Zimbabwe may deport Libyan ambassador who defected to rebels

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Aug 26, 2011, 11:19 GMT

Harare - Libya's ambassador to Zimbabwe may force deportation after
declaring his support for the rebel forces overrunning Triploli, state media
in Harare reported Friday.

Ambassador Taher Elmegrahi and his staff, along with dozens of expat Libyan
residents, on Wednesday pulled down Gaddafi's green flag flying from the
embassy in central Harare.

They replaced it with the flag of the Transitional National Council, and
tore own Gaddafi's portrait from the walls.

Elmegrahi also wrote to the Zimbabwe foreign ministry - controlled by
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU(PF) party in the country's coalition
government - to announce that he had defected.

However, foreign ministry spokesman Joey Bimha said that the Libyan rebel
movement was 'not accredited' in Harare, according to the pro-Mugabe daily
Herald newspaper.

'If they say they now recognize it means they are no longer representing the
interests of the Libyan government in Zimbabwe.'

Bimha also told reporters later that Elmegrahi 'has no legal status in
Zimbabwe.' Asked if he would be deported, he replied rhetorically, 'What
happens to someone in that position?'

The Herald also quoted an unidentified senior government official as saying:
'If he remains defiant, he faces deportation. We do not have diplomatic
relations with the NTC, and the hoisting of its flag is actually illegal.'

Elmegrahi was not available for comment.

Mugabe's administration has been a long-term supporter of Gaddafi's
42-year-old regime, and the state media regularly refers to demonstrators in
the 'Arab spring' across North Africa and the Middle East as 'Western-led
agents' and 'gangsters.'

Commentators say that after 31-years in power and with no sign of retiring,
Mugabe is increasingly feeling anxious as members of Africa's entrenched
'dictators' club' are removed by pro-democracy movements.

Zim, Libyan assets threatened

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Taurai Mangudhla, Business Writer
Friday, 26 August 2011 08:36

HARARE - Libyan investments in Zimbabwe made under deposed leader Muammar
Gaddafi are under threat after an official at the North African country’s
embassy indicated that all deals will be reviewed.

With Tripoli’s known investments, including a 14,12 percent stake in CBZ
Holdings Limited (CBZ) and worth $12,6 million, agricultural and tourism
ventures, first counsellor Mohammed Elrabt on Wednesday said the new
transitional authority must seize all assets made under the eccentric leader’s
reign over these years.

“Gaddafi was treating these bilateral agreements as his personal property
and these investments (in farming, tourism and oil)… must be returned to the
people of Libya. We are telling Gaddafi that everything has changed and we
are under a new government, and give back everything you have… to the people
of Libya,’’ he said.

However, CBZ group chief executive Nyasha Makuvise yesterday maintained that
there would be minimal disruption to the banking group after any
disinvestment by the North Africans.

“From my company’s perspective, we will not be affected at all because the
new regime will simply take control of the country’s business interests and
if they decide to dispose of their stake, it means that they will have to
sell to someone else. This simply means that we get new shareholders,” he
said in a telephone interview.

While Libya’s continental investments run into billions and are mainly held
under the Libya Arab Africa Investment Company (Laaico), the 96,6 million
CBZ shares at stake are held through the Libyan Foreign Investment Bank
(LFIB).

Executives at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed financial group —
capitalised at $96 million early this week — confirmed that the North
African state’s investment arm was still listed as the number two largest
shareholder after the government of Zimbabwe.

LFIB’s acquisition of a significant stake in Zimbabwe’s largest lender was
hammered out when Gideon Gono was still chief executive of the bank and
Gaddafi’s regime had bailed out President Robert Mugabe’s government with a
$360 million fuel deal at the turn of the millennium.

Apart from financial interests, the Libyans have rounded up on several
commercial deals in agriculture and tourism, which took Gaddafi and his
family’s personal involvement.

Just recently, his son Saif was in the country to wrench further contracts
in horticulture and tourism, but the projects are in limbo now given
developments in Tripoli.

As Gaddafi battled dethronement and ouster since February this year, several
African countries and global governments, including South Africa, have
ordered a freeze on his international assets.

In March, President Jacob Zuma’s government issued an embargo on the Libyan
government’s investments and portfolio, which include a significant stake in
hotel and leisure group Ensemble Holdings Limited — owners of the
prestigious Michelangelo suites and apartment.

At the time, Pretoria said the assets were held through the $5 billion
Laaico, Libya African Investment Portfolio, Libyan Foreign Investment
Company and Libya Oil Holdings.

These companies also represent the oil-rich nation’s $70 billion sovereign
wealth fund.

On the other hand, Uganda also followed suit by freezing $375 million worth
of assets in banking, hospitality, oil and telecommunications sectors.

