.
Last week, ZPS had to send its chief accountant to
Treasury to appeal for
funds to sustain operations.
Supt Banda said there
were fears that the other prisons would be similarly
affected.
"We have
got Whawha, Binga, Chinhoyi, Kwekwe and Chipinge prisons, among
others, that
are still to pay their debts. We fear for their future," said
Supt
Banda.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE - FARM SITUATIONS COMMUNIQUE
Dated 21 August
2009
Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
JAG
Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799410. If you are in
trouble or
need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here
to
help!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INGWERATI
FARM 2ND
JAMBANJA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INGWERATI
FARM 2ND JAMBANJA HIGH COURT ORDER 5075/08
24/08/2008
15/7/2009 Charles Nyachowa, ID 70/067/169Q, of 29
Manyonga Drive,
Glen Lorne (011-402 150) arrived with three people. Lands
Officer
Tigere, Ministry of Lands, Chinhoyi. Told Moses, our Farm Manager,
that
they were going to come back with Offer letter.
18/07/2009
Charles Nyachowa plus five people parked outside near
ramp, crept through
fence, walked around houses.
19/07/2009Charles Nyachowa plus two
people parked outside near
ramp, crept through fence, walked around. High
Court Order says he is
forbidden on Ingwerati Farm, Case Number HC 5075/08
24/08/2008.
20/07/2009Phoned Sheriff Gate (0912-295 144) who
evicted Charles
Nyachowa on 12/9/2008. He took me to ZRP Norton. We saw
Insp Ndebele
0912-735 980 and Sgt Tarangarawa who was at eviction. He
advised me to
come the next day and report to the Member In Charge, Mhandy
(0912-749
427), who I had smsed and told that Nyachowa was on the
Farm.
21/07/20099am Chief Insp Mhandy called Sgt Chirinda (0912-918
546)
who went through all CR and phoned Lands Officer Chinhoyi,
Tigere
Ministry of Lands Chinhoyi 067-21763 (0912-585
660).
29/08/2008Gazetted Ingwerati Spitzop 12+14 108B-2008 Hec
348-68
Hec. Last offer letter 28/08/2008. Whole Ingwerati 351.00 hec.
He
said he had not left offer letter, only spoken to Manager Moses. He
said
we are to vacate by 31/08/2009.
21/07/2009Sgt Chirinda and
Chief Insp Mhandy advised me to go to
the DA in Murombedzi. DA L M Bakare
Room 41. He phoned Lands Officer
Tigere. He spoke to Lands Officer
Chikomba. We went to Chinhoyi as
advised but he had a meeting with Governor
Chidarikire at 3pm and wanted
us to wait until 4.30 to see him which we could
not do as that was too
late for the two hour drive home. Sent him an sms
(0912-585 660) to
cancel and phoned his Secretary, Daphne
067-21763.
22/07/2009Reported back to Sheriff Gate. He took me to
Public
Prosecutor Munyoro 062-2579 (0912-911 134) to find out the verdict of
the
court cases.
CR18/10/08 This case was CR37/08/08. Gilbert
Pengo Charles Nyachowa
threatened to kill him with a gun at his head if he
stopped him from
breaking into my house with a locksmith which he did on
04/08/2008 and
stayed in the house until 12/09/2008 with ten guards. Court
date
25/03/2009.
CR128/08/08 Breaking and entering and abuse of my
personal household
possessions, theft to the value of $1850. Court cases
12/12/2008,
16/02/2008, 24/03/2009 and 17/04/2009.
CR145/8/08
Assault of Kennith Vaughan Sherriffs. Charles Nyachowa
paid Admission of
Guilt fine at ZRP Norton.
22/07/2009Public Prosecutor Munyoro and
Deputy Sheriff came and
looked at abuse to stove and microwave. The staff,
who have the beds and
mattresses, said that were disgusting and they washed
and cleaned them
and are using. I was told to go and see Insp Ndebele with
the list of
malicious damage to my property after the Public Prosecutor
phoned him.
US$4200.
CR39/9/08 Paul Nyachowa, brother of
Charles, whom he works for and
was in my house with the guards, drove into
our truck twice, hitting it
with Charles Nyachowa's green tractor twice,
which has not been
repaired. This case has now been transferred from ZRP
Norton to Marimba
08/09/2008, reference number 219/10/08. Quote US $1,575.
2/12/2008 Inv
6884.
23/07/20094:30pm Charles Nyachowa and two
vehicles with 8 men took
hacksaws and cut the lock to the main gate. This is
the fifth lock he
has cut to enter the Farm (Ingwerati). At the main house,
has broken
into the security gates at the front of the main house. Phoned
ZRP
Norton, Sgt Chirinda 0912-918 546, Insp Ndebele 0912-735 980,
Sgt
Tarangarawa 023-265 208 and Sheriff Gate 0912-295 144. The Guard
Rhamosi
was told by Charles Nyachowa that he will kill him if he closes the
gate.
23/07/2009Charles Nyachowa stole ½ tonne of gum wood from
the
Manager's house and took it to the main house. His vehicle number,
a
green Nissan AAO 1706.
24/07/2009We went with the Sheriff and
Officers Nzombo and Chirinda
to Ingwerati. Nyachowa and his brother Paul
were looking at the borehole
opposite the manager's house. The Sheriff
advised him that he was
going to issue him with CIV29A Notice of Removal.
Nyachowa went bezerk
and said that all high court orders only last 90 days
and that the State
owns the land and he has been given Ingwerati. The
Sheriff said the High
Court ruling was valid until it is revoked by the High
Court with a new
offer letter. The offer letter dated 2/08/2008 that
Nyachowa gave the
two policeman, the Sheriff said was the same one that was
thrown out in
the High Court as false. The policemen said that they thought
the
Sheriff was wrong and Nyachowa's letter was valid. Charles
Nyachowa
shouted and screamed and said that he is going to get Bob and he
is going to
get 20% of Boheke and threatened the Sheriff. He pointed at
myself and said
he knew where I lived at Northfields.
The Dispol, Chief Superindent
Makunike said the policeman had made a
mistake and the Sheriff was correct.
We then obtained a Bond of
Indemnity (CIV41A) from Coghlan Welsh & Guest
to allow the Messenger of
the Court to act on our behalf.
At 4.30, the
Sheriff went back to Ingwerati with the CIV29A Notice of
Removal and issued
it to Nyachowa who said there would be war and he
would be killed if he came
on Monday. The Sheriff had three people as
witnesses who heard these
threats.
25/07/2009Charles Nyachowa took another ½ tonne of gum
wood from
the Manager's house which he was seen leaving the farm
with.
25/07/2009Charles Nyachowa cut the electric boundary fence
with the
assistance of three of his men to make a new entrance to the main
house
to avoid going past the guards.
26/07/2009Charles Nyachowa
maintained his presence on the farm with
other visitors on and off throughout
the day.
27/07/2009The Sheriff sent me to the Norton Police to pick
up five
details to go with him for protection during the eviction. The
Member In
Charge, Mhandy 0912-749 427, called Nzombo and Chirinda, and they
agreed
that they would not give the Sheriff back-up. The ZRP told me that
Mr
Nyachowa had gone to see the Secretary of Justice, Mr
Mangota.
The Dispol Inspector, Makunike 0912-840 653 and
0913-426 074,
told them that this was not correct but could not get them to
comply with
their duties.
The Sheriff came to town and
went to the Police Headquarters
and they assured him that he would get
back-up, however, when he returned
the backup was not forthcoming. The
Sheriff has his truck with ten
officials to help him with the eviction. He
then proceeded in his car to
Ingwerati and told Paul Nyachowa, who was in the
main house, that he
would be back on Tuesday to evict
him.
28/07/2009The Sheriff returned to Mhandy, ZRP Norton and
was
refused the police details to back him as they said they have a
docket
for us for over staying at the farm. The Sheriff was waiting for
the
Master of the High Court to issue a directive to the police to
assist.
This morning, our Dairy Manager, Moses, contacted us
to say
that Charles Nyachowa had gone into the Dairy and told him he was to
stop
milking and move the cows on Wednesday and also that he was going to
be
welding the gate so that we would not have entry and that his men
would
be running the farm. He broke the padlock into the pack shed
and
replaced it with his own.
28/07/2009The herd of 89 pedigree
Holstein cattle cannot just be
moved as there is silage for four months and
they are fed two and half
tons twice a day with our maize crop that was 10
tons. Three quarters
of this farm is hill and cannot carry many cattle.
Charles Nyachowe told
Moses that he would be bringing his cattle on Sunday
2nd August.
29/07/2009Cows milked. Charles Nyachowe demanded keys
for the
pivot from Moses. No rye grass pasture planted, no cabbages,
potatoes or
onions due to his threats. Went to David Dhumbura who was going
to get
an Emergency Contempt of Court against ZRP Norton and Charles
Nyachowe.
The Sheriff got no reply from the High Court
Magistrate.
Mrs Charle, who always got a donation to feed the
children
from Ingwerati, went to Moses for a donation. She was shocked that
the
Farm was being seized and advised us to go to see Madziwo 023-725 462
and
Cheivutenda (0913-491 242), 314 Sheptra House, 3rd Floor, 94
Cameron
Street. Made an appointment for 4pm that I was unable to keep.
ZIMARATT
(Zimbabwe Mining Agricultural & Residential & Tourism
Trust). (We are
going to give a male calf which she will collect
later).
30/07/2009Went to CFU Mike Clarke who suggested we go to
Jomek
Thabani Mpofu 0912-288 027, 12 Bath Road. He was going to check
Offer
Letters. Phoned 8am to bring Sheriff. Sheriff Gate and Thabani
Mpofu
went straight to the top of PGHQ. We were told to go back to ZRP
Norton
to get assistance and back up. ZRP Norton said they would not
provide
backup. Member in Charge not there and Dispol too busy. The
Sheriff
left a letter stating Eviction 11am, Friday 31st.
(CFU - Mike Clarke mashc@cfuzim.org /
04-2917806).
30/07/2009Cows milked. Charles Nyachowe told Moses to
stop milking
as he is bringing his cattle to the Farm on
Sunday.
The Sheriff dropped his papers at the Magistrate's
High
Court.
CFU suggested going to ZNSPCA which is the
best thing we
did.
ZNSPCA - Glynis Vaughan, Chief
Inspector
ZNSPCA - George Mafundu.
Ingwerati 5pm. Went to main house with Moses. They were
told the Cattle
have nothing to with the land question and if they do
anything to these
animals, ie, stop feeding or milking, they will be
arrested. The ZNSPCA
representative indicated that the cattle were too
thin. No rye grass planted
for cattle due to Charles Nyachowe
interference. Paul Nyachowe living in
main house with Guards to tell his
brother Charles. ZNSPCA to get a report
twice a day to see if the
livestock are being fed and milked. ZNSPCA
wonderful - 100% back
up and strength. Moses much happier with their
backing. Report is made
twice a day that dairy cows fed and milked. Went to
Ingwerati and filled
tractor with diesel. The Sheriff went back to ZRP
Norton after his
auction. Was refused assistance to evict Nyachowe.
