WIDE-RANGING CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ON THE CARDS Fri 27
August 2004
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government plans to re-introduce
a bicameral parliament and set up a Human Rights and Social Justice
Commission as well as a Land Commission. These are some of the key provisions
in a draft constitutional amendment bill, obtained by ZimOnline.
The draft Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 17) Bill, 2004
also proposes the setting up of a new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to
prepare and conduct referenda, as well as national and local
elections.
The bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament before
the end of the year.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Patrick Chinamasa denied the existence of the bill when contacted by
ZimOnline: ."We are not contemplating that. We cannot succeed because we do
not have the two thirds majority (in Parliament)."
Opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi could not
be reached for comment.
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
chairman Lovemore Madhuku confirmed the existence of the draft and said his
group will resist the proposed constitutional changes.
The NCA,
a coalition of labour, human and civic rights groups, churches and opposition
political parties, is campaigning for a new and democratic constitution for
Zimbabwe.
Madhuku said, "Whether we will do it through the courts
or by way of peaceful demonstrations, these amendments will not become an
Act."
"Zimbabweans need a democratic constitution. It has to come
from the people and not from ZANU PF, MDC or any other party. The NCA will
fight hard and unless we are all dead these draconian bills will never become
acts of parliament."
A senior official at Parliament said, "I am
sure it is one of the bills which will be debated when parliament resumes
sitting next month." "We were asked to give preference to the
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Bill and then the Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 17) Bill, 2004. That was done because the Ministry
(of Justice) wanted to gazette the NGO Bill first."
The
NGO Bill prohibits NGOs from receiving foreign funding for governance and
human rights work and makes registration compulsory.
The memorandum
outlining the constitutional amendment bill reads: "Parliament will be
reconstituted as a bicameral legislature consisting of a House of Assembly of
200 members (150 elected on a constituency basis and 50 women elected
indirectly by proportional representation, five from
each province.)"
'A Senate of 60 members (40 Senators elected
indirectly by proportional representation, four from each province, plus the
10 provincial governors appointed by the President and 10 Chiefs elected by
the Council of Chiefs.)'
Section 16A of the current
constitution, which makes special provision for land acquired under the
government¹s land reform programme, will be replaced by a new provision
confirming the acquisition of land, according to the Bill.
The
memorandum further states: "A provision is made for the establishment and
functions of a Human Rights and Social Justice Commission and a Land
Commission."
The Parliamentary Legal Committee will be made up of
senators only, the memorandum says. In the past this committee has clashed
with government over some of its most draconian laws such as those regulating
the press.
Clause 18 of the bill provides for the president to
appoint the chairman of a five-member electoral commission. The other four
members will be appointed by the head of state from a list of seven nominees
drawn up by the House of Assembly. ZimOnline
High Court judge quizzed by secret service agents Fri 27
August 2004
HARARE - Agents from the government's Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) are understood to have threatened the judge
who freed businessman and ruling ZANU PF party official James Makamba from
jail earlier this week.
The case of Makamba has received
particular attention from the public in Zimbabwe because it is alleged that
he had been having an affair with President Robert Mugabe's wife
Grace.
Court officials, who do not want to be named, told ZimOnline
that the CIO agents visited High Court Judge Lawrence Kamocha in his chambers
after he had delivered his judgment quashing five charges of illegally
exporting foreign currency against Makamba and ordering him
released.
The CIO operatives are said to have quizzed Kamocha about
his reasons for freeing Makamba.
Makamba, who has pleaded guilty
to another six charges of illegally selling foreign currency, had spent seven
months in jail before his release last Tuesday. He is still to be sentenced
on these charges.
Top government and ZANU PF officials as well as
Makamba's relatives and friends had privately indicated that although Makamba
may have been guilty of some of the alleged offences, his prolonged ordeal in
jail was primarily due to his suspected relationship with the President's
wife.
A court official told ZimOnline the CIO agents accused Judge
Kamocha of not protecting the interests of the government by releasing
Makamba
"The guys visited him in his chambers ten minutes after the
judgment was delivered. They quizzed him on why he had freed Makamba. I
understand they are still calling him and threatening him. But we all think
that the ruling was very judicial. But that's why he is in trouble
anyway."
The CIO has in the past been accused of harassing judges
for delivering judgments not favorable to the government.
According to the official, Kamocha's clerk, John Matekesa, was also briefly
questioned by the operatives. It was not possible to get comment from either
Kamocha or his clerk on the alleged threats.
Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa, when contacted for comment, said: "I am not aware of that.
