http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
23 August 2012
There have been harsh words, shock,
disbelief and anger expressed by
officials from the MDC-T, civic groups and
ordinary Zimbabweans, in response
to the revised draft charter submitted by
ZANU PF this week.
Robert Mugabe finally delivered ZANU PF’s amended
draft Constitution to the
other Principals after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
The draft contains
amendments that ZANU PF is demanding, before the country
holds an All
Stakeholders Conference, ignoring the fact that the final draft
has already
been signed by all the negotiators.
ZANU PF said they
were not happy with the current draft, insisting it did
not represent the
views of the people and the liberation values of the
party.
The
changes demanded by ZANU PF include a return of executive authority to
the
President, instead of the proposed system of having Cabinet share the
power.
They remove the proposed public interview process for the appointment
of
judges, leaving it to the President to make appointments. Presidential
immunity was also retained.
Several provisions in the Bill of Rights
were amended and all references to
democratic society were deleted. ZANU PF
also wants to introduce mandatory
national youth service, ban any
possibility of dual citizenship for those
who are Zimbabwean by descent or
registration and abolish the Peace and
Reconciliation Commission.
On
the contentious issue of security sector reform, ZANU PF removed
provisions
that require them to be non-partisan and professional. They also
oppose the
establishment of a national prosecuting authority, choosing to
retain the
current office of attorney general.
Responses to ZANU PF’s amendments
came fast and furious, with the MDC-T
dismissing them outright. The Minister
for Paliamentary Affairs, Eric
Matinenga, described the ZANU PF draft as
“outrageous” and defying any
logic.
“There is no doubt those
proposals are an indication that they don’t want a
new constitution. The
agreed draft was produced after lengthy and intensive
negotiations. For ZANU
PF to come up with this position is inexplicable.
Nobody in their right
sense would do this,” Matinenga told SW Radio Africa.
He said the ZANU PF
proposals ignore the millions of dollars that were spent
on the
Constitutional outreach process and the compromises people were
willing to
make to get to a referendum. But Matinenga said he believes
common sense
will prevail and ZANU PF will eventually agree to continue with
the original
draft.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also MDC-T secretary general,
had harsh
words in response to ZANU PF’s revisions. Writing on Facebook Biti
ridiculed
the counter proposals.
He wrote: “I cannot believe that a
group of men and women ,many of whom
fought in our war of liberation, can
assault and insult the ideas of
decency, equality, justice and democracy
that all modern societies should be
founded upon.”
He added that the
fact ZANU PF can “unashamedly insult Zimbabweans this way
is a case for
allowing Zimbabweans to vote on the two drafts in a
referendum, so that the
we can go to an early election to deal with this
aberration.”
The MDC
formations had already adopted the draft agreed to by negotiators
representing the political parties, including ZANU PF, and made it clear
negotiations were closed.
Ironically, the draft they agreed to is
also being criticized by civic
groups and Zimbabweans who say it does not go
far enough in reducing the
powers of the president and reforming key
democratic institutions. They say
several issues, including the Diaspora
vote, devolution, dual citizenship,
media and security sector reforms, were
not addressed.
Ultimately ZANU PF has never respected the current
constitution or ruled
according to its provisions. It is widely accepted
that they will ignore
whatever version of the constitution Zimbabweans vote
for, and continue to
rule through the element of fear.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Violet Gonda, Blessing
Zulu
22.08.2012
Zimbabwe’s quest for a new constitution was cast into
further doubt
Wednesday after the two Movement for Democratic Change
formations rejected
Zanu PF’s proposals to renegotiate the draft
charter.
The long-delayed document was finally concluded a few weeks ago
and signed
by all the three unity government partners.
But President
Robert Mugabe's party has since come up with a raft of
amendments that Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube - leaders of
the rival MDC wings - reject.
Ncube said in a statement Wednesday he was
astonished at the “sheer scale of
disrespect, contempt, insult and audacity
exhibited by the amendments.”
He added that the new proposals would make
the new constitution worse than
the widely-condemned Lancaster House
constitution - Zimbabwe's founding
charter.
Zanu PF wants devolution
of power removed from the new charter, including a
Peace and Reconciliation
Commission, dual citizenship, and presidential
running mates, among other
issues.
The party also demands a mandatory National Youth Service and
restoration of
the executive powers of the president.
MDC-T Secretary
General Tendai Biti slammed the Zanu PF proposals saying
they fundamentally
alter the final draft charter.
“We are disappointed," Biti said. "They
have come up with proposals that
will be met with one clear answer – 'No',
which will clearly lead to the
collapse of this thing,” Biti
said.
“There should be no further negotiations on this constitution, and
the
people of Zimbabwe should now decide in a referendum.”
Regional
leaders, exasperated by the continued bickering, resolved last week
that
South African President Jacob Zuma - the facilitator in the crisis -
should
be engaged to assist in resolving the constitutional logjam.
The Zuma
intervention proposal is being supported by the two MDC formations.
But Zanu
PF is pushing back.
Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga told
VOA Mr. Mugabe's party
is dragging the process by making unrealistic
changes.
National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku, said
the
constitutional effort must be abandoned since it has now turned into a
"circus" and the wrangles have become a "disgrace" to the
country.
Madhuku said as demanded by his group, constitution-making must
not be the
business of politicians.
“They should abandon their three
party program and subject the draft and
materials to some separate committee
in the country, They should set up an
independent committee which can take
up from where they have left,” Madhuku
added.
Meanwhile, Mfundo
Mlilo, director of the Combined Harare Residents
Association said police
barred his group Wednesday from holding consultative
meetings with residents
in Harare South to discuss the constitution and
other issues.
The
police, Mlilo said, argued that the meetings will disturb the ongoing
country’s 2012 national population census.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, August 23,
2012 – Welshman Ncube, the leader of the smaller faction
of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), has rejected Zanu (PF)
amendments to the
Constitution draft, saying battle lines are drawn over the
new supreme law
of the land.
Zanu (PF) has scrapped provisions on devolution of power and
restored the
President’s powers in its proposed amendments to the draft
constitution.
President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday handed the Zanu PF’s
proposed alternative
draft constitution to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara and Industry minister Welshman
Ncube.
In a hard-hitting statement on Wednesday Ncube said Zanu (PF)
militaristic
hardliners wanted to maintain the present status quo, which
give President
Robert Mugabe an advantage over his opponents ahead of fresh
polls.
Ncube said he was shocked by the “disrespect, contempt, insult and
audacity
exhibited by the amendments.”
“I have studied the
amendments Zanu (PF) has made to the draft and I am
astonished at the sheer
scale of disrespect, contempt, insult and audacity
exhibited by the
amendments, he said.
“There are only three possible interpretations of
it, namely that Zanu (PF)
thinks we are so desperate for a new constitution
that we will cling to a
serpent or that we are stupid or that their strategy
is to make such
preposterous amendments that no sane party will accept so as
to collapse the
whole process with a view to maintaining the status quo,” he
said.
“In many respects, their amendments make the draft worse than the
current
constitution so that we would be better off with the current
constitution.
Even at our most foolish, there is no way we could ever accept
those
amendments. Anyone who does so would be committing political suicide.
In
fact, the draft is not just an insult on us but is also a mockery of the
people who took time to make representations to COPAC.”
Ncube said it
was clear that the Zanu (PF) hawks were itching for an early
election.
“And this move they have made has brought them very close
to their wish to
burn down the country by having a rerun of the 2008
elections,” he said.
He added that it was his believe that the moderate
elements in Zanu (PF)
have allowed the move to tinker with the COPAC draft
in the “mistaken belief
that the MDC formations are so fearful of an
election without reforms that
we would accept not only to be insulted but
also a constitution which is the
worst we could possibly have”.
“It's
not going to happen. It's time to let the dice roll the way it will.
If an
election without a new constitution is the only way to move forward,
then
let it be. On our part we are not going to betray the people's struggle
for
a democratic constitution. We will not yield an inch. We will provide
the
leadership required for the people to take up the struggle at the
elections.
The battle lines are truly drawn,” he said.
At the last Southern African
Development Community (SADC) summit in Maputo,
Mozambique, regional leaders
urged the GPA principals to expedite the
constitution-making process by
dealing with the contentious issues in the
draft.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
23
August 2012
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) have reported that a group
of about 200
ZANU PF activists invaded a farm on Wednesday which belongs to
the principal
director in the Prime Minister’s Office, Norman Sachikonye.