Nyachowe had not
slept at the farm that night but left his men in the house
and brother
Paul. The Sheriff was told that they will only go if our lawyer
filed
Contempt of Court papers. We were told by Thabani Mpofu to
contact
Chinhoyi Assistant Commissioner, Nyakutsikwa 067-29009. Still
no
reaction from ZRP Norton.
David Dhumbura had been to
High Court to get contempt but Mr
Alex Masterson told him to wait until his
return.
2/8/2009 Milked cows and sent milk to Nestle. Mr
Madziwo, 314,
3rd Floor Shepton House, 94 Cameron Street met me at OK Marimba
with
Moses and Nomore. Told me his Association ZIMARTT (Zimbabwe
Mining
Agricultural and Residential & Tourism Trust) helped Analinda
Dairy
Farms. He said to come to the office and see his superior
Chirivutenda
at 2pm on Monday 3rd August 2009. Amalinda advised us to wait
for
Bob's return.
Susan Hawthorne, sister of Jan Stuart,
phoned me and told me
that Dave and Jan Stuart received report on Jagg in
Australia. (Don
Stuart murdered on 26 November 2005 and confirm Charles
Nyachowe was the
person who was terrorizing the whole family at the time of
Don
Stuart's murder. The staff who worked on Ingwerati with Don
Stuart
keep telling me this is the main who kept coming to the Farm and
giving
Don and son Dave a very hard time).
3/8/2009 CFU asked
me to contact Lovemore Chidemge (0912-382
852), JOMIC (Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee comprising
ZANU PF, MCD-T, MDC), 134 King George
Avenue. They want to go to
Ingwerati to see the invasion and will follow us
in their car. From
there they will see Ken Bartholomew at Selous. We agreed
to meet at 8am
on the 6th of August.
4/8/2009 Went and
collected PP Manyoro at Katama. Went to
courtroom, gave him four empty
files. He went through the case for the
5th, it was a balls up, we had to go
to ZRP, got Constable Mabwe
(0913-655298), to re-do the docket for court and
add on my Malicious
Damage claim, the previous one being for the locks. The
PP said he must
come back with us to HQ and he looked at the stove,
microwave, kettle,
pillows, curtains, knife, dish and six mattresses given to
staff. I gave
him three copies of the list of items
stolen.
5/8/2009 Attended court case re Malice Damages and
theft. Mark
from JAG accompanied me. Nyachowe said it was all lies and
wanted a
lawyer. Remanded to 19th of August.
6/8/2009 Took
copies of relevant papers for JOMIC, they said
there are no invasions. They
came with us to the farm and looked at the
dairy. They went to the main
house and told them that Nyachowe has to
come and see them at JOMIC. We went
to HQ and we brought the Sheriff and
they all talked. The PP arrived and
showed me how I must do my papers
and that he had heard that Nyachowe had had
things attached in town
because he hadn't paid.
8/8/2009 I
got a phone call and told they wanted to get into the
yard next to the
Manager's house and wanted to put a Maputi mill
and a grinding mill in the
shed there and connect it to our ZESA. They
cut the fence at the back of the
house and walked all around and left
about 9/10 am.
12/8/2009
Went to ZRP to report theft and malicious damage to
Deputy Inspector Ndebele
and they wouldn't accept my report, they
wanted it from the eye witnesses.
Constables Nyandoro and Kuseri went in
the truck with Peter Driver and
interviewed relevant witnesses and
Nyachowe and his men admitted to theft of
wood and damage to fencing and
locks. They went back to police station in
their vehicle. I went to PP
Manyoro and gave him the analysis of the items
stolen.
14/8/2009 Moyra was advised that the farm was gazetted
on
29.8.2008 and the onus was on us to have read it. That gave 45 days
to
wind up and 45 days to vacate the farm. Tegere has said we have
until
the 31st of August. We can take the dairy herd but not the
machinery.
Apparently ZTV carried a story that Nyachowe was going to be
growing
cabbages for export on the farm. Moyra to appear in court on Monday
17th
August and again on the 19th. The PP advised Moyra that Paul
Nyachowe
has now said that it was accidental and not on purpose that he
damaged
the truck
15/8/09 300m electric boundary fence
stolen. Ingwerati
watchmen threatened not to patrol by Nyachowe's
men.
16/8/09 Theft of 600m electric boundary fence (RRB
number
0636486, Constable Gumbo). Breaking & entering of dam pivot
transformer
house and theft of MCB switches and V-380 electric motor serial
number
DA90006 (15-20 HP / 32.7 amps) - RRB No. 0636487
.Investigating
officers cst Gumbo & cst Damba attended the scene to
witness the
electric motor of the the management company that was on lease
hire in
the accussed vehicle. While in the presence of the ZRP they
continued
striping out the electrical switch gear. They were warned but left
to
continue!?
18/8/09 The management company removed all
dairy cattle &
dairy equipment on lease hire to relocate farming
operations due to
police not enforcing the High Court Order & allowing
the criminal theft
of movable equipment on lease
hire.
19/08/09 At 11.25pm the accusseds brother Paul Nyachowe
with
Price Chizhowe In a Green Nissan Hard body twin cab reg #.AAD1725,
&
Green cruiser type car & 4 police details from ZRP
Dzivarsekwa
Cst,
cst..,
cst,
cst..
Arrived on the farm and
arrested 4 workers of the management
company on the accusation that they had
stolen Mr Nyachowes property, we
presume they were claiming ownership of the
movable equipment belonging
to the management company on lease hire that war
removed the previous day
along with the dairy cattle & inputs!. The
workers were not even given
the chance to show a copy of the High Court Order
that they had to prove
that the police & the Nyachowes & co were all
in contempt of court at
that moment.?? The 4 employees were locked away with
no shoes & jackets
until 4 Hrs latter when due to the presentation of the
high court order &
diligent intervention of an ass insp Moyo were
latter released to
return in the morning.
Ingwerati farm report
july09
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com
Officials: Embezzlement cost Kellogg
Foundation
Trace Christenson . The Enquirer . August 22, 2009
Three
people have been indicted in U.S. District Court for allegedly
stealing
$800,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation headquartered in Battle
Creek.
Two men from Zimbabwe who were living in Michigan were
arrested Thursday and
U.S. authorities are attempting to extradite a woman
who was arrested in
South Africa.
"We are glad we were able to charge
them," Assistant U. S. Attorney Timothy
Verhey said from his office in Grand
Rapids Friday. "This is a serious
charge."
Verhey said Nehemiah
Muzamhindo, 44, of Kentwood and Tichaona Machamire, 37,
of Berrien Springs
allegedly established shell businesses similar to
companies already dealing
with the foundation.
Then the third person, Sabina Brand, 37, employed by
the foundation in South
Africa, approved fraudulent invoices and funneled
the money to the two men.
They in turn sent some of the stolen money to
accounts held by Brand.
The indictment alleges that the shell business
were created solely to
receive payment from fraudulent invoices submitted to
the foundation and the
invoices were created to represent work for the
foundation's charitable
activities in Africa.
Brand, fired by the
foundation, remains in South Africa and United States
authorities are
seeking her extradition, although Verhey said she may face
charges there
before being sent to the United States.
The fraud was uncovered in
January 2008 after federal authorities found
evidence while investigating
the two men for passport fraud.
"It was kind of an accident," Verhey
said. "We did a search warrant on a
case that Muzamhindo was supplying false
passports and we found bank
records. We didn't know what the connection was
to the foundation and they
told us they didn't know what it
was."
Verhey said the fraud began in May 2006 and lasted until about May
2008. The
case was dormant until after the fraudulent passport case was
adjudicated.
The indictment by a federal grand jury was issued July
15.
None of the money has been recovered. The loss represents a tiny
fraction of
the foundation's assets, reported to by $5.5 billion in
March.
If convicted of wire fraud and money laundering the three face up
to 20
years in prison. Muzamhindo and Machamire, who have been in the United
States a number of years as resident aliens, are scheduled to appear in
court Wednesday for arraignment.
Officials at the foundation learned
about the scheme in September 2008,
according to Joanne Krell, vice
president for communications.
"This has been very disturbing for the
foundation," Krell said. "We take it
seriously. We were surprised and
surprised at the magnitude. This is unique
in the history of the
foundation."
Krell said the foundation is conducting their own
investigation in
conjunction with American and South African authorities but
said the theft
came despite an understanding of that "the challenges are
greater where
controls are not as robust as in more developed countries. But
we have
evaluators and auditors and we are not leaving things to chance. We
are not
just putting money out there and see what happens."
Krell
said despite the loss of money, the foundation knows a need remains.
"The
foundation has a strong track record of success and tight financial
controls," she said.
Trace Christenson can be reached at 966-0685 or
tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.
Dear Family and
Friends,
Swine Flu has officially arrived in Zimbabwe. A ZBC TV news
bulletin
this week reported that there were a number of confirmed cases
of
swine flu in Mutare. The report said that people should not
panic
because hospitals were prepared, staff had been trained
and
information would soon be disseminated to private
practitioners.
Special attention is apparently going to be given to critical
areas
like the country's border posts.
This latter cannot come soon
enough and I am sure that every poor
soul who has had to endure the horrors
of Beitbridge border post will
agree with me. In the last few days I have met
two Zimbabweans who
have been through the Beitbridge border post this month.
They say it
is hell, a nightmare, a national disgrace, a shame on our
country, a
deep embarrassment to Zimbabwe. And this is being
polite!
When you arrive at Beitbridge from South Africa you are
overwhelmed
by touts. Aggressive young men in their twenties who swarm around
you
and solicit bribes in order for you to proceed through
the
formalities. The touts control the speed and progress of
everything:
the queues, the forms, the stamps and signatures, the
customs
inspections and the final scrap of paper, the gate pass, that
allows
you get through the boom and into Zimbabwe. Both of the travellers
I
spoke to said they simply found it impossible to proceed without
giving
in to the demands for bribes. Every time they got near the
counters in the
border post the touts and their customers would push
in ahead of them with
great piles of papers and none of the officials
on duty were interested in
intervening, not immigration, security,
customs or tax collectors. Touts
appeared to be making an average of
500 Rand, or 50 US dollars per customer -
half the month's pay of a
trained teacher in Zimbabwe.
The toilets at
the border are apparently a swamp, there is no toilet
paper, no towels and no
way at all to keep yourself clean. Everyone
waits till they are through the
border and then pull up on the
roadside and relieve themselves in the bush.
If we are to believe
ZBC, it is into this madness of Beitbridge border post
that there is
going to be swine flu detection and control. Pardon the pun,
but pigs
might fly!