The judge has not made any report to me about any harassment. But I don't
envisage anyone threatening a judge over a judgment.. That cannot happen in
Zimbabwe because judges are free and independent to make judgments without
fear."
The officials said Kamocha briefly appeared at court
yesterday, but only to collect some personal files from his office. He left
after a few minutes and he was not driving his official Mercedes Benz
car.
On Wednesday, a day after freeing Makamba, Kamocha reportedly
did not turn up at court although he had been scheduled to hear two matters
in his chambers and also to deliver judgment on another matter. Fellow Judge
Tedius Karwi had to step in to deliver the judgment which had already been
written by Kamocha. ZimOnline
International Bar Association: Enact NGO law and humanitarian
aid will dry up Fri 27 August 2004
HARARE - The
International Bar Association (IBA) has warned that donor support to
Zimbabwe, including critically needed humanitarian aid, could dry up if the
government enacts a new law regulating non-governmental organisations
(NGOs).
The NGO Bill, expected to be passed by parliament in
October, introduces compulsory registration and prohibits NGOs from receiving
foreign funding for projects related to human rights and governance. It
allows them to obtain foreign money only for humanitarian
projects.
In an analysis of the bill the IBA said, "It is
remarkable and indeed self defeating that the Zimbabwe government seeks,
through this legislation, to draw a distinction between governance and
humanitarian issues by permitting one form of foreign support and not the
other."
"The thinking of most donors on these issues is that the
matter of receiving foreign aid is inseparable from matters of governance.
There is a real danger that, as a consequence of this legislation, there will
be massive loss of foreign aid to Zimbabwe, thus seriously worsening the
human conditions of many ordinary Zimbabwean people."
Civic
society activists warn that 90 percent of NGOs might have to close shop if
the new legislation comes into force.
The IBA describes itself as
the "world's largest international law association" with a membership of 16
000 individual lawyers and 190 Law Societies, among them the Law Society of
Zimbabwe.
In the face of economic recession and food shortages for
the last four years, only assistance by foreign donor organisations has
averted starvation and a total humanitarian disaster, economists
say.
The government, which in May said Zimbabwe will not need food
aid this year, two weeks ago asked food relief agencies to provide aid to
selected groups in three provinces worst hit by food shortages.
Aid agencies have also been in the forefront of providing assistance and
counseling to thousands of Zimbabweans infected with HIV.
The IBA
said that apart from risking humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe the bill was
unconstitutional and violated United Nations, African Union and Southern
African Development Community charters, which oblige member states to allow
NGOs to function without hindrance.
The Zimbabwe government says
the new legislation is necessary to curb the activities of some NGOs which
were being used by its "foreign enemies" to undermine its rule.
ZimOnline
Zim government accuses MDC of running scared August 26
2004 at 03:07PM
Harare - Zimbabwe's government said the main
opposition has decided to boycott elections because they are scared of
losing, an official daily said on Thursday.
The Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) - which has charged President Robert Mugabe's
government with stealing elections in both 2000 and 2002 - said on Wednesday
it would not participate in any polls until the government implemented "real"
electoral reforms.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the MDC,
which holds a third of the 150 seats in parliament, was just making excuses
to avoid certain defeat in next year's general election.
"It's
very clear that they have lost the confidence of Zimbabweans and will not win
elections," the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted him saying. "It is their
democratic right not to be embarrassed and we will not lose sleep over
that."
Chinamasa dismissed charges the government was not prepared
to enforce guidelines recently adopted by the 14-nation Southern African
Development Community (SADC) on running elections.
"It's not
true that we are not adhering to the guidelines," he said. "Even before the
guidelines were adopted we had already initiated moves to reform our
electoral system."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, on a visit
to South Africa, told reporters in Cape Town that Britain - Zimbabwe's former
colonial ruler - saw the need for improvement.
"There needs to
be an environment for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, which fully
reflects the new SADC principles and guidelines for democratic elections," he
said.
Straw said there was a "cold war" in Zimbabwe between the
government and the governed, and Mugabe's policies had severely damaged his
people and brought economic decline.
"More than seven million
Zimbabweans, over half of the total population, are now dependent on food aid
whilst the government denies the need for international food assistance,"
Straw said.
Zimbabwe blames its economic problems on Britain, which
it says has mobilised Western support against Mugabe because of Mugabe's
handing of white-owned farms to landless blacks.
In Harare
Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the MDC was heading for
defeat "whether they participate or do not participate" in next year's
parliamentary polls.