Gaddafi's Envoy spills the beans

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Libya’s envoy to Harare, who burnt the Gaddafi flag in front of the embassy
this week, has spilt the beans about Muammar Gaddafi’s dirty deals in
Zimbabwe.
26.08.1108:13am
by Staff Reporter

Mohammed Elbarat told the Daily News that personal transactions were done by
Gaddafi and his family under the auspices of the Libyan government. He said
there were plans to recover the properties “looted” by Gaddafi.

The envoy, who was today declared persona non grata by the Mugabe government
and given five days to get out of the country, said the deposed leader’s son
Saadi’s visit to Zimbabwe last year was premised on a similar venture and
even duped President Robert Mugabe’s government into believing that they
were doing state business.

According to the Daily News: “Gaddafi came here in 2002 and signed many
business deals. What he did was that he took away all the documents of
agreements back to Libya, and also changed embassy staff that handled the
bilateral agreements.

The transactions were done under Ambassador Mahomend Aziz, who knew all the
transactions were all new to the embassy staff here. We only know that he
came here, but do not know what he signed for,” said Elbarat.

He said the same illicit deals happened last year when Saadi Gaddafi visited
the country privately. He was paraded by the Zimbabwean government as an
investor who had come to invest in agriculture, mining and tourism and paid
a courtesy call on Mugabe. He did the same in several other African
countries.

Elbarat told the Daily News that on all the occasions all the documents were
taken away, leaving no record at embassies in those countries. “We know
nothing of these deals because they were benefiting his family,” Elbarat
said.

He implored the Zimbabwean government to cancel the deals entered into by
Gaddafi and his family.

“We can only hope that the government of Zimbabwe will realise that these
deals did not benefit Libyan people but Gaddafi and his family and the
people involved in these deals must just cancel them and start new deals
with the new administration in Libya,’’ said Elbarat.

His plea for the NTC running Libya to open a new chapter with the Zimbabwe
government has been flatly rejected.

AUnited Nations resolution has frozen all the bank accounts and assets held
globally by Gaddafi and his family.

Zuma’s SADC report talks tough on ZPF and security reform

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 August, 2011

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma reportedly told SADC leaders at the
summit in Luanda last week that he would become personally involved in
ensuring the full implementation of the GPA and would secure meetings
between Zimbabwe’s political leaders and the security sector chiefs.

According to the Daily News newspaper, who said they had a copy of the
report, Zuma blasted the principals for making no progress on the items that
they agreed to and blamed ZANU PF for many of the disruptions to the
process.

Explaining the need for his intervention, Zuma specifically referred to the
incident last month when ZANU PF thugs invaded public parliamentary hearings
on the Human Rights Commission Bill, and assaulted MDC officials and
journalists.

As the SADC appointed chief facilitator on the Zim crisis, the South African
President acknowledged that the elements that could lead to free and fair
elections in the country are present in the GPA, but it is the
implementation that is lacking.

“The problem, though, is failure and or slow pace in the implementation of
agreements between the parties of key elements of their work toward the full
implementation of the GPA,” Zuma explained to SADC leaders in his report.

More significantly Zuma told SADC leaders that due to the continuing
political violence in Zimbabwe, a meeting between the party negotiators,
security chiefs and the Attorney General has become necessary.

“The negotiators have arranged a meeting with the Commissioner General of
(the) police. The political principals will also meet with the
Attorney-General, commissioner-general of the police, and heads of other
security agencies and intelligence institutions to ensure full commitment to
operate in a non-partisan manner consistent with the GPA,” Zuma said in his
report.

But the South African President admitted that no dates have been set for
these crucial meetings. Observers have said this is a sign that no urgent
action will be taken by SADC on Zimbabwe and that Zuma is merely talking
tough to give the appearance of progress.

Be serious: Zuma

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Nkululeko Sibanda, Senior Writer
Friday, 26 August 2011 08:17

HARARE - South African President Jacob Zuma has taken a bold step towards
finding a lasting solution to the Zimbabwe crisis by declaring his
 “personal” involvement in “an interface programme” meant to force the
Zimbabwean political party leaders to fully implement the Global Political
Agreement (GPA).

In his facilitator’s report presented to the Sadc summit in Angola last week
and obtained by the Daily News, Zuma blamed the principals for failing to
fully implement the GPA and said it is only after reforms that Zimbabwe can
hold elections.

The no-nonsense South African president also lambasted the failure by
Zimbabwean authorities to respect the rule of law.

Zuma said he will take an active role to ensure that outstanding issues are
dealt with by personally engaging the country’s leaders.

“Going forward, as facilitator, I shall arrange, again, an interface
programme with the political principals and discuss how best we can expedite
the full implementation of the GPA and help create conditions for a smooth
election in Zimbabwe,” Zuma’s report says.

“It is our view that such interaction will help to move the process forward
and resolve some of the matters that still remain in dispute.”

In his report, Zuma blasted Zanu PF for “some” of the disruptions to the
smooth implementation of the GPA.

He cited the invasion of Parliament by Zanu PF supporters and the subsequent
assault of MDC parliamentarians and journalists as some of the incidences
highlighting the need for him to intervene to ensure full implementation of
the GPA.