Zimbabwe's unity government has been in place for
six months but it
is still the thieves, con-men, blackmailers and bullies
that are
manning the entry points into our country. Until they are gone
and
until Zimbabwe can clean up the shop window to the country we
haven't
got a hope of controlling swine flu, of tempting tourists into
the
country or of getting any of the overflow of visitors from the
2010
World Cup football games in South Africa. Its about time that some
of
our senior leaders went incognito to Zimbabwe's borders and saw
the
thieves and bullies holding tourists, visitors and returning
residents
to ransom.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy Copyright
cathy
buckle 22nd August 2009.
www.cathybuckle.com
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009 20:07
INFIGHTING within the Zimbabwe National Students' Union (Zinasu)
turned ugly
yesterday after some students were brutally assaulted for trying
to attend a
congress organised by a rival faction.
The union, which represents
students from the country's tertiary
institutions, is now divided into two
factions controlled by MDC-T on one
hand and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) and the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) on the
other.
The students had a serious fall out over the ongoing
constitution-making process and are said to be keen on controlling the union
to advance parallel agendas.
The groups clashed at a Harare
lodge where the faction led by Lovemore
Chinoputsa who was ousted as
secretary general had organised the congress to
pass a vote of no confidence
on Zinasu president Clever Bere.
Four students aligned to Bere
were seriously assaulted and one of
them, Archford Mudzengi who is the
student representative council president
at the Zimbabwe School of Mines
could hardly walk after he was severely
beaten up.
"Some of
the MDC thugs barred members of the executive council from
attending the
meeting," said Zinasu spokesman Blessing Vava.
MDC-T spokesman,
Nelson Chamisa said the skirmishes were "tragic" but
dismissed reports that
his party was behind the violence.
Vava said the matter will
not be reported to the police because it
will be dealt with
"internally".
However Chinoputsa's faction claimed that the
congress attended by
several prominent people in civil society had elected a
new executive for
Zinasu.
"We have voted Brilliant Dube as
the president of Zinasu and Clever
Bere is no longer the president because
he has failed to champion the plight
of students," Chinoputsa
said.
"Students have done it! They have reclaimed their union
from the
influence of NCA and ZCTU and they have voted for someone who will
champion
their cause."
However the credibility of the
"congress" was brought into question as
students from the rival camp were
prevented from taking part. Some of them
were beaten up. Vava said it was a
non-event.
"According to our constitution it is the president that is
supposed to
call and chair a meeting so that meeting is illegitimate," he
said.
MDC-T spokesman, Nelson Chamisa said the skirmishes were
"tragic" but
dismissed reports that his party was behind the
violence.
NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku was not available for
comment yesterday
but in an earlier interview he said they were only
partners with Zinasu in
the constitution-making process and had no interest
in influencing
leadership changes.
BY MOSES CHIBAYA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
19:17
A MASHONALAND East farmer who has been producing 520 tonnes of
maize
seed for Pannar Seeds annually is on the verge of losing his farm to a
Zanu
PF supporter as disturbances on commercial farms continue
unabated.
Dennis Lapham has been told to leave part of his Devonia
Farm - about
40km along the Harare-Murehwa road - including the farm house
by Herbert
Shumbamhini, who first invaded the property in
March.
The saga has drawn in the Minister of Agriculture, Senator
Herbert
Murerwa, whom Shumbamhini claims signed his offer letter. When
pressed by
The Standard, Shumbamhini produced a photocopy. There was no way
of
immediately verifying its authenticity.
Lapham's lawyers
say Murerwa has no authority to issue new offer
letters.
The 900-hectare farm is used by Pannar, a South African company as a
seed
research centre.
Seed for crops such as maize, sorghum, soya, barley,
wheat and sugar
beans is tested at the farm. Lapham also grows barley for
Delta Beverages.
Shumbamhini, who openly admitted his
allegiance to Zanu PF, has
already built a two-bedroomed house at the farm
and is growing cabbages and
maize.
Lapham said the
"intruder" usually patrolled the farm brandishing a
gun. Shumbamhini on
Thursday also switched off electricity to the Lapham's
farm house in a bid
to drive them off.
"He has threatened my workers not to come to
work and he has taken a
block of houses where some of my workers have been
staying," Lapham said.
The two had a meeting in April where
they reached an oral "agreement"
that Lapham would vacate his house by
August 20.
However on Thursday, Lapham was advised by his
lawyers Gollop & Blank
not to leave the property since Shumbamhini did
not have an eviction order.
A copy of the letter, which was
copied to Murerwa by the lawyers
reads: "The Agriculture Land Settlement Act
does not empower or authorise
the minister to unilaterally issue an offer
letter to a third party.
"The Act specifically empowers the
agriculture land resettlement board
to receive application from applicant
requesting use of state land that has
been competently
acquired."
The lawyers also argue that neither Pannar's
representatives nor
Lapham himself had received any valid instruction to
leave the farm.
But Shumbamhini has denied trying to force
Lapham to leave the farm
saying he only wanted part of the property
including the farm house.
"I am just taking a piece of land
which was given to me," he said. "It's
unfortunate that his house falls
under my land but what I just want is my
land and he should leave. After all
he has 560 hectares and I have 353
hectares."
He denied
that he was using violence saying he is a member of the
Johane Masowe
apostolic sect.
"The problem with these white people is that
when they are told to
leave they will run to papers saying there is a farm
invasion yet there is
nothing like that. I am just taking what belongs to
me," Shumbamhini
claimed.
Pannar managing director Themba
Nkatazo said the chaos at the farm
would affect seed production in the
country but his company's hands were
tied.
"We were given
that farm by the government and we have been working
with Lapham for the
past 10 years," he said.
"We were just told that someone is going to
take over part of the farm
and there is nothing we can do about it. This
will likely affect the
production of seeds because we do not know whether
the person who is going
to take over is going to be co-operative or
not."
Lapham says he has had no help from the
police.
Murerwa was not immediately available for
comment.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009 19:14
ZTV
has banned a live television phone-in programme The Legislator
after Zanu PF
bigwigs allegedly complained that the programme promoted the
MDC.
Sources at the country's sole broadcaster said the
programme was
banned after senior Zanu PF politicians told ZBC management
that the
programme was no longer useful.
"The programme was
supposed to have been aired on Thursday night
before the evening news
bulletin but the producers were told that the
programme had been
terminated.
"I don't think it will be shown again on ZTV," said
the source, who
asked to remain anonymous.
He added that the
programme, which has been running since March, had
been banned after
political interference from Zanu PF politicians.
"Remember the
last episode where Zanu PF's Bright Matonga was debating
media reforms with
the MDC's Gift Chimanikire.
"It was felt that Matonga was
exposed and the anchor failed to protect
him from insults from the people
who phoned in to contribute," said the
source.
During the
programme sponsored by the Southern African Parliamentary
Support Trust
(SAPST), a development partner to Parliament, anchor and
former ZBC
editor-in-chief Shepherd Mutamba would call in legislators from
the
country's main political parties to discuss issues around reform.
Members of the public would be allowed to make their contributions or
ask
the MPs to explain what they would have said during the
programme.
MPs discussed issues ranging from politics, media,
constitution, human
rights, corruption and gender.
One viewer two
weeks ago called and told Matonga that they were
destroying the
country.
"Chiiko chamurikutiitira ipapo vanaMatonga? Hamuoni
kuti murikuuraya
nyika here (What on earth are you doing? Can't you see that
you are ruining
the country)?" said the viewer before hanging up.
Mutamba confirmed that he was phoned by one of the producers and
advised
that the programme had been terminated.
"I was called on
Wednesday morning and was advised that the programme
was no longer going to
be aired.
"They didn't give me any further details. For more
information please
talk to the producers or the sponsors," he said.
Mutamba was fired from ZBC by former Information and Publicity
minister,
Jonathan Moyo.
This was after he asked Moyo provocative questions
during a live
programme The Nation.
ZBC spokesman, Sivukile
Simango was not immediately available for
comment.
But
SAPST director John Makamure said he was in the dark on why the
programme
was abruptly taken off air.
"The last time they could not air the
programme they told us that it
was because Vice- President Joseph Msika had
died.
"This time they have not told us why they failed to air it.
I will be
meeting the management to find out what is going on," Makamure
said.
Zanu PF through the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity
has
over the years maintained a tight grip on the public media as it sought
to
control the dissemination of information.
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August
2009 17:04
PARLIAMENT has been forced to bend the rules to accommodate
two people
who failed to be nominated to the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC)
including
a known Zanu PF activist.
Chris Mutsvangwa, former
ambassador to China and a Zanu PF candidate
in last year's parliamentary
elections and Zimpapers board member Lawton
Hikwa were added to the list of
12 nominees submitted to President Robert
Mugabe.
It was
not clear last week which names were dropped from the final
list.
The duo had not made it into the top 12 list from which Mugabe is
supposed
to select nine that will constitute the ZMC.
Zanu PF caused a
furore after their publicists including former Media
and Information
Commission chairman Tafataona Mahoso failed to impress at
the public
interviews earlier this month.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who
accused the panel of experts
that was in charge of the selection process of
favouring the MDC, led the
onslaught against parliament's standing rules and
orders committee (SROC).
The SROC organised the
interviews.
"The controversy stemmed from the fact that politicians had
their own
list and our panel of experts came up with people that it felt
excelled in
the interviews," said Masvingo MP Tongai Matutu, who chairs the
SROC.
"While we believe this was not the best way to do the
nominations, we
do not see the amendment of the list as compromising the
process because
this was a product of consensus among the main
parties."
The original list of the ZMC nominees contained lawyer Chris
Mhike,
journalists Nqobile Nyathi, Mathew Takaona, Miriam Madziwa, Henry
Muradzikwa, Godfrey Majonga and Wabata Munodawafa, academics Rino Zhuwarara
and Clemence Mabaso, Pastor Useni Sibanda, publisher Roger Stringer and
banker Millicent Mombeshora.
Mahoso was left out after he
came last in the interviews that drew 27
participants.
There was
optimism that the commissioners who were seen as largely
untainted by
Mugabe's previous administration that fought hard to destroy
media plurality
will drive the reform agenda.
Zanu PF loyalists including
Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba have
been fighting tooth and nail to
retain the status quo that would have
included Mahoso who gained notoriety
for closing down independent
newspapers.
Matutu said if his
committee had refused to alter the list there would
have been an impasse in
the media reform process, which is a key indicator
for the troubled Global
Political Agreement (GPA).
But media activists said the latest
developments were a clear
indication that true media reform in Zimbabwe was
still a long way off.
"It is an insult to journalists to have
people who performed badly in
the interviews being nominated to head such an
important institution,"
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary-general
Forster Dongozi said.
"It shows lack of seriousness on the part of the
politicians leading
the process and raises serious credibility questions for
the ZMC.
"This is but a mirror of what is happening elsewhere
as far as the
implementation of the GPA is concerned where there are some
forces in the
inclusive government who are working hard to ensure that
important reforms
are not done properly."
Dongozi said
there were already signs that the selection of various
commissions would be
compromised after the SROC failed to invite
applications for commissioners
for the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.
The SROC simply forwarded
names of nominees who had failed to make it
into the ZMC to Mugabe for
consideration.
"There are some experienced broadcasters who did
not apply to be
considered for BAZ because they thought those positions
would be
advertised," he said. "The whole process is compromised and could
reverse
all the gains made so far in media reform."