Political analysts said the beleaguered
opposition party would face severe internal pressure to drop its objections
and compete in elections next year rather than leave the ground clear for
Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
The MDC claims Mugabe's government stole both the
2002 presidential re-election and the ruling ZANU-PF party's 2000
parliamentary victory through a campaign of vote-rigging and
intimidation.
Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, denies
the charges and says Zimbabwe is being targeted by opponents of his land
reform policies.
Britain and South Africa have called jointly for Zimbabwe to
establish a conducive environment for fair elections next year - after the
main opposition party said it would boycott them. Jack Straw, the British
foreign secretary, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, his South African
counterpart, highlighted Zimbabwe - a worsening headache for both countries -
when they met in Cape Town today.
"The ministers agreed on the
importance of the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe," they said in a joint
statement. "They welcomed the recent electoral standards agreed by SADC (the
Southern African Development Community) and emphasised in particular the
vital importance of establishing a conducive environment for free and fair
elections in accordance with the SADC guidelines."
Zimbabwe's
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said yesterday it would not
take part in elections until President Robert Mugabe enacted "real" electoral
reforms, a move political analysts said would put pressure on Mugabe to
deliver on promises for democratic change. Harare said today the opposition
was simply walking away from the ballot box because it was afraid of
losing.
"They have lost the confidence of Zimbabweans and will not win
elections," the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Patrick Chinamasa, the
justice minister, as saying. "It is their democratic right not to be
embarrassed and we will not lose sleep over that."
The MDC has charged
Mugabe's government with stealing elections in both 2000 and 2002, and
critics say the veteran leader has cracked down on opponents with both
draconian laws and political intimidation.
Double-edged
sword Political analysts say the poll boycott won headlines for the MDC but
could increase internal pressure within the party to drop its objections
and compete in the parliamentary elections next year rather than leave
them clear for Mugabe's Zanu(PF).
Britain - once Zimbabwe's colonial
ruler - and South Africa, its neighbour and longtime political ally, urged
the MDC and ZANU(PF) to resume talks and said new electoral guidelines agreed
this month by the 14 SADC members should apply in Zimbabwe. Mugabe proposed
last month a series of reforms which in large part match the SADC guidelines,
although his political opponents say they fear they will not be implemented
or will be overshadowed by political violence.
The SADC electoral
rulebook asks countries to guarantee media freedom and open electioneering,
free of police harassment, as well as monitoring of polls by regional - but
not Western - observers. Mugabe has promised early reforms including
single-day voting and tabulation of election results at polling stations
rather than central locations, and establishing an independent electoral
commission, which are also SADC recommendations.
Chinamasa dismissed
charges the government was not prepared to enforce the SADC guidelines. "It's
not true that we are not adhering to the guidelines," he said. "Even before
the guidelines were adopted we had already initiated moves to reform our
electoral system," the Herald quoted him as saying. Zimbabwe blames its
economic problems on Britain, which it says has mobilised Western support
against Mugabe because of Mugabe's handing of white-owned farms to landless
blacks. - Reuters
Mugabe's gift to Zim's golden girl August 26 2004 at
02:08PM
President Robert Mugabe has awarded Zimbabwean swimming
gold medal winner Kirsty Coventry a diplomatic passport and $50 000 (about
R300 000) "pocket money" to use in the US where she is a
student.
She won Zimbabwe's only medals so far at the Olympics,
bringing home a bronze, a silver and a gold medal.
"She did us
proud. Well done, golden girl, may God lead you in the future because you are
one with us, we are together," Mugabe said on Wednesday night. -
Sapa
British Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw has dismissed claims that his government supported the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), the main opposition party in Zimbabwe.
"We
don't support any particular political party in Zimbabwe... We don't support
any political party anywhere in the world," he told guests in
Cape Town.
Straw said a total of 45-million pounds (about
R539-million) was available to fund land reform in Zimbabwe should a solution
be found to the political and economic crisis in that country.
The
British government stood by the 1980 Lancaster House agreement in which it
committed itself to fund the land reform programme in Zimbabwe, he
said.
Zimbabwe plunged into a political and economic crisis about five
years ago when Zanu-PF youths tormented members of the MDC, claiming MDC
members hindered reform in that country.
Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe has publicly described the MDC as a puppet of western countries.
Others have accused the MDC of receiving money from the British
government.
Straw said more than half of Zimbabwe's population was
dependent on food aid, and the Mugabe government was denying the need for
international help.
"There needs to be an environment for free and fair
elections in Zimbabwe, which fully reflect the new SADC [Southern African
Development Community] principles."
He said his government welcomed
South Africa's efforts to find a solution in Zimbabwe.