ZPP officials
who witnessed the incident said the invaders were singing and
dancing to
ZANU PF liberation war songs and wearing party
regalia.
Sachikonye is also an aspiring parliamentary candidate for
Makoni Central in
the MDC-T. The invaders were allegedly under the
leadership of Darlington
Museka, acting secretary at the Rusape Town Council
and a ZANU PF cadre.
A monitor for the ZPP reported that police officers
at the scene did not
interfere or do anything to stop the invaders, who
proceeded to peg Zimati
Kop Farm “haphazardly” and allocated stands to
themselves.
The chaos on Zimbabwe’s commercial farms has intensified in
recent weeks,
with ZANU PF officials fighting for control of the last
remaining farms in
the country.
Some observers believe the rush to claim
land ownership is directly linked
to provisions in the new draft
cconstitution.
Chiredzi farmer Gerry whitehead agreed. He told SW Radio
Africa that there
is chaos in the Chiredzi conservancies and the coalition
government has lost
complete control of the farms in his area, the
lowveld.
“The ZANU PF chefs know there is no law and order so they can do
whatever
they like. We are disappointed because we thought things would get
better
under the coalition. But the MDC-T have also lost the plot and
conceded to
ZANU PF over land,” Whitehead said, referring to clauses in the
draft
charter.
Section 16.4 of the draft, relating to the “rights of
occupiers of
agricultural land”, says any person who was occupying land or
was entitled
to use it “by virtue of a lease or other agreement” with the
State,
continues to be entitled to use or occupy that land after the
effective date
of the new Constitution.
Experts say this essentially
protects invaders who are taking land from its
rightful owners now, using
fake “offer letters” that are signed by district
land officials who have no
authority to make such decisions. Whitehead said
this is one of the reasons
people are shocked that the MDC-T signed the
draft.
Meanwhile other
rows over land are being played out around the country. In
one case, nine
families are reported to be homeless and sleeping in the open
after an
officer from the Airforce of Zimbabwe destroyed their homesteads
with a
tractor.
The incident followed claims by the officer, Dananai Chikanya,
that he was
allocated the property at Edinburgh Farm near Chitungwiza in
2008, as part
of the land reform exercise. Chikanya told Newsday newspaper
that he evicted
the families because they were settled on the farm by a
rival from the MDC
99.
The families have denied Chikanya’s claims,
saying the Chitungwiza Area
Board resettled them at the farm in 2002.
According to Newsday, some of the
villagers said Chikanya pointed a gun at
them when he came to bulldoze their
homes with his wife.
In another
row over land, Chief Zvimba is reportedly trying to evict 31
farmers from
land they occupy at Lion Kopje Farm in Mashonaland Central,
saying they were
allocated land elsewhere and have refused to move there.
But the
resettled farmers filed papers at the High court last week seeking
to block
the Chief from evicting them. They claim that the land was
allocated to them
in 2004 under the A1 land resettlement scheme.
The farmers were notified
of their pending eviction on August 6th and were
given just ten days to pack
their belongings and move. Chief Zvimba, through
his lawyer, is asking the
High Court to dismiss the application by the
farmers, arguing that their
continued stay is illegal since they were
officially granted land
elsewhere.
It was hoped the creation of the coalition government would
bring a sense of
law and order to the so-called land reform exercise. But
officials from the
MDC formations have found themselves powerless to change
anything, with some
even getting embroiled in the chaos, as the Sachikonye
case has revealed.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
22/08/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
THE MDC-T has angrily rejected a US-based
pro-democracy group’s survey which
suggests the party faces certain defeat
at the next elections following a
sharp collapse in support at a time
President Robert Mugabe is enjoying a
renewed surge in
popularity.
The survey, conducted by international research group Freedom
House, shows
that support for the party has fallen from 38 percent in 2010
to 20 percent
this year. By contrast, backing for Zanu PF grew to 31 percent
from 17
percent, over the same period.
Conducted by researchers from
South Africa and Zimbabwe, the survey also
found that President Robert
Mugabe would command the support of 31 percent
of voters in a presidential
election, ahead of rival Morgan Tsvangirai on 19
percent, an alarming
prospect for the MDC-T.
New elections to replace the coalition government
are now expected next year
after the completion of ongoing constitutional
reforms.
University of the Witwatersrand academic Susan Booysen, who
devised and
conducted the survey, said the results were sobering for the
MDC-T whose
popularity stood at a healthy 55 percent three years ago, giving
the party a
realistic prospect of ending Mugabe's three-decade stay in
power.
“It shows us MDC-T is not only in a seriously bad position but the
extent to
which that is spread across the country and the provinces,” she
said.
"I've heard people saying MDC-T is just not doing work in the
constituencies
and is spending too much time in the palace. They're taking
for granted
they're the crown princes. They are not capturing the desire for
change.
“Perhaps they think they are crown prince that need only wait for
Mugabe to
go for it to fall in their lap. This is a wake-up call for them
that there
is no honeymoon.”
The MDC-T however, rejected the survey
findings, insisting it remained the
“most popular party within
Zimbabwe.”
Said party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora: “The party respects the
right of
individuals and institutions to carry out opinion surveys on the
views of
the people of Zimbabwe from time to time. However, we note that
surveys
carried out under current conditions are difficult to rely on due to
the
fact that they are held under conditions of major fluidity.
“We
note that a lot of people interviewed refused to disclose their
political
preferences. This is obviously for fear of intimidation and the
violence
they have been subjected to by Zanu PF and its military junta. This
margin
of terror fundamentally impugns the conclusion that can be derived
from this
report.”
Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said: "People are now beginning
to realise
that the MDC-T has no agenda. It (MDC-T) is externally funded and
its
interest is to please its master. People are beginning to see this for
themselves.”
Politburo member Jonathan Moyo said the MDC-T’s
rejection of the survey
results was ironic and quipped: “It is not possible
to ignore the fact that
MDC-T, which has previously celebrated these surveys
by the same quarters
claiming its popularity, is now questioning the decline
of its popularity.
It’s ridiculous. If they believed them (surveys) before,
they must believe
them today.
“Do they only believe these surveys if
they are in their favour? Too bad
because things speak for themselves on the
ground! The MDC-T has proven to
be a party too preoccupied with itself, they
have spent four years in
government fighting for positions, and not a single
signature policy issue.
“On the other hand, Zanu PF has understood that
to create jobs we need to
indigenise the economy and people identify with
that.”
The survey polled a nationally representative sample of 1,198
adult
Zimbabweans between 23 June and 7 July 2012. According to Freedom
House, 47
percent of the respondents said they would not vote, or refused to
indicate
who they would vote for.
The MDC-T seized on this figure,
arguing that: “It is important to note that
a large number of Zimbabweans
interviewed by the researchers refused to
disclose their political
affiliation. This is clear evidence of the level of
intimidation they have
been subjected to.
“While professional people may have carried out this
research, the
conditions under which the research was carried were not
conducive for
Zimbabweans to freely express their political
preferences.”
Still, analysts said the results come as a huge surprise
because, for years,
there had been a near-default assumption by the MDC-T,
activists and media
that Mugabe had lost popular support and was only being
sustained only by
vote rigging, violence and intimidation.
They added
that the report also resonates with signs of discontent about the
MDC-T's
performance in the unity government it formed with Zanu PF following
the
disputed election of 2008.
After joining the coalition government, the
MDC-T took charge of the economy
and other social affairs
ministries.
But the economic stability and marginal growth of the last
few years has not
come with jobs and unemployment remains high at more than
90 percent. Again,
observers argue that MDC-T ministers have fallen in love
with their official
cars and other trappings of power.
An independent poll of voters' intentions indicates Mugabe would command the support of 31% of voters in a presidential election, ahead of rival Morgan Tsvangirai on 19%.
The research was conducted by the US-based pro-democracy group Freedom House.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) dismissed the results, noting that Mugabe's supporters were outnumbered by voters who refused to declare their intentions. But it is likely to boost the confidence of Mugabe's Zanu-PF heading into elections expected next year.
The Mass Public Opinion Institute polled a nationally representative sample of 1 198 adult Zimbabweans between June 23 and July 7 2012, Freedom House said. When asked who they would vote for if presidential elections were held tomorrow, 31% say they would back Zanu-PF, an increase from just 12% in a 2009 survey. Alarmingly for the MDC, only 19% expressed support for the party, a dramatic fall from 55% three years ago. Other parties registered just 2%.