The
director of the Zimbabwean chapter of the Media Institute of
Southern
Africa, Takura Zhangazha said the confusion surrounding the
nomination of
ZMC commissioners showed the urgent need for self-regulation
in the
media.
"This (altering of the list) undermines any assumption
that the ZMC
will be an independent commission because the nomination of
commissioners
had to be negotiated by political parties," Zhangazha
said.
"The commissioners will now be seen as people who hold briefs
from
political parties.
"This also emphasises the need for
voluntary regulation of the media."
If the ZMC is successfully
constituted it will pave the way for the
registration of a number of private
newspapers that are waiting in the wings
to challenge the monopoly enjoyed
by the state media.
Last week, The Sunday Mail claimed that papers such
as The Daily News
were still a long way off because the three principals to
the GPA, Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara
had to intervene in the selection of the ZMC and BAZ
commissioners.
The claims were seen as an attempt to fuel
confusion and stall the
process further.
Meanwhile,
Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe has called for
transparency in the
selection of commissioners to sit on various commissions
to be created under
the GPA.
"The appointment of commissioners should be strictly
on merit not
political affiliation," ROHR said in a
statement.
"As an organisation we encourage all law-abiding
Zimbabweans to reject
any attempts by the political parties in the inclusive
government to impose
commissioners with self-serving partisan interests at
the expense of the
nation."
The SROC is yet to conduct
interviews for commissioners of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission and the
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission.
BY KHOLWANI NYATHI
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
17:02
ZIMBABWEAN students on government scholarships abroad are living
in
abject poverty because the authorities are failing to dispatch their
allowances on time.
Guardians of students who are on President
Robert Mugabe's scholarship
programme in South Africa say they are concerned
that their children are
being pushed into prostitution and other degrading
means of survival in
foreign lands.
Students, including those
on scholarships provided by countries such
as Algeria, Libya, Cuba, China
and Russia say they last received their
allowances in November last
year.
Government has been sending students to Fort Hare since
1995 but the
programme has been expanded to include more universities in
South Africa.
In February alone, 600 students were sent to the
neighbouring country
under the programme.
"My young brother has
been complaining that they have not received
their grants since November
last year. They were given $300 instead of $3
000 per annum," said one
guardian of a student in Algeria, who requested
anonymity for fear of
attracting the government's wrath.
He said most students in the
North African country had been turned
into beggars.
Another student
in Algeria recently wrote a letter to The Standard
appealing for urgent
government intervention.
"Currently we are on four months
summer holiday during which we do not
have subsidised food," the student
wrote. "We are supposed to buy our own
food and cooking utensils
"We used to borrow money from other nationalities that are in the same
scholarship programme but receive their stipends on time."
The situation was said to be the same at South African universities
that
include Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Limpopo,
Johannesburg University, Wits University and Nelson Mandela
University.
"The situation of fellow Zimbabwean students on government
scholarships is very depressing," said a Zimbabwe student at the University
of Limpopo whose studies are financed by his parents.
Most of them
find part-time jobs in restaurants where they sacrifice
their study time
while the girls are now trapped in prostitution rings.
"The
girls also date old men so that they can afford toiletries and
food. It's
really sad."
Another student said a Zimbabwean student on government
scholarship at
Rhodes University was a victim of a date rape
recently.
Dr Washington Mbizvo, the Secretary for High and
Tertiary Education
admitted that the government had not been able to give
foreign based
students their allowances on time.
But he
said government recently remitted US$550 000 to various
countries for the
allowances.
"I admit that we failed to pay students on time but we
resolved the
issue a week ago," he said last week. "We paid $550 000 to
accommodate
students in various countries."
Asked why the
government kept enrolling students for the scholarship
programme when it did
not have money to finance it, Mbizvo said some of the
scholarships were
offered by friendly countries.
The Presidential Scholarship scheme was
Mugabe's brainchild and was
supposed to benefit intelligent students from
underprivileged backgrounds.
But of late, relatives of Zanu PF
politicians and government ministers
have been among the major beneficiaries
and students say these
politically-connected off-springs are not affected by
the hardships
affecting others.
Zimbabwe National Students'
Association (Zinasu) spokesperson Blessing
Vava said the plight of the
students mirrored the collapse of the country's
tertiary education
sector.
"It's unfortunate to hear such reports, government should act
so that
the situation gets back to normal," he said.
A
recent parliamentary probe revealed that female students in the
country's
higher learning institutions had resorted to living with men or
prostitution
in order to raise money for tuition and examination fees.
The
government has slashed spending on the education sector over the
years owing
to the economic meltdown blamed on Mugabe's policies.
Vava said
instead of sending students to universities outside the
country, the
government must adequately equip local institutions, which
during the period
1980s - 1990s had the capacity to provide world-class
programmes.
Zimbabwe has eight state universities, which are currently operating
below
capacity due to severe under-funding.
Thousands of students are
struggling to pay the steep fees demanded by
the institutions.
BY MOSES CHIBAYA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009 17:00
BULAWAYO - The family of the late nationalist and vice-president
Joshua
Nkomo on Friday slammed politicians for abusing his name for personal
gain.
Zanu PF politicians, especially President Robert Mugabe,
are always
quick to invoke Nkomo's name during campaigns.
Mugabe says Nkomo told him on his death bed that he should strive to
unite
Zimbabweans.
But Nkomo's eldest son, Sibangilizwe, speaking on behalf
of the family
at the launch of a documentary on the life and works of the
national hero,
said some politicians were even abusing his father's name for
financial
gain.
Nkomo, a revered political figure who led
the struggle for
Independence, died in 1999.
"There are people out
there who are trying to rubbish my father's
name," Sibangilizwe
said.
"They are also trying to tarnish his image by saying a lot of
things
about him, some (things) of which destroy the image of my
father.
"A lot of things have been said about him and if we
are not careful
his name will be rubbished like those of Lobengula and
Mzilikazi who stand
accused of betraying the Ndebele
nation."
He said politicians had made promises to facilitate a
number of
projects in Nkomo's name but none had
materialised.
"A lot of nice things have been said about my
father. So many people
come and say a lot of things about him when it suits
them.
"But surprisingly we have not seen those promises being
transformed
into reality," Sibangilizwe said.
"We have heard there
are statues that are supposed to be constructed
in honour of my father but
we have not seen these statues. We have waited
for people from afar to come
here and do things for us which we can do for
ourselves."
Government used to hold music galas to celebrate Nkomo's life but it
is not
clear how the money generated from the festivals was spent.
Apart from the renaming of Bulawayo airport to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo
International Airport and that of Gwanda Zintec College into the Joshua
Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic, promises made to honour the late nationalist
still remain a mirage.
The docu-drama titled Nyongolo -
The man, His Works, His Vision - The
legacy lives on was produced by a youth
organisation, the Friends of Joshua
Trust.
A photographic
exhibition that tells Nkomo's life story was also
launched and is expected
to be officially opened to the public tomorrow.
BY NKULULEKO
SIBANDA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
15:41
JUST a year ago the mere mention of new tobacco farmers evoked
images
of hard-up villagers with crude home-made sandals squatting outside
auction
floors with nothing to eat.
But the new tobacco farmers
who may have been miserable last year
after hyper-inflation eroded their
earnings to near-nothing, today have
rags-to-riches tales to tell after
receiving payment for their tobacco in
foreign currency during the past four
months.
One such farmer is Tineyi Marumahoko. After selling eight
bales of
tobacco last year, Marumahoko received a cheque worth several
trillions of
the worthless Zimbabwe dollars which expired in his hut. He
could not do
anything with the cheque because the banks did not have the
bank notes to
encash it.
But after selling his produce to the
Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) in
Harare in May this year, Marumahoko went back
to his farm in Karoi in
Hurungwe with US$700 in cash.
That
was the first time the villager-turned-tobacco farmer had handled
such an
amount of money.
He didn't waste it - buying a generator, water pump
and a scotch cart.
He did not forget groceries for his family
either.
Now Marumahoko is hard at work preparing for the forthcoming
season.
He hopes the water pump, powered by his new generator, will
provide
irrigation for his tobacco crop, boosting his potential earnings
next year.
Marumahoko is not the only "new farmer" who has
reason to smile.
In fact there are many more farmers who got huge
amounts of money,
thanks to the dollarisation of the
economy.
Last year Edison Chanhuhwa (32) from Chishumba village
in Magunje
delivered 21 bales and did not get a cent for his
efforts.
Chanhuhwa had to borrow money from his relatives in
Harare to go back
to his rural home, after being paid by cheque which he
could not cash at
his bank.
The "new farmer" still keeps
the expired cheque as a souvenir to show
anyone who cares to know what a
wasted effort that tobacco crop turned out
to be.
But he
has put all this down as part of tobacco growing history.
Chanhuhwa this
year delivered 16 bales to the auction floors and with the
hard currency
that he received, he bought a Mazda B2200 and inputs for this
agricultural
season.
Many villagers could not recognize him when he drove
back to Magunje
in his new automobile that he says is going to make his
farming business a
lot easier.
Another farmer who identified
himself as Shumba from Karoi purchased a
grinding mill, a plough and five
tonnes of fertiliser after selling his
tobacco this year.
He thanked Mashonaland Tobacco Company (MTC) for assisting him with
inputs.
He would have been stranded because the 10 bales he sold last year
earned
him a "useless" cheque.
The villagers' success has prompted
many other farmers who were
growing other crops like maize, cotton to turn
to tobacco which had been a
preserve of large-scale commercial
farmers.
Cotton farmer Tawanda Mudyandakarima said he was
concentrating on
tobacco after being inspired by developments in his
neighbourhood.
"I was encouraged by my friends who arrived from
auction floors with
cars, tractors, generators, water pumps not to mention
fertiliser which was
scarce all these years.
"This year we
are going to prove that we can do it and we hope that we
will receive
adequate rains," Mudyandakarima said jovially.
Some farmers
have even purchased coal to cure their tobacco instead of
using firewood,
which is feared could be contributing to deforestation.
Walking
around various plots in Mashonaland West these days, young
inexperienced
farmers are seen everywhere busy tending their seedbeds in the
hope of
making more money next season.
But it's not everyone who is
using their cash wisely. Some of the new
farmers have nothing to show for
their effort after they squandered their
fortune in bars and night clubs
that have mushroomed near the Boka auction
floors.
Others,
who were more adventurous, only have memories of good times at
Colour Purple
night club near TSF.
Others still are leaking their wounds after they
failed to resist the
temptation of commercial sex workers. There are reports
some of the rural
farmers temporarily "married" during their stay in
Harare.
But these are the hard lessons for them. Perhaps next year they
will
spend their money wisely.
Tobacco companies have said they are
determined to assist more needy
farmers with inputs provided they grow the
golden leaf this year.
MTC has already started assisting
farmers with fertilisers, chemicals
and fuel and says it will soon increase
the number of farmers it offers
help.
Other companies that are
assisting farmers with inputs include
Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, Burley
Marketing Zimbabwe and power utility, Zesa.