"It remains
important that you, and the rest of Africa, stay engaged to help the people
of Zimbabwe return their country to health," Straw said.
Meanwhile, the
Zimbabwe government said it "will not lose sleep" over a threat by the MDC to
pull out of next year's parliamentary polls if full electoral reforms are not
implemented, a state-run daily said on Thursday.
"It is their democratic
right not to be embarrassed and we will not lose sleep over that," Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted as saying in The Herald
newspaper.
On Wednesday the MDC said it would not take part in future
ballots, including general elections due in March, unless Mugabe's
government implements a regional protocol on polls signed by Zimbabwe this
month.
The opposition said it wants full reforms in line with guidelines
and principles adopted at a SADC conference earlier this month.
Those
guidelines provides for freedom of association, access to the media, curbs
against police harrassment and opening up elections to
foreign monitors.
Since the opposition party was founded in 1999 it
has posed the biggest challenge to Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union -- Patriotic Front.
However, it has failed to win parliamentary
and presidential elections, blaming the losses on a skewed electoral playing
field and intimidation. The government has denied these
charges.
Chinamasa said that he was soon to present a draft Bill to
Cabinet that would introduce electoral reforms.
"It's not true that we
are not adhering to the (SADC) guidelines," he said, adding that "the
guidelines are not law; they are a norm-setting document." - Sapa
Harare - Tired of the fight for survival, many Zimbabweans
are finding escape in music.
People who have had to watch their
standard of living drop and the economy disintegrate over the past few years
are only too glad - even if it is just for a few hours - to forget their
sorrows under the flashing neon lights with loud music drowning out all
else.
Music promoters are smiling all the way to the bank.
Music
concerts - gospel, local or foreign music, or the latest urban grooves - are
very popular these days.
Organisers of private music concerts and
nightclub owners are not the only ones profiting from their countrymen's
woes.
Government also organises regular "gala events" to which thousands
of people flock.
Top musicians perform at 'Heroes Day
Gala'
Earlier this month, the country's top musicians played at a "Heroes
Day Gala" in Marondera, about 75km east of the capital, in honour of
Zimbabweans who died in the struggle.
"Even if it's just for a day, it
helps me to forget about the rising cost of food, rent and transport," Juliet
Makoni of Harare said as she bought her ticket from one of the many ticket
kiosks in the city.
More than 100 000 people are expected at the next
gala event in Masvingo in September.
Guthrie Muzuzu from Harare plans
to be there. "At least you get the opportunity of seeing all the big names in
the music industry on one stage. What more can you ask
for?"
Zimbabwe's galas are also providing export opportunities.
A
Zimbabwe-Mozambique music festival is planned for December to celebrate "the
history of good relations between the people of these two
countries".
Kirsty Coventry expected to meet Mugabe
Some people
believe that if Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe's swimming sensation, did not have
such a full schedule, government would have considered a gala ceremony in her
honour.
Coventry, who won three medals at the Olympic Games in Athens,
arrived in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, but will apparently leave for America over
the weekend.
However, during her brief stay she is expected to meet
President Robert Mugabe and take part in a street parade.
Abel
Burombo, a freelance journalists, jokes that Jonathan Moyo, minister
of information, is probably upset at not having the opportunity to exploit
the news of Zimbabwe's gold medal for propaganda purposes.
"The
build-up to any of these galas is so big that everyone talks about it. People
are transported to a sort of utopia in anticipation of the excitement of the
evening. However, it does not work for everyone," Burombo complains.
Domboshava - Rowdy Zanu PF militants last week
confiscated headman Elias Murape's badge of honour and other regalia,
stripping him of his status, after accusing him of supporting the opposition
Movement For Democratic Change (MDC). The youths, numbering about 20, last
week visited Headman Murape's homestead in Domboshava Communal Lands, about
36 kilometres north-east of Harare, and accused him of supporting the
opposition MDC. They had been riled by headman Murape's presence at a
well-attended rally which was addressed by the leader of the opposition MDC,
Morgan Tsvangirai. According to eye-witnesses from the village, the headman
is said to have told Tsvangirai that he was now living in fear after the
youths had threatened him with death. He said his support for the opposition
had created problems for himself and his subjects who were now being
monitored by the ruling party militias in the area.