Some 40% of respondents did not declare their voting intentions, making it hard to draw categorical conclusions.
Asked who they would support in parliamentary elections, 47% of respondents said they would not vote, or refused to indicate who they would vote for. Some 20% said they would support the MDC (down from 38% in 2010) and 31% would back Zanu-PF (up from 17% in 2010).
The results come as a surprise because for years there has been a near default assumption by the MDC, activists and media that Mugabe's 32-year rule was drained of popular support and is sustained only by rigged elections and violence and intimidation. Freedom House's survey implies the 88-year-old could yet make a political comeback and win.
It also resonates with signs of discontent about the MDC's performance in the unity government it formed with Zanu-PF following the disputed election of 2008. The MDC took responsibility for departments such as education and health and has been criticised for slow delivery. Some observers argue that MDC ministers have fallen in love with their official cars and other trappings of power.
Susan Booysen, author of the interim report Change and 'New' Politics in Zimbabwe for Freedom House, said she encountered complaints that the MDC had lost touch with grassroots constituencies, whereas Zanu-PF was still visible and fighting party political battles there.
"I've heard people saying MDC is just not doing work in the constituencies and is spending too much time in the palace," Booysen added. "They're taking for granted they're the crown princes. They are not capturing the desire for change. And there is still a desire for change among people."
The MDC questioned the validity of the study. Douglas Mwonzora, the party spokesperson, said in Harare: "The party respects the right of individuals and institutions to carry out opinion surveys on the views of the people of Zimbabwe from time to time. However, we note that surveys carried out under current conditions are difficult to rely on due to the fact that they are held under conditions of major fluidity.
"We note that a lot of people interviewed refused to disclose their political preferences. This is obviously for fear of intimidation and the violence they have been subjected to by Zanu-PF and its military junta. This margin of terror fundamentally impugns the conclusion that can be derived from this report."
A statement from the party added: "The MDC reasserts that it is still the most popular party within Zimbabwe. That it has had a positive impact on the lives of the people of Zimbabwe since it formed the inclusive government can never be doubted." – © Guardian News and Media 2012
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
23 August
2012
The deliberate poisoning of animals in the Chiredzi River
Conservancy is on
the rise, with no legal action being taken against the
known poachers
responsible.
SW Radio Africa has been told that the
carcasses of scores of animals have
been found in recent weeks, adding to
the growing numbers of wildlife who
have suffered a similar fate in recent
years.
The people responsible are known poachers in the Conservancy who
have
previously been caught by police. But their cases have never been heard
because the police either release them from custody, or their dockets go
‘missing’.
Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force, told
SW Radio Africa on Thursday that poison is
also being used as an
“intimidatory tactic” by people trying to force the
legitimate owners of
conservancy land to handover their properties. He said
it forms part of the
larger problem that conservancy land is being targeted
for ‘reform’, despite
this being illegal.
“The acts are there to
protect the animals and the conservancies, but there
is no one to apply
these laws. Now you’ve got a scenario where the guardians
of the country’s
wildlife have sanctioned hunting and are giving licences to
trigger happy
people who don’t know anything about hunting and ultimately it
is the
animals that suffer,” Rodrigues said.
Hunting licences in the Save Valley
Conservancy have been handed out to top
ZANU PF officials, as part of what
Rodrigues says is “appeasement by the
government where the party faithful
are rewarded.”
An international tourism conference is supposed to get
underway in Victoria
Falls next month. But Rodrigues said the worsening
poaching and the ongoing
seizure of conservancy land makes it “embarrassing”
that Zimbabwe is the
host.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
23 August 2012
A multimillion dollar debt owed to wireless
network provider Econet, by the
state owned mobile operator NetOne, has
resulted in all interconnection
services between the two being cut
off.
Econet announced the termination of the service this week in a
public
notice, which revealed that as much as US$20 million (excluding
interest) is
owed from as far back as 2009. Econet said it has tried
engaging the
Zimbabwean telecoms regulator POTRAZ, and the government to
intervene, but
with no success.
The company has now said it is
“obvious that NetOne was not prepared to
honour its obligations” even though
NetOne has been collecting the fees due
to Econet from subscribers as part
of the interconnection deal.
Econet has said it’s ready to reconnect,
once NetOne “makes a substantial
payment towards the historical debt and
commits to meet future obligations
on due date”.
According to Econet,
an interconnection agreement is reached on the basis
that there is a
mutually agreed cost of terminating calls on each other’s
network.
In
Zimbabwe, POTRAZ regulates the cost of terminating domestic and
international calls. These rates are 7 cents per minute for a domestic call
and 20 cents per minute for an international call.
NetOne and Econet
have had an agreement for domestic call terminations for
many years. Each of
the operators normally charge its customers 23 cents per
minute (including
15% VAT) for a call to each other’s network and is
supposed to pay the other
operator 7 cents per minute whilst keeping to
itself 16 cents.
You
can read the full statement from Econet here:
http://www.techzim.co.zw/2012/08/full-text-of-econets-public-notice-to-terminate-interconnection-with-netone/
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Removed devolution entirely from the draft and deleted all references to devolutionRemoved the Peace and Reconciliation CommissionRemoved all indigenous languages from being official languagesIntroduced mandatory National Youth ServiceRemoved the open, transparent and public interview process for the appointment of judges and replaced it with a Presidential appointment systemplaces including by deleting all references to democratic societyDone away with a separate Constitutional Court and reverted to the status quo in terms of which the Supreme Court doubles up as a Constitutional CourtBanned dual citizenship for those who are Zimbabwean citizens by descent or registrationMutilated the Bill of Rights in many places by deleting all references to democratic societyRedefined agricultural land to include any land used for poultry so that they would be able to take any building used to rear chickensTaken out the Presidential running mate provisions and replaced them with the current system with the new provision that in the event of the office becoming vacant, the replacement will be chosen by the party to which the President belongedReposed all executive authority in the President by deleting the provision which vested it in the President and CabinetReconstituted the imperial Presidency by restoring virtually all the current Presidential powers and even added the new provision that Cabinet can only exercise authority under the direction of the PresidentRestored the current Presidential immunity provisionsRestored the Presidential power to declare war without any restraint or constraintMade all State institutions subject to the obligation to promote and defend the values of the liberation struggleStripped the Speaker of the National Assembly of all administrative powers and vested these in the Clerk of ParliamentIncreased the composition of Senate by fourIntroduced unfettered powers of the President to dissolve Parliament at his or her whimPut one Chief into the Judicial Service CommissionRemoved provisions limiting permanent secretaries to two five-year termsTaken out the provisions requiring a law regulate the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and requiring the CIO to be non-partisan, professional and national in characterInserted provisions which require independent commissions and the judiciary as well to promote and to be guided by the ideals and values of the liberation struggleReintroduced the useless and failed Office of Public ProtectorRemoved the democratic provisions for the appointment of the Anti-Corruption CommissionDeleted the provisions establishing an independent prosecuting authority and re-established the present political office of Attorney-General.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
22.08.2012
Stung by a leak of details of a regional
summit in Mozambique last week Zanu
PF has fired a salvo at Ncube, accusing
him of breaching his ministerial
oath by releasing details of the
deliberations.
Zanu PF politburo member, Jonathan Moyo told reporters
Tuesday that while
proceedings of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and
Security are
political and not confidential; the summit Heads of State Forum
is secretive
in nature.
“It is a violation of Ncube’s cabinet oath to
put under his name a purported
verbatim record not corroborated by any other
source, and attribute to
certain heads of state certain words. It is
unprecedented,” alleged Moyo.
Ncube, who is also Industry minister, told
reporters after last week’s
summit that Mugabe was dressed down by other
SADC leaders when he tried to
retain deputy Prime Minister, Arthur
Mutambara, as a principal in the
ongoing Zimbabwe crisis.
But in an
interview with Studio 7 Ncube contends that his release of the
summit
details was legal and to the best interest of the Zimbabwean
population.
“I don’t have time to waste answering people who don’t
have anything to do
but bring down what we have done,” he
said.
Legal expert, Matshobana Ncube of the Abammeli Human Rights
Association,
also believes Welshman Ncube did not breach any laws by
releasing the detail
of the summit.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The Zimbabwe National Statistics
Agency (ZimStart) in Bulawayo has run out
of census data collection forms, a
development which has resulted in the
suspension of the exercise in some
areas.