BY MOSES CHIBAYA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
15:41
AN MDC legislator who was set to be named Ambassador to Senegal
has
refused to undergo diplomatic training, sources in the party told The
Standard last week.
Siyabonga Malandu Ncube, MP for Insiza in
Matabeleland, had been
selected to undergo a three-month diplomatic course
together with four other
nominees from MDC-T, but did not take up the
offer.
The reasons for turning it down are
unclear.
Ncube on Friday refused to comment saying "you people
in the media
have been writing stories about me without seeking my comment,
so you go
ahead".
He then switched off his mobile
phone.
Sources said Ncube expected to be posted to a developed
nation on
completion of his training and Senegal may not have appealed to
him.
The legislator was expected to make way for party vice-president
Gibson Sibanda who has to find a parliamentary seat to keep his ministerial
post.
The smaller formation was on Friday said to be still
trying to find a
replacement for Ncube for the diplomatic
posting.
MDC-T nominees Hebson Makuvise, Jacqueline Zwambila,
Hilda Mafudze and
Khumbulani Mabed, are already undergoing training in
Harare.
MDC spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa and the party's
secretary-general
Welshman Ncube could not be reached for
comment.
Makuvise is the ambassador-designate to Germany and
was the MDC-T's
chief representative in London.
Zwambila is a
former advisor to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
last year's MDC-T
losing parliamentary candidate for Chegutu.
She will be posted
to Australia.
Mafudze, a former MDC-T MP for Manyame, is the country's
next
ambassador to Sudan, while Mabed is set to be posted to
Nigeria.
The Standard has established that the trainee
diplomats will only be
able to take up their diplomatic posts early next
year because the inclusive
government is broke.
The
government has been struggling to pay its diplomats over the past
nine
years.
In some countries, diplomats have gone for several months
without
getting their full salaries.
The current economic
hardships in Zimbabwe that have seen foreign
currency receipts disappear has
meant that the government has not been able
to pay its diplomats and locally
recruited staff on time.
Zimbabwe has 38 diplomatic missions as well as
three consulates across
the world, with the biggest missions being New York
and Geneva due to United
Nations work.
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
13:17
THE Zimbabwe National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS
(Znap) has demanded the withdrawal of television adverts meant to fight
stigma saying the messages sent the wrong signals.
The adverts
aired on ZTV on a daily basis are sponsored by Population
Services
International (PSI).
ZNAP is an umbrella body for Aids organisations
that include the
Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS Activist Union, Treatment Action
Campaign, the Progressive
Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe, Tamuka Foundation and
Life Empowerment Support
Organisation (LESO).
In a letter dated
August 17 to PSI senior advisor Karen Hatzold and
signed by the Znap's
secretary Olive Mutabeni and chairperson Bernard
Nyathi, the organisation
said the adverts only served to reinforce stigma
against people living with
the virus.
One of the adverts that irked the association shows a
teacher who
announces that she is HIV positive and asks if parents would be
comfortable
if she taught their children.
Another shows commuters
refusing to handle bus fare from a couple
living with the virus.
"It is our finding that as an association of people living with HIV,
your
organisation PSI is labeling us as people who discriminate themselves
(sic)," read the petition.
"It is also our feeling that you are
abusing people living with HIV
with your scripts and television
adverts.
"All these adverts are not welcoming and they do not sound
genuine and
they are too many yet there is no access to treatment."
Mutabeni who is also the director for Leso, an organisation that
provides
home-based care for Aids patients said members of her association
met
recently in Harare and resolved to petition PSI over the adverts.
She
said personally she felt the adverts were misleading and raised a
lot of
questions.
"We don't know what they are trying to say in the adverts,"
Mutabeni
said.
"We feel they are leaving people to guess what they
mean in their
messages and this may be very dangerous because not everyone
understands
issues of HIV and Aids.
"Their adverts must have more
information and where controversial
issues are raised someone at the end
must explain what the issue is about.
"For example the teacher advert
could end with that teacher saying her
HIV status does not mean she is in
any way less effective than to end with
the question, "would you want me to
teach your child because I am HIV
positive?"
"This does not portray
us in a positive light."
A senator recently raised concern during
debate in the upper house
about Aids adverts, which she said might promote
promiscuity.
Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa of Matobo took issue with an
advert on ZTV
that claims a condom can stretch for a metre and hold a litre
of water.
She said women might be tempted to sleep around hoping that
they can
find mean with sexual organs to match the elasticity of the
condoms.
PSI communications officer, Kumbirai Chatora comfirmed that
the
organisation received the petition and that talks with Znap were
underway to
address the concerns.
Chaota said PSI usually carries
out research and "pre-testing" before
the adverts are aired on
television.
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
13:13
WHILE working in Epworth as a field communications officer with
Medicines San Frontiers, Holand Joanna Stavropoulou met a group of HIV
positive women whose life stories touched her.
She was so
inspired that she decided to make a short film about them.
After she
came up with the idea that would have been a departure from
MSF's line of
work of providing medical aid relief to the needy,
Stavropoulou says
convincing her bosses to support the project became the
biggest
challenge.
But she persevered and won the support even from beyond her
employment.
Her film started showing on Wednesday.
In the
film, The Positive Ladies Soccer Club which is based on true
events, a group
of HIV positive women from Epworth decide to form a soccer
club to fight
stigma in their community.
Stavropoulou followed the team, the ARV
Swallows from their first
practice session where a volunteer coach teaches
them from scratch how to
kick a ball.
At first the coach is very
frustrated because the women had never
played soccer before.
Their
community is also not amused because the group was going against
"tradition."
The women had to put up with jeers as they went about
their paces
every day.
The jeers were mostly from men in their
community who did not believe
soccer could be a women's game.
But
in the end it was the strong spirit of the ARV Swallows that won
them both
the HIV positive Women's League championship and the support and
acceptance
of their community.
At the close of the league programme where team
captain China took
them to the championship there were many spectators
compared to those who
watched their training sessions.
The ARV
Swallows proved to their community that being HIV positive was
not in anyway
limiting and that one can achieve anything they set out to do.
One of
the most inspiring role in the film is that of China who claims
she once
died but rose from the dead to play this role of raising awareness
about HIV
and Aids to fight stigma.
China stays alone with her son whom she says
took care of her while
she was very ill.
She recalls a time when
she was very sick that the neighbours would
call her a "living
corpse".
Then there is also Meria who had to take her husband to the
clinic in
a wheelbarrow for daily injections while he was on treatment for
tuberculosis for the third time.
This happened for two
months.
Meria did not quit the soccer team although at some point she
had
contemplated doing so.
Also featured in the film is another
strong woman Nyarai, a basket
maker whose husband refused to get tested but
was brave enough to get tested
with her child.
Nyarai is now living
positively with the virus together with her
child.
Speaking after
the film premiered in Harare on Wednesdy, Stavropoulou
told Standardhealth
that she was particularly moved by the fact that even
after going through
such heart-rending experiences the women were still
"unbroken".
"The inspiration for me for this film is the women themselves," she
said.
"When I met them I was so touched by their strength and their
kindness
and their generosity of spirit that immediately I felt that they
were my
heroines and I said to myself I have to make a film about these
women."
Stavropoulou said although it was a departure from MSF's line
of work,
she wanted to share the women's experiences with the
world.
"MSF is an organisation that focuses on medical relief that is
why we
are here in Zimbabwe," she said.
"We don't make many films
around the world as we don't concentrate on
that but for this story we
thought that this one of those stories that are
so wonderful to
see.
"They can really show the world how wonderful these women are that
we
really overcome all the challenges and we managed to pull it all
together."
Stavropoulou has lived in Harare for over a year now working
for MSF.
She has previously worked as a free-lance journalist, writing
from
various countries like Ethiopia and Sri Lanka and was a radio presenter
in
Athens, Greece.
MSF started working in Zimbabwe in 2000 and
currently runs HIV focused
projects in Bulawayo, Tsholotsho, Buhera, Gweru,
Epworth and Beitbridge
where it provides Antiretroviral therapy for at least
16 000 people and 3
700 of them in Epworth.
BY BERTHA
SHOKO
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
13:49
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti says as long as he is in charge of
the
treasury, the Zimbabwean dollar will not bounce back.
The
Finance Minister made the pronouncement last week after Reserve
Bank
governor Gideon Gono started publicly advocating for the return of the
discredited Zimbabwe dollar, backed by mineral resources such as gold,
diamond and platinum.
The central bank chief, who is
accused of quickening the demise of the
Zimbabwe dollar through unrestrained
printing and quasi- fiscal activities
said if his proposals were taken on
board, the government would establish an
independent committee of
stakeholders to manage the currency system.
He said the
committee will ascertain and certify the quantity of gold
or diamonds
"produced to back the issuance of the local currency.
But Biti
dismissed Gono's suggestions outrightly.
"There is only one
Minister of Finance who has spoken and said the
Zimbabwean dollar is not
coming back," he said.
"As long as I am Minister of Finance it
(Zimbabwean dollar) will not
come back."
In his mid term
fiscal policy review Biti said government will set
aside US$6 million to
convert Zimbabwean dollar accounts at a rate which is
still to be
determined.
This will put the tombstone on the grave of the
Zimbabwean dollar.
Analysts say the country is not ready to use
the local unit as people
have lost confidence in it due to the 2007-2008
cash crisis.
Independent economist John Robertson said trying
to bring the
Zimbabwean dollar back without boosting production in all
sectors of the
economy would be an exercise in futility.
"If we try to bring it (Zimbabwean dollar) back, it will lose value in
a
week. You need credibility in your currency which is not there," he
said.
Daniel Ndlela, the head of economic consultancy firm,
Zimconsult, told
Standardbusiness that people had not forgotten the pain
they suffered to
access their money from banks last year.
"People lost confidence in the financial system and if you talk of the
Zimbabwean dollar what comes to people's mind is whether they are going to
sleep in queues again," said Ndlela, an independent
economist.
Last year Zimbabweans had to endure long hours in
endless queues to
access their money as hyperinflation decimated the value
of the local
currency.
Ndlela said to back the currency on
the amount of resources available
was ill-advised as the country had
depleted mineral reserves.
"Technically, if you say that the
currency is going to be based on
gold what if the gold is only 15-18% of the
currency in circulation," he
said.
"Does he propose that
the Zimbabwe dollar he wants to bring back is
going to be used side by side
with multiple currencies or as a dominant
currency?"
He
said the gold available in the country was not enough to back the
Zimbabwean
dollar as the dominant currency.
Ndlela said there was no basis
for the currency to be based on an
isolated resource.
"The
currency is based on the total assets value of a nation. Even
countries with
the richest resources have never based their currencies on
specific
resources," he said.
Figures from RBZ show that the country has
gold reserves of 13 million
tonnes. At a current annual extraction rate of
20 tonnes, it will take 650
000 years for the reserves to be
exhausted.
With platinum reserves of 2.8 billion tones, it will
take 1 200 years
to exhaust the reserves at an annual extraction rate of 2.3
million tonnes
per annum.