The youths
accused Murape of selling out and not supporting the controversial land
reform programme. They alleged that the headman was illegally allocating land
to MDC supporters from the urban areas so as to boost the party's support
base in rural areas in preparation for the forthcoming parliamentary
elections next year. They then demanded the headman's badge and told him that
he had been stripped of his powers as the local headman. They also ordered
him not to collect his monthly allowance of $500 000 which the government is
giving to all headmen in Zimbabwe's 57 districts. Fearing for his life,
Murape handed over the badge and the regalia to the youths, who later
forwarded it to the District Administrator' s office for Goromonzi. Officials
at the District Administrator's Office confirmed that they had received the
headman's badge and regalia from the Zanu PF youths. The incident comes a few
days after President Mugabe signed a regional charter on free and fair
elections.
The charter is based on 10 guidelines that include
political tolerance, freedom of association, full participation of citizens,
impartiality of electoral institutions, independence of the judiciary, voter
education and equal opportunity for all political parties to access the
public media. The charter states that SADC states holding elections should
ensure the scrupulous implementation of the principles and take precautions
to prevent fraud or rigging, provide security for all parties and ensure
transparency and integrity of the entire election process. The MDC has of
late been making forays into Zimbabwe's rural areas where the ruling party
commands a majority. The visit to Domboshava by Tsvangirai is one of such
strategies by the opposition.
Fraudsters are successfully using
Zimbabwean coins to defraud South African laundromat and amusement game
owners of thousands of rands. The coins are similar in width and dimension to
South African coins and because of these similarities, fraudsters are using
them successfully in coin-operated machines. A Zimbabwean 1c coin is similar
to SA's R1, a Zim 20c is similar to SA's R2 and Zim 50c to SA's R5. This has
infuriated laundromat and coin-operated machine owners, who say that they are
losing huge amounts of money every year. "I have more Zimbabwean coins than
they have in Zimbabwe," said an irate John de Canha, owner of Johnny Casino,
which makes and supplies video games and pool tables to shops. "This is a
nationwide problem and the industry is losing hundreds of thousands of rands
because of it," De Canha said. "We can find between 100 and 300 Zimbabwean
coins in a machine every month." De Canha said that he had to hire people to
watch his machines in an effort to stop the fraud. "I am forced to do this
because it will cost us a hell of a lot of money to change all the slots on
the machines," he said.
Walter Sakaekpu, who owns the Rand East
Games shop in Yeoville, said he lost thousands of rands a year. "It is very
difficult to watch everyone who plays pool in my shop because I am also
running a take-aways. I am losing a lot of money and there is nothing I can
do about it. I have been begging the guys who supply the tables to me to do
something, but they say it will cost a lot of money to change the slots," he
said. Thomas Sithole, manager of the Hillbrow Amusement Centre, has had to
take drastic action to avoid being defrauded. "I do not allow anyone to put
coins into the pool tables. I employ somebody to help me and together we
'flush' the machines. "Before I started doing this, I was losing so much
money. I have more than 10 tables in the shop and if I lose R300 on every
table every month, that is a lot of money," he said. A laundromat owner in
Benoni on the East Rand, who does not want to be identified, said people
using his washing machines with Zimbabwean coins "pay nothing" for a wash. "A
wash costs R8 while for someone using Zimbabwean coins it will cost 80
Zimbabwean cents - which makes it less than one SA cent for a wash. It is
ridiculous," he said, adding that the Reserve Bank should protect the
country's economy from "invader coins". Aboobaker Ishmael, general manager of
Currency and Protection Services at the Reserve Bank, said: "There is nothing
we can do about it. We cannot stop money coming into the country and it is up
to the vending-machine operators to ensure that their machines do not accept
the coins."
Southern Africa: HIV/Aids Changing the Face of Agriculture
UN
Integrated Regional Information Networks
August 26, 2004 Posted to the
web August 26, 2004
Johannesburg
HIV/AIDS has not only forced
farming communities to opt for less labour-intensive cropping patterns, it
has also led to the loss of local knowledge of agro-ecology and farming
practices in Southern Africa, a senior Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) official told IRIN on Thursday.
"With the death of parents, the
transfer of knowledge about seeds and cropping patterns is lost. We realise
that HIV/AIDS, along with natural disasters, is not only one of the major
factors causing food insecurity, it is also a consequence of food and
nutrition insecurity," said Gabriel Rugalema of FAO's HIV/AIDS and Food
Security Population and Development Service.
According to UNAIDS
estimates, Mozambique had 420,000 AIDS orphans in 2001, but the number was
expected to exceed a million by 2010. At the end of 2003, Zimbabwe had
761,000 AIDS orphans and the country is estimated to be losing 2,500 people a
week to the disease.
As a result, there was an increasing burden on the
rural youth to provide for their families.