23.08.1201:12pm
by Zwanai Sithole
Harare
Enumerators who spoke to the Zimbabwean on Thursday
said they have been told
to wait for the forms from Harare.
"Most of
the enumerators have run out of the data collection forms .We have
been told
to go back home and check with the ZimStart Bulawayo offices on
Friday if
the forms will be available. We do not know if we are going to be
paid
during this period when the forms are not available," said an
enumerator who
refused to be named for fear of victimisation.
Another enumerator who
also refused to be named accused ZimStart of poor
planning.
"Surely
how can ZimStart embark on such a very important national exercise
when they
do not have all the necessary resources in place.Thise exercise
was supposed
to end on the 27th of August but with this delay, I think the
exercise will
have to be extended," said the enumerator.
The preparations for this
year's census have been marred by the involvement
of soldiers who despite
failing to meet the census criteria wanted a stake
as census takers.
Thousands of the enumerators also failed to secure full
identification
regalia required when conducting the exercise after suppliers
reportedly run
out of material for the attire. Repeated efforts to get a
comment from
ZimStart officials in Bulawayo were all in vein.
(AFP) – 4 hours
ago
WASHINGTON — The United States on Thursday condemned Zimbabwe over
raids on
the offices of a gay rights group and urged authorities to end a
"pattern of
abuse" against civil society.
Activists said that two
truckloads of police on Monday raided offices of the
group Gays and Lesbians
of Zimbabwe, rounding up 44 people in what
authorities called a search for
illegal data and offensive materials.
US State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland condemned the raids and said
several people sustained
serious injuries. She said the United States
"stands in solidarity" with
Zimbabwe's gay rights activists and other civil
society.
"We are
deeply concerned when security forces become an instrument of
political
violence used against citizens exercising their democratic
rights," Nuland
said in a statement.
"We call upon the government of Zimbabwe to end this
pattern of abuse and to
eradicate the culture of impunity that allows
members of the security sector
to continue to violate the rights of the
Zimbabwean people," she said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
championed gay rights around the
world. Earlier this month on a visit to
Uganda, she honored the "brave"
rights activists fighting a proposal to
punish homosexual acts with the
death penalty.
The United States and
European Union maintain sanctions against Zimbabwe's
veteran President
Robert Mugabe and his inner circle as they press for free
elections and
democratic reforms.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
ZIMBABWE
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is perturbed by the sustained
attacks,
harassment and persecution of members of the Gays and Lesbians of
Zimbabwe
(GALZ), including police raids and property seizure from the
organisation’s
offices on Monday 20 August 2012 - the second swoop inside
one
month.
23.08.1207:39am
by ZLHR
More than 20 police
officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police on Monday 20
August 2012 raided
the GALZ offices in Milton Park suburb, Harare. The
police officers,
including some in plain clothes, rummaged through the
offices of the
organisation and confiscated computers, Digital Versatile
Discs, pamphlets,
compact discs and various documents.
According to a search warrant shown
to ZLHR lawyers, Tonderai Bhatasara,
Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Jeremiah Bamu and
Mandevere Marufu, who responded to the
raid, the police claimed that GALZ is
in “possession of pamphlets and fliers
with information that promotes
homosexuality for distribution”. The police
also alleged that GALZ director,
Chesterfiled Samba, “unlawfully and
intentionally distributed pamphlets and
fliers with information that
promotes homosexuality”.
The raid and
seizure of GALZ computers and other materials comes barely a
fortnight after
the police first raided the premises and arrested 44 GALZ
members present
there on Saturday 11 August 2012 during the launch of the
GALZ Violations
Report and Briefing on the Second Draft Zimbabwe
Constitution. The 44 were
detained for a night, questioned, and personal
details recorded before they
were released without charge. Still unappeased,
the police at the weekend
launched a manhunt for the 44 GALZ members and
summoned some of them to
report to their offices.
ZLHR condemns the illegal and arbitrary actions
of the police who appear to
have made it a pastime in recent months to
pursue members of GALZ even where
they have not committed any crimes to
warrant the police’s attention and
intervention.
ZLHR has monitored
and recorded several incidences in recent months where
State actors have
stoked up homophobia towards the GALZ community and people
who are
identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender
(LGBT).
Of particular note is the hate speech from government figures who
in May
2012 urged chiefs to banish “people who support homosexuality” from
their
communities and take away their land.
In July 2012, police
summoned the director of GALZ to answer charges of
allegedly undermining the
authority of or insulting President Robert Mugabe
in contravention of
Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act.
The
government should be ashamed that such State-sponsored homophobia has
given
rise to an increase in incidents of harassment, persecution, as well
as
unlawful arbitrary evictions, which are a violation of our national laws,
as
well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which
Zimbabwe
is a signatory.
Harassment and persecution based on sexual orientation is
a monumental
tragedy and also a violation of international human rights
law.
ZLHR reminds the police and the coalition government that the
all-important
international principles of human dignity and
non-discrimination are
protected in the Zimbabwe Constitution, as well as in
regional and
international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party so there
can be no
justification for such harassment or persecution.
We urge
the government to seriously heed the recommendations outlined by
Navi
Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
following her
official visit to Zimbabwe, during which she advised that
“there can be no
justification for violence, harassment or stigmatization”
against LGBT
people.
ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is perturbed by the
sustained
attacks, harassment and persecution of members of the Gays and
Lesbians of
Zimbabwe (GALZ), including police raids and property seizure
from the
organisation’s offices on Monday 20 August 2012 - the second swoop
inside
one month.
More than 20 police officers from the Zimbabwe
Republic Police on Monday 20
August 2012 raided the GALZ offices in Milton
Park suburb, Harare. The
police officers, including some in plain clothes,
rummaged through the
offices of the organisation and confiscated computers,
Digital Versatile
Discs, pamphlets, compact discs and various
documents.
According to a search warrant shown to ZLHR lawyers, Tonderai
Bhatasara,
Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Jeremiah Bamu and Mandevere Marufu, who
responded to the
raid, the police claimed that GALZ is in “possession of
pamphlets and fliers
with information that promotes homosexuality for
distribution”. The police
also alleged that GALZ director, Chesterfiled
Samba, “unlawfully and
intentionally distributed pamphlets and fliers with
information that
promotes homosexuality”.
The raid and seizure of
GALZ computers and other materials comes barely a
fortnight after the police
first raided the premises and arrested 44 GALZ
members present there on
Saturday 11 August 2012 during the launch of the
GALZ Violations Report and
Briefing on the Second Draft Zimbabwe
Constitution. The 44 were detained for
a night, questioned, and personal
details recorded before they were released
without charge. Still unappeased,
the police at the weekend launched a
manhunt for the 44 GALZ members and
summoned some of them to report to their
offices.
ZLHR condemns the illegal and arbitrary actions of the police
who appear to
have made it a pastime in recent months to pursue members of
GALZ even where
they have not committed any crimes to warrant the police’s
attention and
intervention.
ZLHR has monitored and recorded several
incidences in recent months where
State actors have stoked up homophobia
towards the GALZ community and people
who are identified or perceived as
being lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender (LGBT).
Of particular
note is the hate speech from government figures who in May
2012 urged chiefs
to banish “people who support homosexuality” from their
communities and take
away their land.
In July 2012, police summoned the director of GALZ to
answer charges of
allegedly undermining the authority of or insulting
President Robert Mugabe
in contravention of Section 33 of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform)
Act.
The government should be ashamed that
such State-sponsored homophobia has
given rise to an increase in incidents
of harassment, persecution, as well
as unlawful arbitrary evictions, which
are a violation of our national laws,
as well as the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which
Zimbabwe is a
signatory.
Harassment and persecution based on sexual orientation is a
monumental
tragedy and also a violation of international human rights
law.
ZLHR reminds the police and the coalition government that the
all-important
international principles of human dignity and
non-discrimination are
protected in the Zimbabwe Constitution, as well as in
regional and
international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a party so there
can be no
justification for such harassment or persecution.
We urge
the government to seriously heed the recommendations outlined by
Navi
Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
following her
official visit to Zimbabwe, during which she advised that
“there can be no
justification for violence, harassment or stigmatization”
against LGBT
people.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
23 August 2012
The South African wing of the MDC-T Youth Assembly
has called for the
immediate release of their Zimbabwean comrade, Solomon
Madzore, who remains
jailed at Chikurubi prison.