But mining is capital intensive
which requires heavy investment and
with the empowerment legislation and the
amendments to the Mines and
Minerals Act pending, Zimbabwe will find it
difficult to attract investors
into the sector.
"The
resource will stay underground for billions and billions of years
because
the empowerment legislation and proposed amendments scare away
investors,"
Robertson said.
Gono's proposals came at a time authorities are
considering joining
the Common Monetary Area (CMA) that uses the rand as its
currency.
The CMA comprises South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland
and Lesotho.
Standardbusiness is reliably informed that the
rand will be made the
official currency when Biti announces the 2010
national budget in November.
According to the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) working
paper produced last month, joining the
CMA is the only option available for
Zimbabwe as the country enjoys more
trade with South Africa compared to the
United States.
Reviving the moribund local currency without an improvement on
production
and a credible central bank is a non starter, analysts say.
Capacity utilisation in industries, though increasing, has not yet
reached
the pre-crisis levels.
RBZ lost its credibility a long time ago
after it failed to tame the
cash crisis.
In addition,
independence of the central bank is paramount if the
local currency was to
be revived.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009 13:47
THE
African Development Bank (AfDB) has given Zimbabwe US$6 million in
technical
assistance to reboot key ministries of Finance and Economic
Planning and
Investments Promotion.
But the financial institution will not pour
any money directly to the
unity government's coffers yet because the country
has not settled its
arrears with the regional bank.
While the assistance is laudable, it is not the kind of help Zimbabwe
requires at this moment as it seeks to revive the ailing
economy.
Under the revival plan, Short Term Emergency Recovery
Programme
(STERP), the country requires US$8.3 billion of which S$1 billion
is for
immediate budgetary support and another US$1 billion for supporting
the
private sector through self-liquidating lines of
credit.
The AfDB technical assistance will be funded from the
Fragile State
Facility (FSF) of the bank and will come in
batches.
Finance Minister, Tendai Biti told Standardbusiness
the money would be
used to re-equip the Central Statistical Office (CSO) so
that it can provide
credible statistics.
As at the end of
April, Zimbabwe owed AfDB S$438 million. It also owed
IMF US$138 million and
World Bank US$676 million.
The debt to the three lending
institutions means that the country
cannot access any lines of
credit.
They have said that they are prepared to assist Zimbabwe come
out of
the woods if the arrears were to be cleared.
Although AfDB sanctions policy precludes the bank from financing
operations
in countries in arrears, it makes an exemption for technical
assistance
particularly for pre-investment studies and institutional
strengthening.
AfDB does not have internal resources to clear
Zimbabwe's arrears but
it could utilise instruments of the existing Fragile
State Facility for the
country's arrears clearance operation once Zimbabwe's
eligibility for the
resources is approved by the Board of Directors,
according to a joint note
by the group, IMF and World Bank done in
June.
Through the FSF, AfDB is able to provide arrears clearance
grants to
eligible countries that meet a set of political and economic
requirements.
The requirements include a commitment to
consolidating peace and
security, meeting social and economic needs and have
respected the preferred
creditor status of the AfDB group among
others.
Zimbabwe's eligibility to the FSF will be the determined by
the IMF
and World Bank on the country's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC)
eligibility.
The FSF requires that its arrears clearance
programmes be closely
co-ordinated with those of other partners such as the
IMF and World Bank.
"Should Zimbabwe be declared eligible to HIPC
and to the FSF, the FSF
could bear at least 67 % of the clearance of the
arrears of Zimbabwe to the
AfDB Group based on Zimbabwe's capacity to pay
and subject to the
availability of sufficient FSF resources," read part of
the note.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
13:44
BULAWAYO - Zimbabwe has been ranked last alongside war-torn
Afghanistan as the riskiest place to invest in the world underlying some of
the reasons why the inclusive government is still struggling to attract the
much needed foreign direct investment.
A report released on
Thursday by the United States based provider of
credit information on
businesses, corporations and governments in the world,
Dunn and Bradstreet
attributed the poor ranking to a number of factors.
"Zimbabwe and Afghanistan offer a high-risk environment for business
investment," said Dunn and Bradstreet's chief executive officer Christine
Christian in the report accompanying results of the survey.
"The two countries have high levels of economic, commercial, external
and
political uncertainty."
Australia is ranked as the safest place
in the world to invest,
alongside Canada, Norway and
Switzerland.
Dunn and Bradstreet reports are "utilised by many
major banks/lenders,
insurance and finance companies, federal agencies and
endorsed by the
European Union as the primary identification system for
International
business assessment and validation throughout the
world."
Zimbabwe's young coalition government is struggling to
woo much needed
financial direct aid and investment to kick-start the
revival of an economy
that has been in reverse gear for over a
decade.
Key western countries and financial aid organisations
have set certain
benchmarks like drastic political, legislative and economic
reforms before
they pour in with US$8 billion that the unity government says
it requires
for the economic revival programme.
BY NQOBANI
NDLOVU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22
August 2009 16:41
"ISN'T it odd", a friend asked recently, "that of all
the jobs in the
world, the ones that are the most contentious and perhaps
the most
influential in society are not subject to the same rigorous
selection
process that all of us go through to get our ordinary
jobs.
I mean," he paused, gesturing vigorously in a show of
exasperation,
before continuing, "Anyone can wake up on a good day and
decide to stand for
an election. And if he belongs to the 'right' party he
will be an MP the
very next day. He might never say a single word during his
time in
Parliament but he will be the first in the queue to demand his
imported 4 x
4 vehicle!"
Chris, my friend, was referring
to political positions - for example,
becoming a Member of Parliament, a
government minister, a governor, etc.
"But surely, there is no
more rigorous selection process than an
election, is there?" That was Sam's
response. In his view, the election
procedure is the most effective way to
select political leaders. He said in
some cases, such as in our own country,
getting one of those positions can
be a matter of life and death. Naturally,
a heated debate ensued.
Some were adamant that like all jobs,
these positions must have clear
criteria and competence levels to facilitate
the selection of competent
candidates. They thought the quality of democracy
inevitably suffers due to
the abundance of mediocre
decision-makers.
The counter argument was that it is futile to talk
of competent
representatives if those charged with the selection process
lack the
competence levels. It depends on whether the voters have the
competence to
decide on the issues that they are asked to determine.
Inevitably, the
discussion centred on the current constitution-making
process in Zimbabwe.
Chris, ever the doubting Thomas, wasn't
quite sure that all
Zimbabweans eligible to vote in the proposed
constitutional referendum
really understand and appreciate what they should
be voting on. In other
words, he doubts whether the voters, as the
decision-makers have the
necessary competence levels to make decisions on
the various issues, some of
which, in his view are technical and
complex.
"I did not vote against the constitution", he said in
reference to his
'No' vote at the 2000 Constitutional Referendum. "I did not
even read it" he
confessed, "What was the problem with it?" he posed the
question to no one
in particular before bursting into hysterical laughter.
"I was just told
that it was a bad document but honestly I don't know! What
I do know is that
I voted against Zanu PF!" he asserted, emphasising the
last bit as if to
underline his total displeasure.
Others
dismissed Chris as being elitist. But most were united on the
question as to
whether or not we might have been better placed if the
majority had adopted
that constitution in 2000. Others mumbled that like
Chris, they had not
actually found time or energy to read the document but
had relied on other
people's word. They were not sure if they had the
ability to read the
complex legal language that 'you lawyers use' they said,
pointing an
accusatory finger at me. Having learned from day one that my
breed could
never escape the end of all the jokes and jibes, I let it pass.
However, listening to this discussion, I observed that there was great
concern over the issue of competence or more precisely, the relationship
between democracy and competence. To what extent does competence matter in
democratic politics? Do voters have to be competent to make certain
decisions and if so what is this competence and how is it measured? Even if
there were some agreement on the meaning of competence, to what extent does
the election, a key institution of democracy, enable people to choose
competent leaders? Clearly, there are no guarantees. So there are two
issues: first the competence of the voters and second, the competence of the
chosen representatives.
My colleagues were worried about
their competence as voters and
simultaneously, the competence of those who
get elected to properly deal
with the issues they face in their jobs. I
think this is an old problem, one
that has been recognised from the early
days. That is why there is a
distinction that is drawn sometimes between
direct and indirect democracy.
This means that some issues can only be
decided by the citizens (direct
democracy) whereas other issues are
delegated to the people's
representatives (indirect).
The
view is that there are some issues that require greater political
knowledge
and skill and perhaps more urgency so that they are delegated to
elected
representatives. The assumption here is that the elected
representatives
would have the necessary competence to deal with those
delegated issues. But
of course, as our discussion showed, this is not
always the
case.
The elected representatives may in fact be no better than the
citizens
who would have voted for them. The other assumption is that the
voters would
have the necessary competence to enable them to choose
competent
representatives. Again, this is not always the case because
conditions do
not provide sufficient information and knowledge to enable
them to have this
competence. Not surprisingly, mediocrity reigns supreme
and the citizens are
disappointed and in worse cases, disillusioned. In this
case democracy
becomes a danger to itself.
To my mind, the
trouble here is with the conditions in which the
choices have to be made. I
have long been concerned about the conditions
that enable a democracy not
only to flourish but also to be effective in
positively changing the lives
of citizens. But I also think that democracy
would be severely weakened and
its momentum would be diminished if it
produced leaders who are not fit for
the purpose.
But of course, I realise that this is dangerous
ground. As Chris found
out in the discussion, there is always the charge of
elitism whenever one
talks of competence.
I must hasten to
add that to my mind, competence does not necessarily
refer to educational
ability or qualifications. One may never have stepped
into a classroom but
would still be a very competent MP whereas one could
have a plethora of
high-sounding degrees but would be severely limited in
terms of the
competence levels required of an MP. Education is not the
issue.
What is an issue is whether our system provides the
facility to
determine the competence levels of political aspirants. The main
and
perhaps, only concern is popularity - which is probably why our leaders
only
tell us what they think we want to hear. We have not built-in the
mechanisms
to test the competence of the potential leaders.
There are however some good signs which should be encouraged. It is
important to improve voter competence through civic education. This I
believe is what some civic organisations such as Zimbabwe Election Support
Network (ZESN) have been trying to do for years. It's a pity that the
government has not always been receptive, seeing these efforts as partisan
in favour of the opposition.
Another way is to improve freedom
and diversity in the media. The more
information there is, the more the
citizens have the knowledge and
ultimately the competence to make informed
decisions. Also, citizens must be
able to critically engage with their
potential representatives beyond the
forum of the popular rally which more
often than not is about politicians
talking to the people and not people
talking to their politicians.
The same applies to the current
constitution-making process. It is
necessary that voters who will be called
upon to decide on the final
constitution have the knowledge to make an
informed decision; that this is
not merely about party politics but about
creating the supreme and hopefully
enduring law of the land.
In the
end, there seems to have been a general consensus that unless
the competence
levels - of voters and representatives - are improved, the
quality of our
democracy will remain weak and disappointing.
nAlex Magaisa is
based at, Kent Law School, the University of Kent
and can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk or a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009 16:33
THE statement by the Minister of
Finance, Tendai Biti, that the
government intends to provide inputs to
communal farmers is very positive.