In response the FAO has
developed several initiatives not only to remedy the loss of
inter-generational knowledge of seeds and cropping patterns but also to
provide nutritional support to rural families.
The agriculture agency, in
collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), is developing Junior
Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) in some African countries, including
Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Orphans and vulnerable children in the age group
12 to 17 years receive about a year's training in the JFFLS in modern and
traditional agricultural techniques. An equal number of boys and girls are
taught about field preparation, sowing, transplanting, weeding, irrigation,
pest-control, harvesting, storage and entrepreneurship skills. The children
are also provided with meals.
"The children attend these schools three
times a week. The junior farmer schools are not meant to replace formal
schooling, but to complement it. The schools help to develop communication
skills, solve problems - they bring a sense of democracy to the rural areas,"
said Rugalema.
There are currently three JFFLS running in Mozambique and
another is located in Zvishavane district in the Matabeleland South province
of Zimbabwe. "We hope to establish 1,000 to 2,000 schools across the
continent in the next 10 to 15 years," Rugalema said.
With the loss of
manpower and rising health expenditure as a result of HIV/AIDS, farming
communities in Southern Africa, as in Malawi, have begun adopting less
labour-intensive cropping patterns, and planting improved seed varieties that
require less labour for weeding, pointed out Graham Farmer, FAO's regional
emergency coordinator for Southern Africa.
"Women, because of the
increased burden on their role as care providers, cannot opt for
labour-intensive crops like maize and, as in Malawi, have begun growing
cassava," Farmer said.
According to FAO, approximately two person-years
of labour have been lost by the time an individual dies of AIDS, due to his
or her weakening and the time others spend giving care.
In certain
areas the youth and women have opted for vegetable farming, which not only
provides a source of income but also adds nutritional value to their meals,
Rugalema commented.
The FAO also has a family greenhouse initiative in
Lesotho, alleviating household food insecurity in the impoverished country.
Nutrition rehabilitation units set up in Malawi in public health centres
teach mothers basic agricultural skills, while their children receive
treatment. "When the children are discharged, the mothers receive seeds to
take back home with them," Farmer noted.
By 2020, FAO estimates,
Namibia would have lost 26 percent of its agricultural labour force to
HIV/AIDS, Zimbabwe 23 percent, Mozambique and South Africa 20 percent, and
Malawi 14 percent
OPINION August 26, 2004 Posted to the web August 26,
2004
Harare
EVERY now and then, the ZRP embarks on what a daily
newspaper excitedly calls "a blitz" and then proceeds to "hail" the enforcing
agent for netting millions of dollars in fines.
All this proves is
what I've maintained all along - enforcement is only considered when the
coffers are low. The fact that lives might be saved is entirely incidental
which is proven by the fact that every day, without exception, I see
countless examples of utterly abysmal, life-threatening driving not to
mention vehicles which should never, ever be seen on the road.
We were
proudly told by this same source that police officers were recently deployed
at traffic-light-controlled intersections and red light jumpers were duly
dealt with by the long arm of the law. So they should be, but what is of
equal concern is that roadworthiness wouldn't ever enter the equation. If a
driver comes to a halt when a light is red, it doesn't matter one jot that
the vehicle in question is devoid of any form of headlights or rear lenses.
That problem, you see, will be dealt with on another day but only after
scores more people have lost their lives. At much the same time, we were
informed that wonky headlights had also been "probed".
Shortly after I
read this glowing report, I had the misfortune to have to visit that ghost
town euphemistically referred to as Harare International Airport in order to
collect my wife from the 7.15 pm Air Zimbabwe flight. All credit to UM for
arriving ahead of schedule but none to the ZRP who were nowhere to be seen
while mayhem persisted on the roads. Doubtless the Plods had sped to their
homes at around 4.30 pm, so it's understandable that owners of totally
unroadworthy vehicles should operate with impunity once the sun has departed
behind the western horizon.
I counted no fewer than 10 vehicles between
Highlands and the airport which had either one headlight or none at all. A
Renault 5, for example, was spotted without any headlamp or sidelight - all
that could be seen were two large cavities in the front bodywork. Other
abysmally-equipped vehicles which did happen to sport one light or another,
succeeded in dazzling those unlucky enough to be travelling towards them.
Dipping mechanisms in Zimbabwe are as rare as hen's teeth.
The return
journey simply mirrored the outward journey but gave me more time to notice
how many bicycles cruise around with no lights whatsoever, let alone any form
of reflector. And needless to say, it was strictly necessary to exercise the
utmost caution as lights turned green because you could be sure that someone
travelling at right angles to you would be hell bent on beating the red light
on their side of the intersection.