Madzore, the
chairman of the party’s Zimbabwean Youth Assembly, is facing
charges of
murder after the death of a policeman in Glen View last year. He
has been
jointly charged with 28 other MDC-T members and activists, most of
whom have
remained locked up for almost a year. Their trial meanwhile has
been
suspended, with the state using the ill health of one of the accused to
stall arguments in the case.
The MDC-T’s South African youth leaders
have echoed the party’s belief that
the charges against its members are
fabricated. The youth leaders have now
made calls for Madzore’s release the
centre of planned protest action taking
place Friday.
The
demonstration will be taking place outside the Zimbabwean Embassy in
Pretoria on Friday morning. Madzore’s South African counterpart, Giyani
Dube, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the Glen View murder case is
deliberately being stalled “by rogue ZANU PF elements in the
government.”
The picket at the embassy will also demand that the draft
constitution,
still under debate in Zimbabwe, remain unamended, with the
youth wing
rejecting proposed changes by ZANU PF.
“We demand that
ZANU PF stop playing games. They signed up to the process
willingly and were
fully represented when the document was being drafted.
They must now allow
the people to decide what they want,” Dube said.
Friday’s demo will also
call for better quality of service from the Embassy
in Pretoria, with the
MDC-T youth leaders raising concern that they have
been subjected to
partisan treatment.
“The office represents all Zimbabweans and should not
be seen to work on
behalf of individuals based only on their political
affiliation. The
Ambassador in particular needs to treat us all fairly as
Zimbabwean
citizens,” Dube said.
The picket will get underway outside
the Embassy from 11am where protesters
will be addressed by the South
African youth Chairmanm Dube, the
spokesperson for the Zim wing of the Youth
Assembly, Clifford Hlatywayo, and
Mpumelelo Ndlovu, the Youth Association
National Acting Organising
Secretary.
http://www.prnewswire.com
Hospital Operational, Service Continues
TORONTO, Aug.
23, 2012 /CNW/ - The Salvation Army in Canada has been
informed by its
International Headquarters located in London, England, that
Howard Hospital
remains operational following the recent reassignment of
the Chief Medical
Officer, Captain Dr. Paul Thistle. Patients are being
treated by the two
doctors and other medical staff at the hospital.
A new Acting Hospital
Administrator has been assigned and is in place to
guide the facility
through this transition. According to the statement
issued by the Army's
International Headquarters, service will continue and
be enhanced by
significant, planned future investment in the hospital.
Since this
situation began, The Salvation Army in Canada has been in regular
contact
with its International Headquarters. A team under the direction of
International Headquarters will be heading as soon as possible to Howard
Hospital to review and analyze this situation further. The goal of this
group is to better understand the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe, and
to reaffirm our continued support for the hospital and local
community.
"As an organization, we remain committed to Howard Hospital
and to the
people of Zimbabwe today and in the future," said Commissioner
Brian Peddle,
Territorial Commander for The Salvation Army in Canada and
Bermuda. "We
consider the health of its patients and the well-being of the
staff at
Howard Hospital to be of paramount importance."
As the home
territory for Captain Dr. Paul Thistle and Captain Pedrinah
Thistle, The
Salvation Army in Canada is working to ensure the safe return
of the Thistle
family. The Salvation Army will work to ensure that this
transition period
runs smoothly and will do what is needed to help them
reacclimatize to life
in Canada. Once they are home and settled,
consultation will take place with
them regarding their future appointments.
"Our first priority is to
welcome the Thistles back to Canada," said
Commissioner Peddle. "I have been
in communication with Paul and anticipate
further dialogue upon his return
home."
Canadians have always generously supported the work of Howard
Hospital. A
statement from our International Headquarters confirms that
"systems of
internal and external audit are in place and that we will
investigate the
processing of donations to Howard Hospital as a further act
of
accountability to our donors."
The Salvation Army in Canada will
soon be sending a shipment of medical
supplies valued at more than $300,000
to Howard Hospital shortly.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Tatenda
Gumbo
22.08.2012
Hundreds of workers retrenched by a Zimbabwean
ethanol-processing company
early this year have told a government panel of
their daily struggles to put
food on the table for their
families.
Green Fuel Private Limited sent home more than 4,000 workers in
February
after its Chisumbanje Ethanol plant in Manicaland Province, failed
to sell
over 10 million liters of fuel and incurred huge loses.
This
after the energy ministry refused to craft a law obliging all motorists
to
use ethanol-blended fuel.
A cabinet committee overseeing the company's
operations met with the
struggling former workers during a tour Wednesday -
who called on government
to reopen the plant so they can start earning a
living.
The committee, comprised of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara,
lawmakers and state officials, was assessing the situation at the
shutdown
processing plant.
Some members of the Chisumbanje community
said their children have since
dropped out of school.
Green Fuel
General Manager Graeme Smith told VOA the meeting with the
cabinet committee
was fruitful and relevant.
http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/
23.08.12, 05:46 / World
A
source at the Anjin diamond mine in Zimbabwe claims that the firm is
stockpiling diamonds that it harvests instead of selling them, in order to
avoid having to pay taxes to the government, the Zimbabwean reports. In
response, Anjin has denied the charges and a company representative called
them 'propaganda' that originated with the country's Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.
The unnamed source at Anjin stated that on some days, the
diamond company's
multiple processing plants producing upwards of 40,000
carats daily. Anjin
board member Munyaradzi Machacha denied the allegations,
and while he would
not give an exact figure, he said that Anjin produces far
less than that
number, on the order of 1,000 or 2,000 carats every
day.
Another often-cited claim, that Anjin is in part owned by elements
in the
Zimbabwean military, was also denied by Machacha, according to the
Zimbabwean. Machacha called attributing ownership of Anjin to the country's
army 'popular fiction'.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/
23 August
2012
By Matthew Reisz
Refugee scholars support beleaguered
university via virtual learning hub.
Matthew Reisz writes
One Friday
in June, Laura Broadhurst sat in a studio in central London that
was linked
by satellite to the University of Zimbabwe.
She was there to take part
remotely in the official launch of a new 200-seat
virtual learning centre
that she hoped would "support the resurgence of
Zimbabwe's higher education
sector as a beacon in southern Africa".
A central goal of the initiative
is to enable academics in the Zimbabwean
diaspora to support the
university's College of Health Sciences and its
faculties of science and
veterinary science, all struggling with a lack of
teaching staff as the
country's higher education system buckles under the
weight of Zimbabwe's
political and economic problems.
Broadhurst is Zimbabwe programme manager
at the Council for Assisting
Refugee Academics (Cara). Established as the
Academic Assistance Council in
1933, the organisation was designed to aid
academics targeted by the Nazis
to find work and build new lives in
Britain.
By a strange coincidence, its first general secretary, Sir
Walter Adams,
went on to serve as vice-chancellor of what is now the
University of
Zimbabwe from 1955 to 1967.
Developing this initial
purpose over close to 80 years, Cara and its
predecessors have now given
support on British soil to more than 9,000
academics and their families,
displaced by persecution and political
upheavals from countries ranging from
Argentina, Burma and Cambodia to
Sudan, Uganda and Vietnam.
In the
recent Iraq programme, however, there has been an additional
objective:
using diaspora enthusiasm and expertise to help rebuild higher
education
capacity within Iraq. The Zimbabwe programme has adopted a similar
approach.
Squalid conditions
There is little dispute about the
scale of the problem. "Zimbabwe's higher
education is in shambles," Tabitha
Mutenga wrote earlier this month in the
Harare-based weekly newspaper The
Financial Gazette.
"The country's education system has not been immune to
the tense political
situation and harsh socio-economic conditions that
prevailed for over a
decade. The once revered education system is now a
shadow of its former
self.
"Many schools and institutions of higher
learning have not been operating at
full capacity for years, depriving
millions of students of their right to
quality education."
The same
article also pointed to cases of impoverished students living up to
10 to a
room "in repugnant, squalid and insalubrious conditions" or turning
to
prostitution, leading to inevitable increases in the number of unsafe
abortions and HIV/Aids cases.
Similar conclusions were reached by a
2010 consultation project that Cara
carried out with the International
Organization for Migration, in
partnership with the UK-based Zimbabwe
Diaspora Development Interface (ZDDI)
and the Britain Zimbabwe
Society.