By 1983, the maize production by communal
farmers, resettlement farmers and
small-scale farmers was 75% of the total
national production.
By that time, commercial farmers had moved to
other exotic crops and
other commercial activities.
Obviously, the
Minister's intention here is that if communal farmers
have the inputs and
God gives us sufficient rains, they will produce such
quantities of maize as
would get the country out of the perennial food
shortage. There is no
mention of the old resettlement farmers. It was the
production of these old
resettlement farmers, together with communal farmers
that saw the maize
production overtaking that of the large-scale commercial
farmers.
Presumably the A1 and A2 farmers would need to
fend for themselves. A1
farmers are glorified communal farmers. Even the old
resettlement schemes
are glorified communal areas. We know that in all these
areas or schemes,
government has appointed village heads and in some cases,
even headmen have
been appointed. This is further confirmation of what they
are in addition to
the actual manner the people are
resettled.
As for A2 farmers, from what I have seen on the
ground, there are
three groups of this category of farmer. The first group
is those with
around 30ha each, followed by those with larger pieces of land
probably
averaging 60ha each. These two groups are called self-contained but
in time
they will also be communal as the parents allocate cropping land to
their
children. The last group is those who took over whole existing farms.
This
group has several other variations but I believe they are all called
A2.
Finally we have commercial farms whose owners bought them and have
title.
I understand that around 200 000 families were given
land under the
current land reform programme. Of these, about 16 000 are A2
farmers. It
needs to be appreciated that the bulk of all the resettled
people came from
communal areas even some from the former resettlement
areas. (My neighbours
in Gweru who are all A2 with pieces of land averaging
25ha largely came from
various communal areas - their maize production was
good this year).
If the Minister's input programme leaves out
these farmers, then the
objective of food self-sufficiency will not be
realised since some of the
communal farmers moved and are now A1 or A2.
While I appreciate that the
Minister is constrained by lack of resources,
there should be no
discrimination between farmers. After all the Global
Political Agreement
says that while the method used in land reform may not
have been the best,
there will not be a reversal.
Agricultural policy must have the aim of transforming all communal
farmers
from subsistence to commercial farmers. Commercial farming should
not by
definition, be confined to large-scale farms but to all farms.
In order
to transform communal farmers from subsistence to commercial
farmers, the
government needs to subsidise farmers not through free inputs
which are
given every year to the same farmers - with a lot of corruption
in the
distribution chain - but subsidise through affordable inputs which
would be
available in shops throughout the country.
In other words producers
of seed and fertilizers, in the main, must be
subsidised. Also subsidised
should be electricity. I have said, on many
occasions that, that any attempt
to remove subsidies from the Common
Agricultural Policy of the EU will see
French farmers blocking streets with
their tractors in Paris. The US
subsidises even honey producers! Our failure
in this country has been how we
subsidise farmers.
The other very critical transformative
factor is the need to ensure
that farmers are mechanised. We must move away
from the draught power of
oxen, cows or donkeys. Small farmers do not need
big tractors of over 60hp.
They need functional, versatile, and
cost-effective tractors suitable and
economically viable even for their
small holdings. These tractors should
come with implements, back-up spares
and should be supported by trained
maintenance personnel.
The G8 countries had their annual meeting in Italy last month where
they
pledged US$20 billion to revamp agriculture in Africa. It is quite
obvious
that they will not be interested in donkeys as a means of draught
power. As
a country, we should by now have approached these countries and
taken them
on their pledge.
We need agricultural revolution in this country where
all farmers
irrespective of the size of their land will be commercial. In
this way, it
will also be possible to beneficiate the farmers' produce even
within their
areas. Cattle will then be commercial instead of being the
source of draught
power and status symbol.
Renson Gasela is the
MDC Secretary for Lands and Agriculture. He is a
former GM of the Grain
Marketing Board.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 22 August 2009
16:32
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma's visit this week to officially open the
Harare
Agricultural Show could have provided the climax of efforts by South
African
businesses to invest in Zimbabwe.
Regional leaders who
are invited for the annual show bring with them
an entourage of business
people, anxious to scout for opportunities.
In April this year, a
high-level delegation of senior South African
business leaders flew into the
country to hold meetings focusing on that
country's plans for economic
recovery.
According to Business Unity SA (Busa) the main aim of
the visit was to
receive a briefing from the Government of National Unity
(GNU) on its plans
for economic recovery and the potential role South
African business could
play.
The meetings provided an
important opportunity to establish contact
with the new government and to
express the support of the South African
private sector for efforts to
rebuild the economy in Zimbabwe.
The 22-member delegation on an
exploratory mission for possible
investments was led by former President of
Busa, Patrice Motsepe of African
Rainbow Minerals and included
representatives from the mining, retail,
infrastructure, agriculture,
transport, financial services and healthcare
sectors.
The
delegation came at the invitation of the Minister of Finance,
Tendai Biti,
and held meetings with President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan
Tsvangirai, other ministers and officials from the GNU.
African Rainbow
Minerals (ARM), a mining concern owned by Motsepe, has
registered a company
in Zimbabwe to scout for investment opportunities in
coal and
platinum.
Zimbabwe is the second largest platinum producer in
the world after
South Africa, but its vast deposits remain largely
untapped.
In its Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme, the
GNU identified
mining as one of the key sectors that investors would be
encouraged to enter
into either in partnership with local firms.
Despite "frank discussions" with Zimbabwe authorities, the SA
delegation
stressed that "the rules of investment should remain in place".
This was a reference to three critical areas that remain an impediment
to
foreign investment: last year's enactment of an empowerment law seeking
to
transfer control of foreign firms to locals, which has unnerved foreign
investors; the government's ambivalent approach to exploitation of the
Chiadzwa diamonds in Marange, where a British company , African
Consolidated Resources , holds legal title to mining claims on nearly all
of the land incorporating the diamond fields; and failure by the GNU to
finalise a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with
South Africa to respect and protect business interests of SA nationals in
Zimbabwe.
Since April the GNU has repeatedly failed to
conclude the BIPPA with
South Africa. The agreement was initially scheduled
to be signed on April
14. Time and tide waits for no man and despite the
enormous interests the
international investor community has shown in
Zimbabwe, the country could
find its tardy response to conclusion of BIPPA -
as in the case with South
Africa - costly.
Busa has asked
for more secure guarantees. The negotiations that
followed focused mainly on
investment guarantees and instruments of property
rights
protection.
Conclusion of the BIPPA between the two countries
would have provided
the stage for possible finalisation of more
business/investment agreements
during President Zuma's visit. But once again
Zimbabwe seems determined to
demonstrate that it is long on promises but
woefully short on delivery. It's
an opportunity Zimbabwe could rue as
international investors are likely to
take a cue from the lead by South
African investors.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
What About Heroes of our Time?
Saturday, 22 August 2009 14:23
OUR constant exposure to Zanu PF propaganda has made us believe that a
hero
is a person who is dead and is buried at the National Heroes' Acre.
We
have never heard them conferring such a treasured title on anyone
alive.
They all become heroes when they die. What is the point of waiting
for death
before we can appreciate the achievements of our people? I am
going to break
the tradition of Zanu PF propaganda and appreciate the works
of some of the
people I believe are heroes of our time.
Strive Masiyiwa: We all know
him as the founder of Econet but it is
not the money that makes him a hero.
It is the struggle that he endured for
us to have free airwaves. I cannot
imagine how Zimbabwe could have turned
out if Zanu PF had continued to have
monopoly over the telecommunications
industry. Indeed he fought his own war
to set up his own business but in
that war he managed to unshackle some of
the chains that Zimbabwe was bound
with. We are aware of the Supreme Court
challenge that he mounted against
the Post and Telecommunications Act which
at that time gave monopoly to PTC.
The argument was that this act violated
Section 20 of the Constitution which
states: "Every Zimbabwean has a right
to receive and impart information
without hindrance."
He pioneered
the struggle for freedom of expression in an
unprecedented manner. For this
he is a hero.
Margaret Dongo: In 1995 she broke ranks with Zanu PF and
decided to
stand independently for the Harare South constituency after the
politburo
refused her application to run again on a Zanu PF ticket. They
favoured
Vivian Mwashita who was viewed more as Mugabe's blue-eyed girl.
Dongo lost
to Mwashita but she took the matter to the courts where it was
realised that
about 41% of the people on the voters' role were inaccurate.
The election
was annulled and she won the resultant re-run. She is one of
the very first
women in our society who have openly disagreed and challenged
Mugabe. She is
one of the first people who opened our eyes to the electoral
fraud that Zanu
PF has come to be synonymous with. She is a heroine of our
time.
Morgan Tsvangirai: There is no man in Zimbabwe today who can
claim
that he has sacrificed more than this man for the country. He lost a
wife.
He lost his freedom and on a number of occasions came close to losing
his
life. From as far back as 1989 he has been in the struggle for the total
emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe. He is a living hero.
Arthur Mutambara: More often than not people tend to forget the good
that
people have done as they wallow in the inertia of the status quo. This
man
is the pioneer of the post-independence struggle for democracy in
Zimbabwe.
His exploits inspired many of us into activism. He still continues
to
inspire many more people even now as Deputy Prime Minister. He is a
hero.
Geoff Nyarota: This man gets onto this list because of his
exploits
in 1988/89 when he, together with Davison Maruziva unearthed what
was by
then the biggest corruption scandal involving high-ranking government
ministers. Zimbabwe was still basking in the euphoria of independence when
people like Enos Nkala and Maurice Nyagumbo were busy engaged in corrupt
activities. Given the barbaric history of Zanu PF when dealing with people
perceived to be enemies, it had to take men of courage to carry out such a
risky investigative journalism.
Nkululeko Sibanda, Tinashe
Chimedza, McDonald Lewanika: These make it
to this list as representative of
the generation of student leaders who
graced our land in the early years of
this decade. These people took the
struggle for academic freedom to levels
that had never been reached in
Zimbabwe. They openly challenged the Zanu PF
hegemony and constantly
organised Zimbabweans to rebel against the despotic
rule in Zimbabwe. The
Final Push remains the biggest confrontation between
Mugabe and the people.
Students led this event. They are heroes of our
time.
We have many more people who have selflessly served the people
of
Zimbabwe but are living somewhere in this world probably oblivious of the
difference that they made in our lives. So, the onus is on us to proclaim
the value that these people have added to our lives so that even when they
continue they know that the world notices!
Freeman
Chari
Harare.
------------
Power Corrupts
Absolutely!
Saturday, 22 August 2009 14:21
FOR those who
thought the trappings of power and corruption were a
preserve of Zanu PF,
think again!
After all that had been said and written about the rot
in Zanu PF, who
would have thought that the new kids on the block (read MDC)
would behave in
similar fashion?
Witness the following:
Both Harare and Bulawayo City Council have been
embroiled in damaging
scandals about tenders. Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda
sees nothing wrong in
having a top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz bought for him
while service
delivery is nothing to write home about, to put it mildly.