So-called commuter omnibuses are
possibly the worst examples of all as they pull back onto roads without any
consideration for following/passing traffic while they too boast an array of
defective lights which should keep their local magistrate's court
well-occupied for weeks on end. In the meantime, most of these vehicles belch
huge quantities of filthy soot into the atmosphere but when did you ever see
Plod checking exhaust emissions?
In conclusion, may I make the point that
it's high time less time was spent by the ZRP and their cohorts in recovering
irrelevancies such as carbon tax and ZBC licence fees and more time in
curbing life-threatening driving activities, by which read jumping red lights
and stop streets and driving with defective lights. Driving at 82 km/h on the
Borrowdale is not an issue, but you wouldn't think so judging by the number
of occasions Plod hides with his radar gun in the 3-metre high grass
bordering the road.
AS the biggest Michael Schumacher fan in existence -
actually, I have met worse - it is very pleasing to report that his dominance
this year has not led to a drop-off in global TV viewership as the British
press keeps telling us. The Brits, always desperate to conjure up a
locally-grown hero, have been forced to admit that the Red Baron's
extraordinary exploits in 2004 have seen a significant rise in TV viewership
to the tune of some 30 percent over 2003. Further, when questioned recently
about whether he has anything left in his pocket, Michael has stated that he
gets no extra points for being way in front but that should he be threatened,
he has more speed in reserve. No wonder Montoya has forgotten how to smile
and that Rubens' hair is thinning rapidly!
In the meantime, Britain's
renowned Autocar magazine advises its readers to "watch and wonder as we may
never see another hero as super as Michael". It looks like many genuine
racing fans agree with that sentiment.
ONE age-old method of checking the
legitimacy of a car's mileage is to carry out a visual check of the pedal
rubbers. Assuming these haven't been replaced, it almost goes without saying
that the right hand edge of the brake pedal will be more worn than any other
part. This is because the foot naturally comes down on the pedal at a slight
angle which automatically puts more pressure on the side of the pedal nearest
the accelerator. It therefore puzzles me that manufacturers do not pivot the
brake pedal at a slight angle with the right hand edge say five degrees
forward so that the foot comes down square across the face of the
pedal.
NO one could forget the sickening 75g impact suffered by Ralf
Schumacher at the last turn of the Indianapolis Speedway during the 2004
American GP. Ralf was initially treated by the highly rated team at the local
Methodist Hospital who subsequently came under fire from a number of sources,
not least of whom was FIA president Max Mosley, for not detecting two
fractures in Ralf's spinal column. The specialist team have subsequently been
cleared of not doing the job properly owing to the fact that swelling of the
damaged areas soon after impact disguises the fractures. These only became
evident after Ralf returned to Europe. There is a remote chance the younger
Schumi might return to the cockpit for this weekend's Belgian GP, but Monza
seems more likely. I haven't checked the long term weather forecast for
the Ardennes region of Belgium, but given the very wet summer which
has inflicted itself on Europe this year, Spa stands a good chance of
holding the first wet GP this year.
THE insurance business gets
together each year in England to assess the effectiveness of vehicle security
(not safety) with a view to naming the manufacturers who save their members
the most money because their cars are the hardest to break into or steal.
This year's winner was Volvo followed by Mazda and Volkswagen.
By Staff
Reporter Last updated: 08/26/2004 23:39:27 THE State-run Herald newspaper
on Thursday manufactured an interview with Brian Kagoro, chairman of the
human rights group Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, quoting him as saying the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change did not consult widely when it made
a decision to boycott all future elections.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition issued an angry statement on Thursday, denouncing the Herald as a
"habitual distributor of malicious and false stories".
"Kagoro was
never interviewed by the regime's mouthpiece and in the unlikely event that
he was approached by the paper, he would have told it in unequivocal terms
that he was consulted and respects the position of the MDC," the coalition
said.
"The legitimate position of the opposition party was long over due.
Needless to say that, it is not the Coalition's mandate to determine or
dictate how the opposition party does its consultation and who it consults
with.
The MDC dropped a bombshell on Wednesday when it withdrew all its
Harare councillors and suspended all participation in future elections until
its demands for a fair electoral process were met.
"The MDC will not
participate in elections until the political space has been opened up and a
legal, institutional and administrative framework for elections has been
established.," Paul Themba Nyathi, the party's spokesman said.
The
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition -- a non-governmental organisation fighting for
human rights and good governance in Zimbabwe -- said it was not in conflict
with the MDC position.