Its aim was "to listen to the needs of academics on the ground
in order to
form a responsive and effective programme" for supporting higher
education
in Zimbabwe.
There were three meetings in Harare, Gweru and
Bulawayo, bringing together
about 200 academics and higher education
professionals. The issues raised
were then discussed in three further
meetings, largely of diaspora
Zimbabweans, consisting of 40 delegates in
London and 100 in Cape Town and
Johannesburg.
The project's report,
CARA/IOM Zimbabwe Higher Education Initiative
Consultation Findings, offered
a bleak picture of the state of Zimbabwean
higher education together with
many suggestions for constructive
intervention.
"Heightened fees for
both tuition and accommodation", payable in US dollars
(used as Zimbabwe's
currency since 2009 in an attempt to halt runaway
inflation), had led to
"huge dropouts and students forced to defer" at the
start of the 2009
academic year.
A longer-term malaise was the "gross underfunding of
institutions by the
government since the 1990s", which translated into
"insufficient funds to
buy up-to-date teaching and learning materials,
equipment and resources, to
update technology and curricula".
Science
students in Bulawayo, for example, had to travel 430km to Harare if
they
wanted to see a laser in action. Lack of money had also caused "severe
staff
shortages" and a "brain drain".
Cara had itself noticed "an alarming
increase in the number of Zimbabwean
refugee academics seeking assistance.
In 2009, 17 per cent of grant
applications and the majority of new enquiries
were from Zimbabweans". And a
recent report by the country's Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Higher
Education, Science and Technology pointed to a
total absence of lecturers,
for example, in the University of Zimbabwe's
departments of animal science,
community medicine, metallurgy and clinical
pharmacology.
Shortages were almost as acute in other branches of
medicine as well as
mining engineering, computer and veterinary
sciences.
Alex Magaisa, chairman of the ZDDI, who opened each of the six
consultation
meetings, had noted that "many successful Zimbabweans at home
and abroad
were beneficiaries of the once prestigious higher education
system" and that
this meant they had "a moral obligation to assist in
rebuilding the
education sector for the benefit of future
generations".
The diaspora communities responded with a range of
suggestions for improving
the financial stability of universities, plugging
their physical and human
resource gaps, and building links with other
institutions.
Cara has been able to take some of these ideas forward in
partnership with
Econet Wireless - a company set up by a Zimbabwean and
based in South
Africa - by creating the virtual learning centre in what used
to be the
University of Zimbabwe's anatomy lecture hall.
The opening
ceremony included fervent speeches in praise of Jesus and
congratulations to
Broadhurst on her recent marriage, but it also made clear
the vast
educational opportunities being opened up for Zimbabwean students
in fields
dogged by staff shortages and inadequate facilities.
Aspiring
doctors
These opportunities should start to come through during the
autumn term. The
most important initial partner is King's College
London.
Lectures on anatomy and physiology in King's main medical lecture
hall, for
example, will be streamed simultaneously into Zimbabwe, at no cost
to the
latter institution or its students.
Students at the University
of Zimbabwe can also access the virtual campus
and resources such as slides,
case studies, real-life scenarios and
questions and answers.
In the
future, there should also be opportunities for two-way discussions
about the
treatment of particular diseases, which should benefit aspiring
doctors in
the UK as well as in Zimbabwe.
Starting in September, there will be
similar links with the School of
Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of
London; the University at Buffalo -
State University of New York (for
courses in pharmacy); the University of
Pretoria's Faculty of Veterinary
Science; and Unesco-IHE (Institute for
Water Education) in the
Netherlands.
"We are concerned with filling gaps, not taking over,"
stresses Broadhurst.
"UZ continues to have responsibility for creating
syllabuses, setting exams,
marking and so on."
Further support for
Zimbabwe's frail university sector should come from the
many diaspora
academics in the UK, southern Africa and elsewhere who are
keen to remain in
touch and "give something back", whether or not they have
yet found
positions in their new countries.
Provided the relevant deans of faculty
agree, Cara can supply them with IP
addresses to deliver lectures straight
from their laptops at home.
Longer-term plans include further links with
other Commonwealth, and
particularly southern African, universities, as well
as renting out the
facilities of the learning centre to generate
income.
If all goes well, Broadhurst says, she also looks forward to "the
installation of a roaming unit that would enable lectures and seminars to be
streamed into hospitals and labs to facilitate e-health and e-learning
simultaneously".
The University of Zimbabwe houses the country's only
- desperately
understaffed - Faculty of Veterinary Science. In a country
where agriculture
is crucial, it needs all the support it can
get.
Helping to set Zimbabwe's universities back on their feet will allow
them to
spread social and economic benefits well beyond their
campuses.
matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
August 23, 2012 in Opinion
Herbert
Moyo
AS if the chaotic land reform programme of the last decade blamed
for
decimating the country’s agricultural sector and the current contentious
indigenisation policy have not ruined the economy enough, Zanu PF has now
added the country’s wildlife conservancies to its national destruction
manual.
Vast tracts of once very productive farmland have been
reduced to wasteland
after being parcelled out to mostly high-ranking Zanu
PF officials and those
closely connected to the former ruling party,
resulting in Zimbabwe facing
year-on-year food deficits.
The
country, which used to be a bread basket of the region even though it
experienced shortages sometimes, is now largely relying on countries in the
region, including South Africa, Zambia and Malawi, for food
imports.
Displaced farmers, mainly those now in Zambia, are
currently feeding the
nation, while donors have been increasingly bailing
out the poor since the
land reform programme.
However, Zanu PF
has not stopped its scorched earth policies. The party’s
officials and
supporters are now grabbing wildlife conservancies in a move
which threatens
the country’s flora and fauna in unprecedented ways.
Besides, the
ravages on land and wildlife areas, Zanu PF’s discredited
indigenisation
policy, deeply divisive in the unity government and widely
viewed as a
vote-buying ploy ahead of the next elections, has scared off
potential
investors and led to massive capital flight, robbing the country
of
much-needed foreign direct investment and inflows to resuscitate an
economy
in intensive care since the turn of the millennium.
Foreign-owned
mining companies have been forced to cede 51% of their shares
to locals,
while banks continue to operate under threat as Zanu PF’s
indigenisation
crusade sweeps across the country’s key economic
sectors.
London-based policy analyst Clifford Mashiri has
described indigenisation in
its present form as “the most harmful, partisan
and counter-productive
policy ever adopted in post-Independent Zimbabwe”.
Mashiri wrote that
selfish political expediency and greed rather than sound
economic principles
are the driving force in the implementation of this
controversial policy.
Mashiri said the on-going programme of
threatening takeovers of other people’s
businesses, investments, and
valuable assets would not help the empowerment
and transformation agenda as
it would only lead to further damage to the
economy, with very serious
implications for the future of the country still
slowly recovering from
recent near implosion.
A fortnight ago Zanu PF heavyweights converged
in Masvingo to launch the
party’s latest economic assault dubbed
“Wildlife-based land reform”.
At the gathering, National Parks and
Wildlife Management Authority
director-general Vitalis Chadenga issued
licences to Zanu PF bigwigs for the
Save Conservancy in the province, and
chillingly declared the exercise would
shortly expand to the rest of the
country.
Chadenga said the exercise was not aimed at expelling
incumbent white owners
in a manner similar to the chaotic fast track land
reform but they (whites)
were “only being requested to accommodate blacks as
partners in the
conservancies”.
However, the list of
beneficiaries exposes the programme as a party exercise
as only Zanu PF
officials were granted 25-year leases to game parks in the
conservancy.
Masvingo provincial governor Titus Maluleke got the
3 388 hectare Hammond
ranch in Chiredzi district, Higher Education minister
Stan Mudenge was given
a lease to the 16 507 hectare Senuko 2 ranch and
former Gutu South MP Shuvai
Mahofa the 5 526 hectare Savuli ranch in the
same district. Chiredzi North
MP Ronald Ndava got the 11 736 hectare Bedford
ranch in Bikita district
while his Chiredzi South counterpart Ailess Baloyi
was given the 6 886
hectare Humani ranch in Chiredzi
district.
MDC-T Masvingo provincial secretary Tongai Matutu
described the granting of
the leases as “a continuation of the land-grab
process”.
“Zanu PF realised that in Masvingo there was no more arable land
that could
be taken and so they simply moved into the conservancies with
their
potential for high earnings,” said Matutu.