Mayor Masunda again sees nothing wrong in billing residents for
non-existent
water, even if the precious liquid was last seen over two years
ago! It
appears the Harare billing system is based on mere possession of a
water tap
rather than actual water being dispensed therefrom!
So it is
true (regardless of political affiliation or pronouncements
to the contrary)
as Lord Acton aptly observed, that "power corrupts. . ."
Microscope
Gazer
Bulawayo.
-----------------
Toxic Kariba
Brew
Saturday, 22 August 2009 14:20
The ZANU PF marketing team
is working hard burning the mid-night oil
in order to market their new brand
of beer called "Kariba draft beer."
The problem they are facing is
that the general public is resisting
saying that the Kariba draft is badly
formulated and brewed that even
hard-core alcoholics say this is the worst
brand of beer they have ever
tasted.
The "Kariba draft
beer" has a higher alcoholic content than kachasu
and will "fry" the brain
cells of anyone who consumes it, leaving them in a
zombie-like state, that
makes them believe that they are living a life of
peace and prosperity,
while in truth they will have lost control of their
lives.
The name "Kariba draft beer" was chosen by the Zanu PF marketing team
to
hoodwink the general public into believing that the beer was brewed from
water from the mighty Lake Kariba when in fact it was brewed from water from
the Lake Chivero.
The marketing team was afraid that if the
general public knew that the
beer was brewed from Lake Chivero waters they
would reject it totally
because everyone knows that Lake Chivero is overly
polluted. The fact
remains, the "Kariba draft beer" is undrinkable because
it has a foul smell
and the taste is so thick that one cannot even use a
straw to drink it.
Drinkers risk contracting water-borne
diseases.
Soberminded
Harare.
-------------
Gono has Lost the Plot
Saturday, 22 August 2009 14:18
I am shocked that Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gideon Gono
continues to insist that he wants the
Zimbabwe dollar back in circulation.
I don't know what this man
needs to understand that Zimbabweans are
against the Zimbabwe dollar coming
back into the market soon considering the
underhand dealings that his
fellows in Zanu PF were using to enrich
themselves while the ordinary people
were suffering.
Gono should know that it was the poor
working people of Zimbabwe who
bore the brunt of his disastrous experiments
as they failed to get their
hard-earned money from the banks. Families went
hungry while others lost
their loved ones as they could not access money for
medical treatment as
Gono blocked them from getting cash from their
banks.
God-fearing people were forced to do unholy things in
order to get
money on the black market because that was where the central
bank under Gono
was diverting money to.
Despite the
formation of the inclusive government, Gono is still
clinging to his
misguided ideas that damaged the country's economy.
His
half-baked RBZ policies have led to the demise of the monetary
system yet he
still insists on bringing back the Zimbabwe dollar when even
his children,
wife and workers don't even want to touch it.
It is high time
every Zimbabwean who cherishes the future of this
country joined the call to
have Gono removed from his post as he is no
longer of any relevance to this
country.
Agrippa Zvomuya
Harare.
----------
Gold-diggers Give Decent Women a bad
Name
Saturday, 22 August 2009 13:49
THERE has been an upsurge
in claims of maintenance and adultery cases
which seem to be doing decent
women a disservice.
The whole idea of claiming maintenance was
meant to protect the most
vulnerable women in particular and especially
those in the rural areas. But
this is being abused by women who don't need
to be claiming maintenance and
right now the trend is becoming an
embarrassment.
I have overhead many men saying that they
will not marry or date
Zimbabwean women after the experiences that they have
gone through. They now
see most Zimbabwean women as gold-diggers and
prostitutes.
I would like to ask something: Is that the
reputation women want to
have because they say what goes around comes
around. There will come a time
when men will shun us.
The point
is that those who are making these claims are well-known
gold-diggers and I
think magistrates should just take time to look at their
hairdos and nails
to see for themselves that these women are not in need of
maintenance but
just money to maintain their lavish lifestyles.
Furthermore
most of them don't even take time to look after the
children as they are
always seen dining and wining in nightclubs and hotels.
The fact is they use
the children to extort money for their own use and are
now abusing the
maintenance system to become official small houses.
You also
get the worst of them all - the ones who date married men
knowing full well
that they are married and then they get themselves
pregnant in order to
claim maintenance. Besides being home-wreckers they
expose long-suffering
wives to STIs.
I think married women should take a stand and sue
these women for
adultery. I know that most them are probably too ashamed but
the fact is
what they are not being told to their faces is that people are
talking
behind their backs.
It's better to take a stand and
protect your home than for one to
suffer in silence while people laugh at
you and the home-wrecker takes
control of your life. As they say, cowards
die many times before their
death. I say to Zimbabwean women: Let's make a
stand by shunning these
gold-diggers who are giving decent women folk a bad
name.
To the magistrates: Remember that while it took two of them
to have
the child, one of them had the power to control their reproductive
system.
Therefore the responsibility should be shared. If the man is willing
to look
after the child let him, but let us not allow the maintenance system
to be
debased into a cheap money-making venture.
Proud to
beg
Harare.
--------------
SMS The
Standard
Saturday, 22 August 2009 13:27
Suspect
leadership
I was extremely interested by the article in your issue of
August 16,
2009 entitled, Mazda BT-50 - WMMI hits back. I quote the part
which got my
attention: "They were alarmed by the little information at the
disposal of
the legislators." I have for years questioned the calibre of our
politicians
and honestly don't believe we have the right kind of politicians
who are
capable of solving Zimbabwe's crisis if they are so ignorant of the
country's
economic capacity. - Baffled, Harare.
******
I refer to your article on the Harare Mayor's car and the party held
immediately after the inauguration. I believe both developments are tragic.
The money for the two items could have been used to buy two additional
refuse trucks as well as buy nourishing food for many of the capital's
orphaned children. It is sad that the new leadership at Town House has
boarded the gravy train. - Clerka weDowasuro, Harare.
Warped
priorities
HARARE Mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda, and his council should
reconsider the
resolution on the purchase of a new mayoral Mercedes Benz
when ratepayers
are subjected to poor service delivery. As far as I am
concerned the money
for the purchase of the latest Mercedes Benz could have
gone a long way in
repairing potholes and solving the capital's water
problems. Therefore, I
believe the decision is in bad taste, especially at a
time when residents
are being forced to pay high charges for services that
are not being
delivered. Curiously the decision comes hot on the heels of
MPs demanding
imported vehicles when they should be fighting hard to support
local
industries by buying Peugeots from Quest and Mazda from Willowvale. -
Reality, Harare.
******
THIS is for Councillor Masiye
Kapare on his comments on the Mayor's
new Mercedes Benz: The ambassadors and
other partners are laughing alright
that the mayor of the capital city
without water, with potholed-roads and no
street lights should think of an
expensive car instead of prioritizing
solving the city's problems. It's a
pity we can't laugh with them because we
don't have six family cars to rely
on like the Mayor. - Crying, Gweru.
******
PLEASE get a
government representative to explain why they are
allowing Zimbabwean
students in Algeria to starve. - Concerned.
Is that fair?
STUDENTS on government support are being asked to defer their
programmes yet
the government is paying thousands of rands to support
children of Zanu PF
ministers and party officials at South African
universities. The Ministry of
Higher Education must investigate the case of
students at Morgenster
Teachers' College. - Kubatirirwa Bodo, Masvingo.
******
IS Mhunga bus service now plying the Mukumbura and Banket routes? The
action
taken against the bus company is political. Why is the government not
banning Musanhi Bus Company and Zupco, whose buses have been involved in
accidents that have claimed tens of lives? The answer is very simple. The
other companies enjoy the patronage of Zanu PF. God will judge them. - A M,
Harare.
This is pointless!
WHAT on earth is the purpose of
Learner drivers' pre-test except
day-light robbery by the insensitive Zanu
PF leadership? Can the MDC please
move a motion in Parliament abolishing
this requirement? - J Shumba.
******
THERE is a section of our
society that thinks and believes that it is
better than others. Well, let
them know that one day, the sun will set down
on them. - Oracle.
In
dire straits
DISTRESS signal: Could the Prime Minister and his
colleagues in the
inclusive government save us from the fatal jaws of the
Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (Zesa), the Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (Zinwa), the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and local
authorities because the US$150
allowances (salaries?) are unable to cover
all these demands on us. - T F.
******
IT never rains for
Zimbabwean graduates. After going through hell and
the thousands of dollars
I spent during past three years at the University
of Zimbabwe, I now brace
myself for worst phase. I have to contend with
being reduced to existence as
a mere vendor. May the Lord have mercy on
us! - Martin, Norton.
Breaking the gridlock
NATIONAL constitutions have been silent yet the
most single vicious
culprits in creating and protecting unimpeachable,
irremovable,
unaccountable and autocratic heads of state whose common
mission is to keep
Africa subjugated and underdeveloped for their selfish
ingratiation.
Zimbabweans must, through the current constitution-making
process, break
this gridlock and set a continental precedent by ensuring
that power bases
are widespread enough for effective checks and balances. In
order to achieve
this balance, key leadership posts in the police, army, air
force,
judiciary, intelligence, public service, prisons and diplomatic
service must
be filled by people appointed by a special Parliamentary
commission only
answerable to Parliament. No one should be above the
people's will. -
Musuwati, Harare.
Under siege
GREYSTONE
Park is under siege. We have not had a drop of water from
the municipal taps
for more than a year. Secondly, Zesa is instituting
load-shedding in a
manner that has neither rhyme nor reason. - Disgruntled.
IS it a
coincidence that Vice-President Joseph Msika dies and for the
first time in
years households in Mandara, where his home is get water and
that soon after
his burial supplies are stopped? Because of this I have
mixed emotions- to
be happy that he died and is now resting for the first
time in his
event-filled life or to be sad that he is gone and with him the
water. -
Waterless, Mandara, Harare.
IT boggles the mind when one reads the
public media in Zimbabwe whose
journalists remain an appendage of Zanu PF.
Aren't these scribes ashamed of
themselves when they froth at the mouths
over because the Prime Minister did
not do President Robert Mugabe's bidding
during the Prime Minister's recent
tour of the West. They seem to suggest
that the President can just fire him
the way he fired Ray Kaukonde. That
won't happen. - Lovenda, Sakubva.
THE youth training centres should
be transformed into technical
colleges and be transferred to the Ministry of
Higher and Tertiary
Education, while the Ministry of Youth should be
scrapped altogether. What
Zimbabwe should be doing is investing in technical
skills for our youths
instead of mass production of ignorant and
semi-literate youths that these
youth training centres have been producing.
- Border Bodo, Masvingo.
AFTER the chaos caused by Zanu PF MPs and
the illiterate hooligans of
youths they led, one would hope that in future
they should educate them that
they should first drink the contents of the
bottles before hurling the
containers at their intended targets. - Empty
vessels, Harare.
DOES the government ever care to take the
statistics of the loss of
revenue they suffer daily through unreciepted
money at roadblocks by all
traffic officers? -Moore Nyathi.