"The false story in The Herald, apart from
attempting to create confusion in civil society and other democratic forces
that are clear on President Robert Mugabe's misrule, it is a desperate
attempt by the government to sanitise the regime's electoral madness," it
said.
"The position taken by the MDC is crucial in that the party seeks
to restore Zimbabweans' sovereign right to freely choose their leadership.
That sovereign right has been stolen by the regime. For instance, the people
of Harare chose their executive mayor and councillors in March 2002 but
the regime has dismissed half the councillors and the mayor and appointed
a bogus commission to support an illegitimate acting mayor
Sekesai Makwavarara."
Zimbabwean
intelligence agencies are "monitoring" cash flows to some foreign embassies
in the country, according to a newspaper report on Thursday.
Speaking
to Zimbabwe's weekly Financial Gazette newspaper, the ruling Zanu-PF
secretary for external affairs, Didymus Mutasa, said: "Our intelligence arms
are taking care of the situation on the ground. We are keeping our eyes
open."
According to the newspaper, the monitoring is to identify
diplomatic missions suspected of funding the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
"Embassies must remember that they are here
because we want to strengthen our friendship. We do not go to their countries
to meddle. It is better for the Americans to concentrate on regime change in
their own country, which is the worst, than to come here and talk about
regime change," Mutasa was quoted as saying.
The newspaper said that
the investigation came after the government decided that the opposition
should be bankrupt after all the legal challenges it has mounted to contest
the elections that it claims were rigged.
However, it still appears to
have money in its coffers.
MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi said: "No
money is given to us by foreigners. This is a fact and Zanu-PF knows it ...
We get our money from local supporters and from the Political Parties Finance
Act."
On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- who is
visiting Cape Town -- dismissed claims that his government supports the
MDC.
"We don't support any particular political party in Zimbabwe ... We
don't support any political party anywhere in the world," he
said.
Straw said a total of £45-million (about R539-million) is available
to fund land reform in Zimbabwe should a solution be found to the political
and economic crisis in that country. -- Sapa
The fate of Zimbabwe's rebel
cricketers was seemingly signed and sealed today, as the Zimbabwe Cricket
Union unveiled its list of contracted players for the 2004-05 season. Of the
15 players who protested against the politicisation of Zimbabwean cricket,
only three - Barney Rogers, Gavin Ewing and Charles Coventry - have been
included.
The rest, it must be assumed, are unlikely to play for
their country again, although with the long-awaited arbitration process due
to be completed in October, the ZCU has left the door slightly ajar by
announcing that 22 player/coach contracts will be considered, in addition to
the 29 players already unveiled. For the likes of Heath Streak, Grant Flower
and Ray Price, all of whom have turned to county cricket since the dispute
erupted, it might yet be a means of returning to the fold in one capacity or
another.
For the time being, however, the contracts have been
split into three tiers - National, Level I Senior and Level I Junior. Rogers,
a 22-year-old left-hand batsman and part-time offspinner, is one of nine
cricketers to be awarded the top-level deal. He made a pair of half-centuries
in the recent one-day series against Bangladesh, and has been identified,
along with Tatenda Taibu, Mark Vermeulen, Dion Ebrahim, Douglas Hondo,
Mluleki Nkala, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Alester Maregwede and Blessing Mahwire,
as a core member of Zimbabwe's future Test team.
Ewing and
Coventry have been awarded Level 1 Senior contracts, along with Vusi Sibanda,
Tinashe Panyangara and Brendan Taylor, all of whom have made important
contributions to the team in recent months, while the Junior level consists
of ten promising young players. Of these, only Waddington Mwayenga has had
international experience, although his one wicket to date is a notable one -
Ricky Ponting, stumped by Taibu for 10 during a one-day international at
Harare.
National contract
Tatenda
Taibu Mark Vermeulen Dion Ebrahim Douglas Hondo Mluleki
Nkala Stuart Matsikenyeri Alester Maregwede Barney Rogers Blessing
Mahwire
Level 1 Senior
Vusimuzi Sibanda Brendan
Taylor Tinashe Panyangara Elton Chigumbura Edward Rainsford Prosper
Utseya Gavin Ewing Jordane Nicolle Charles Coventry Tawanda
Mupariwa
Level 1 Junior
Alexander Cremer Innocent
Chinyoka Chamunorwa Chibhabha Stephen Wright Tafadzwa
Mufambisi Bobby Mpofu Waddington Mwayenga Alan Mwayenga Wisdom
Siziba Ryan Bennett