“Other provinces
have diamonds, chrome, platinum and gold, but here we don’t
have much except
for the conservancies. If these are destroyed there will be
nothing left
which is why it is important for a non-partisan approach to be
found to
manage these resources.”
Apart from concerns over Zanu PF leaders’
propensity for self-enrichment,
there are also fears that the latest
developments would have harmful
repercussions on wildlife resources, the
environment, ecological systems and
tourism, not to mention Zimbabwe’s
already battered image.
Mindful of the disastrous land reform,
Chadenga pleaded for co-operation
between black and white farmers saying
government had initially balked at
compulsory acquisition of conservancies
after realising their importance.
“They (whites) are also Zimbabweans
and have the necessary skills in the
conservancy business,” said
Chadenga.
However, his sentiments were contradicted by a
belligerent Maluleke who
described the granting of the leases as a “red
letter day” for the province
in the prosecution of wildlife-based land
reform. Maluleke accused white
farmers of stalling implementation of the
programme for the past five years
because “they did not want to work with
their black counterparts who had
been issued 25-year leases by Environment
minister Francis Nhema”.
“They (white farmers) have been doing
everything possible to resist new
farmers and harvesting wildlife illegally
but now a new era is beginning
that will see the latter get on with the job
they have been assigned,”
Maluleke said.
Vice-chairman of the
Save Valley Conservancy Wilfried Pabst has described
the granting of hunting
permits as “highly illegal and criminal”.
Even the usually diplomatic
EU ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia condemned the
programme as “totally
unexpected from a country that is preparing to host
such an important
function connected with tourism in addition to having
bilateral agreements
enjoining it to protect investments of EU nationals”.
Zimbabwe will
co-host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation general
assembly with
Zambia in August 2012.
“While we respect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty, it
is clear they have violated
their bilateral agreements with EU member states
and this week I will be
engaging ministers Nhema and (Tourism and
Hospitality minister Walter)
Mzembi because these actions are a danger to
property rights and tourism,”
said Dell’Ariccia.
With the high
levels of unemployment in the country estimated at above 85%,
indigenisation
seem to be increasingly a problem rather than part of the
solution and given
the current seizure of conservancies it appears we have
not seen the last of
Zanu PF’s campaign of plunder.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw
August 23, 2012 in
Opinion
Eric Bloch
THERE is continued despondency over Zimbabwe’s
economy notwithstanding
government and Finance minister Tendai Biti’s claims
that economic recovery
is progressing, albeit slowly. Many contest the view
that there has been
economic improvement, or that it is occurring, believing
claims of recovery
are fictitious and/or made only with political objectives
in mind. This
perception of the population at large poses the question: Are
Zimbabweans
economically whipped for many years, oblivious to change, or are
politicians
who claim economic change is occurring hallucinating or merely
pursuing
political agendas?
The reality is that three years ago
there was one positive development in
Zimbabwe; and that is the cessation of
the highest hyperinflation ever. In
2008, Zimbabwe experienced inflation at
a rate of several trillions percent.
So rapidly were prices rising that most
retailers stopped displaying prices
of their goods. Instead, shopkeepers
resorted to adjusting prices on their
computerised cash registers or by
cashiers adjusting prices upwards by
percentages prescribed by traders
during each day.
In early 2009 the newly-formed Government of
National Unity effectively
stemmed that hyperinflation by adopting the
multi-currency system comprising
the United States dollar, South African
rand, Botswana pula, British pound
and the euro. By so doing, to a
significant extent Zimbabwe’s inflation was
aligned to the inflation rates
of the countries from which those currencies
came from. Of even greater
import was that, by virtue of Zimbabwe no longer
having its own national
currency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and
government could no longer resort
to endless printing of money, unsupported
by any meaningful national
reserves.
Consequently, inflation almost immediately fell to minimum
levels
approximating 4% per annum, consistent with inflation rates of many
of the
neighbouring countries, and lower than those prevailing in much of
Africa.
The impact of that development cannot be credibly denied. However,
although
hyperinflation ceased, it was not reversed. Most prices of goods
and
services remained at their January 2009 levels, with periodic marginal
increases in alignment to the admittedly low inflation that persisted
thereafter. There is increasing doubt as to whether inflation data is
materially correct; many are convinced actual inflation is higher than
official data suggests.
There is substance to that conviction,
especially insofar as low income
earners are concerned; for the weightings
of the respective components of
the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on which
inflation rates are calculated today
were determined many years ago. In
subsequent years, the spending patterns
of low-income earners have markedly
changed. Their limited resources
necessitate that their spending is
predominantly on basic foodstuffs,
accommodation, utilities, education,
transport, healthcare, and minimally on
such items as clothing and footwear,
furniture, restaurants and hotels.
Inflation on the latter categories
has been significantly less than that on
the former categories, which
deflates the computed inflation rate against
the actual rate sustained by
most. Hence, whilst there is some substance to
claims of economic recovery
based on the overall decline in inflation, the
fact that prices have not
gone back to pre-hyperinflation levels and that
there have been unavoidable
changes in spending patterns, diminish the real
extent of the alleged
recovery.
As a result Zimbabwe remains confronted by several other
negative economic
circumstances. A combination of the limited spending
power of most
Zimbabweans and an ever-increasing influx of imported goods
has impacted
upon the productivity and output of most manufacturing
enterprises.
Moreover, as an after-effect of the
hyperinflationary era and of the
demonetisation of Zimbabwean currency,
almost all of those enterprises are
under-capitalised and devoid of capital
resources necessary for viability.
In addition, their productivity has been
negatively affected by inadequate
utilities such as electricity and water
and by the paucity of rail and air
services. The result has been closure of
industries, and the downsizing of
most others. This has impacted adversely
on employment, and upon the
salaries and wages of those still
employed.
In a normal economic environment, under-capitalised
businesses seek to
redress their capital inadequacies by sourcing new
investment, or by
obtaining loan funding from banks and other financial
institutions. But this
has proved to be almost impossible in the prevailing
environment. Investment
funding is extremely limited as potential investors
fear for the security of
their investments as a result of the unstable
political environment,
ill-considered and oppressive indigenisation and
economic empowerment
policies, and pronounced government bureaucracy.
Similarly, access to loan
funding is marginal.
The public’s
lack of confidence in the banking sector after the collapse and
failure of
many banks has minimised deposits which in turn curb banks’
lending.
Financial institutions also experience great difficulty (for like
reasons)
in sourcing international lines of credit to enable comprehensive
lending to
commerce and industry. Because of their limited lending ability,
such loan
funding as the banks can provide is of limited tenure, and subject
to
exceptionally high rates of interest and allied charges, coupled with
demands for considerable collateral security.
One of the
platforms used by politicians to justify claims of economic
recovery is the
progressive upturn in the agricultural sector (save for the
2011/12 season
when poor rains severely reduced production). It must be
acknowledged that
there has been some significant growth in tobacco
production, to a large
extent because of corporate contract farming,
although total production was
nevertheless only marginally more than 50% of
that achieved in 2001 when
draconian land reform policies undermined the
sector’s viability. But
production of maize, wheat, cotton, sugar, and many
other crops is at a low
level compared to the 1990s and compared to the
country’s economic needs,
whilst the national livestock herd is only at 36%
of its peak
level.
Another major economic ailment is the impoverished state of
the national
fiscus where there are accumulated debts of many billions of
dollars,
inability to fund essential infrastructural needs, recurrent
below-budget
revenue inflows and therefore ongoing fiscal deficits. At the
same time, it
is certain that there are many in government who continue to
resort to
costly, corrupt practices.
The problems of
manufacturing industries, agriculture, the fiscus and others
prove the
economy continues to be grossly emaciated and to say Zimbabwe has
attained
economic recovery, such recovery is of so little real extent that
to a
substantial degree, the recovery remains a myth.
http://www.irishtimes.com/
Thursday,
August 23, 2012
LETTER FROM ZIMBABWE: There are signs Mugabe’s party is
gearing up for polls
using illicit techniques it favoured in the past,
writes BILL CORCORAN
EXAMINING UNFOLDING events in Zimbabwe over the past
few months has brought
an old epigram, “the more things change, the more
they stay the same”, to
mind on more than one occasion.
Even a
cursory look at the main news items in local newspapers over that
period
suggests that President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party’s
repeated calls
for upcoming elections to be free and fair may not be
genuine.
The
Southern African Development Community recently decided that fresh
elections
should be held in Zimbabwe before June next year to end the
stalled
powersharing arrangement between Zanu-PF and the two Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) party factions.
That much-heralded pact, mediated by the
development community and signed in
2009 as a way to overcome disputed polls
the previous year, has stabilised
the country somewhat. But it has failed to
take it forward, due to the
ideological differences between the opposing
groups.
Initially it appeared that Zanu-PF and the MDC parties were
willing to work
together for the sake of the country. However, the
relationship between the
groups has worsened significantly, and there are
indications that Mugabe’s
party is gearing up to contest the coming polls
using the illicit techniques
it favoured in the past.
Instances of
hate speech, harassment, intimidation and violence attributable
to
traditional supporters of Zanu-PF, which has been in power since 1980,
have
begun to make the headlines more frequently in recent months than a
year
ago.
In the courts, especially at magistrate level, legal actions
involving
members of MDC and pro-democracy movements have become long and
drawn out.
Critics of Zanu-PF maintain this is being done to ensure those
involved have
less time to focus on the upcoming elections.
A good
example involves Women of Zimbabwe Arise leaders, Jenni Williams and
Magodonga Mahlangu, who were charged in April with kidnapping a woman named
Emma Mabhena, and remanded in custody.
On May 1st, a magistrate
dismissed their application to have the case
against them dropped even
though the alleged victim refused to acknowledge
being kidnapped. After
appealing the decision to the high court, they were
released.
At the
end of June, 100 of the organisation’s members were arrested and
detained by
police in Bulawayo for holding a pro-democracy rally in the city
centre.
On May 12th, the Zimbabwe Standard newspaper reported that
the MDC faction,
aligned to the prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has
accused the police of
setting in motion a campaign to disrupt its election
rallies.
Observers of the Zanu-PF-instigated “indigenisation” policy,
under which
black Zimbabweans must own 51 per cent of shares of foreign
companies
operating in the country, say the strategy is designed to a
facilitate the
creation of a new patronage system.
Empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere expanded the policy this week to
include all
foreign-owned businesses in Zimbabwe.
The land reform policy of 2000,
which involved often violent land grabs of
white-owned farms, has been
completed and there are few farms left that can
be given to Zanu-PF
loyalists.
It is believed the policy will be used to replace the land
reform strategy
as a means to ensure supporters stay loyal to the former
liberation
movement, and do its bidding in the run-up to the
election.
Kasukuwere gave foreign-owned banks and other companies –
including tourism
businesses and private schools – a year to cede the 51 per
cent stake of
their operations to local indigenous Zimbabweans or face
expropriation.
It was reported in mid-June that the Zanu-PF controlled
defence minister had
clandestinely recruited 5,000 additional members in a
bid to beef up the
security forces, which have always been loyal to Mugabe’s
regime, even
though the state does not have the money to pay their
wages.
A further 5,000 people have been employed under similar
circumstances by
Zimbabwe’s interior ministry, another government department
controlled by
Zanu-PF.
In terms of an increase in hate speech,
Tsvangirai said on World Press
Freedom Day on May 3rd that Zimbabwe’s
state-controlled media was using the
same strategy as Rwanda’s “Hate radio”
that helped to incite the violence in
1994 that led to genocide.
A
pro-democracy civil society movement in Zimbabwe, Sokwanele, has been
monitoring press articles generated within Zimbabwe since 2008 to watch for
violations of the terms of the powersharing agreement.
In May it
recorded 72 reports that showed violations, such as incitements to
violence,
intimidation, hate speech, threats, abductions and brutality: all
of these
were attributed to Zanu-PF.
“The category with the highest number of
recorded violations was the
harassment of perceived opposition politicians
and supporters using
drawn-out litigation, with 18 cases logged,” Sokwanle
reported.
Since the attainment of independence in 1980, many people with links to Zanu (PF) have amassed great wealth but just how did they make their millions?
Prominent high-flyers include former army general, Solomon Mujuru, his wife Joyce, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Phillip Chiyangwa, Ray Kaukonde, Ignatius Chombo, Mutumwa Mawere, David Chapfika, Obert Mpofu and Saviour Kasukuwere.
Recent revelations indicate that Solomon
Mujuru’s estate is worth $9 billion, with concerns in mining, agriculture,
tourism and construction. Mnangagwa’s business empire is more difficult to pin
down but is thought to include retail, mining and farming.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu recently bought off ZABG, a beleaguered bank. He is in direct control of mining processes in the country, among them the diamonds in Marange. He also has interests in properties and wildlife.
Kasukuwere’s empire is mostly in transport and fuel, while Chombo, another senior Zanu (PF) member, made headlines last year over then properties he has acquired since getting into politics, having been a mere lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
Smuggling
It is not just Zanu (PF) bigwigs who have made money in Zimbabwe. Individuals such as Mohammed Al Shanfari gained notoriety when he was linked to diamond looting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Al Shanfari is the owner of Oryx House that is tucked away in Folyjon Close in Borrowdale. He has been linked to Zanu (PF) bigwigs who endorsed Zimbabwe’s intervention in the DRC war in the 1990s in order to take advantage of the strife in that country to smuggle diamonds.
Tales have been told of helicopter-loads of minerals being airlifted from the DRC and influential Zanu (PF) members reportedly escorted diamond smugglers to the airport to ensure they were not searched.
According to sources, one of those now filthily rich individuals started off as a mere Central Intelligence Officer and used his staff card to evade the police. He would use his sister’s car to drive into Mozambique where he bought ivory on the black market, until he managed to build a business empire that now spans numerous concerns.
Dubious platforms
For some, the creation of different platforms has enabled them to divert funds towards their personal pursuits.
Currently, there is concern that the indigenisation programme that Zanu (PF) has been pushing since 2007 is a deliberate ploy to enrich members and allies of the party.
The programme first targeted foreign controlled mines, demanding a 51 percent stake that should be ceded to blacks, but not much is known about local takers. The programme recently spread to conservancies, with Zanu (PF) stalwarts becoming the first beneficiaries.
Phillip Chiyangwa's private jet
Political analyst John Makumbe expressed concern over the wealth being
amassed by these individuals, saying the indigenization policy would give them
yet another chance to loot the country’s resources.
“The policy (of indigenisation) is aimed at the self-aggrandizement among Zanu (PF)’s rich coterie. This indigenisation policy will not alleviate poverty. It is flawed and is going to make the rich richer,” said Makumbe.
The likes of Mutumwa Mawere, who was forced off the vast Shabanie Mashava Mines by his erstwhile cronies in Zanu (PF) and now lives in self-imposed exile in South Africa, was a direct beneficiary of affirmative action in the early years of independence.
He reportedly acquired the asbestos mining company without paying a single cent, thanks to the Zanu (PF) patronage. According to sources, he neglected his godfathers, resulting in them conniving to push him out.
Some have chosen to use underground syndicates to fatten their purses. There have been unconfirmed reports of several high-profile individuals forming “mafia gangs” to collect gold and diamonds from illegal miners and smuggling them out of the country.
Wikileaks
In a 2008 Wikileaks cable, the then US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee said high ranking government officials were getting millions of dollars through illegal diamond trade.
He was quoted as saying: “High ranking Zimbabwe government officials and well-connected elites are generating millions of dollars in personal income by hiring teams of diggers to hand extract diamonds.”
The cable also quoted African Consolidated Resources Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cranswick, whose claim was seized in Chiadzwa, as saying a small group of officials were amassing a lot of wealth from Chiadzwa diamonds.
He named Grace Mugabe, Joyce Mujuru, Reserve
Bank Governor Gideon Gono, and General Constantine Chiwenga as some of the
culprits.
In May this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said only a small group of powerful figures in Zimbabwe was benefiting from diamond trade.
Biti is on record saying the Treasury was not receiving revenue from Anjin, a diamond mining company in Chiadzwa. Global Witness, a United Kingdom based non-governmental organisation claims it was highly possible that the revenues had been diverted to the company’s part owners in the military and the police.
The dynamics surrounding how these individuals have acquired their wealth have a political bearing, some analysts say. The high-ranking figures cannot openly challenge Mugabe, who is fully aware of their shenanigans, because they fear being arrested. According to the analysts, that is why the Zanu (PF) succession issue has taken so long.