“One of the most unfortunate incidents in recent times was when people went
to Parliament and disrupted, on June 23, a hearing organised by the
Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs and the Thematic Committee on the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Commission Bill,” said Zuma.

He noted that the political parties had encountered delays in the full
implementation of the GPA — something that has been Zuma and Sadc’s war cry
since the Livingstone Summit that was held in March this year.

Zuma said the necessary fundamentals to take Zimbabwe to a free and fair
election are in place but challenges are still being encountered when it
comes to the actual implementation.

“The problem, though, is failure and or slow pace in the implementation of
agreements between the parties of key elements of their work toward the full
implementation of the GPA,” Zuma said in his report.

He bemoaned the failure by the three parties to establish an implementation
arm of any key resolutions that would have been agreed to by the negotiators
and their principals.

This, he said, had led to the delays in the implementation of key agreements
that stood to benefit the country.

“The parties have not established an implementation element within
government to ensure decisions that are taken by the inter-party negotiators
and endorsed by the political principals are implemented,” Zuma said.

“Many of the unresolved matters are shifted to the political principals
which, at times, take too long before a resolution is found. To that extent,
there are a number of outstanding matters that the political principals were
supposed to resolve.”

Zuma said due to the continuing cases of violence in the country a meeting
between the political party negotiators, security arms and the Attorney
General has become necessary.

“The negotiators have arranged a meeting with the Commissioner General of
(the) police. The political principals will also meet with the
Attorney-General, commissioner-general of the police, and heads of other
security agencies and intelligence institutions to ensure full commitment to
operate in a non-partisan manner consistent with the
GPA. No dates have been determined yet for these engagements,” Zuma said.

However, despite talking tough Zuma, also commended the Zimbabwean political
leaders for showing commitment towards finding a solution tothe Zimbabwean
issue.

He said he was impressed by the goodwill that had been exhibited by the
principals during the discussions around the political problems facing the
country, this despite complaints by the two MDC formations that Zanu PF was
arrogantly refusing to budge in a number of issues that are viewed as
pertinent in the resolution of the political stand-off.

“There is goodwill among the political leaders in Zimbabwe to listen to one
another and even compromise where necessary to do so in the name of the
people of the country,” Zuma said.

He noted: “The GPA is the foundation stone of the inclusive government and
its political programme. It is regrettable that there continues to be
differences between the GPA parties in respect to some of the injunctions of
the GPA, which has impacted negatively on its full implementation.”

Unconfirmed reports say VP Nkomo has died

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 August, 2011

There are unconfirmed reports that one of Zimbabwe’s Vice Presidents, John
Nkomo, has died. He has been ill for sometime and was reportedly rushed to
South Africa for medical treatment after his health deteriorated on Sunday.

The Vice President appeared in public when he attended the burial ceremony
for Retired General Solomon Mujuru at Heroes’ Acre on Saturday. The ZANU PF
politician was allegedly looking weak and used a cane as well as two
assistants to help him walk.

Meanwhile the co-Minister for Home Affairs Theresa Makone, who was rumoured
to have been hospitalized on Monday after being taken suddenly ill, is
reported to be well enough to return to work. Earlier reports suggested that
“Mai Makone” had suffered a minor stroke, but this was denied by the MDC-T
spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora.

Mwonzora explained that Makone attended a meeting of senior party officials
in Mutare on Sunday but had not made it to the rally at Sakubva Stadium
because she became suddenly ill.
“I think she spent a day in hospital at the trauma centre. Unfortunately
when she came out she stayed at her daughter’s house so we could not find
her at home and believed she was still in hospital”, Mwonzora explained.
Makone is also the national chairperson of the MDC-T Women’s Assembly.

The MDC-T Harare Province Information Secretary, Obert Gutu, dismissed other
reports that had suggested Makone stormed out of the VIP tent at the Sakubva
rally after an altercation with members. Gutu told SW Radio Africa on Friday
that focusing on minor issues is ‘not productive’ and there were no
incidents at the rally, which was packed with MDC supporters.

Bad health appears to be plaguing several senior officials within the unity
government with Robert Mugabe, according to some reports, suffering from
prostate cancer. The ageing dictator has made numerous trips to Malaysia for
treatment and looked visibly weak during some recent public appearances. But
he denies the reports and insists he is healthy.

The Lands and Resettlement Minister, Herbert Murerwa, is also reported to be
seriously ill and has been in a hospital in South Africa for almost a month
now, allegedly suffering from colon cancer. Reports quoted ZANU PF
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, who said Murerwa “had an operation”.

As usual it’s extremely difficult to get the facts and the truth, from a
government that denies that its citizens have the right to know.

Harare Anglicans back in court

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Thulani Munda     Friday 26 August 2011

HARARE – The Harare Anglican Church diocese has appealed against a Supreme
Court ruling granting ex-communicated bishop Nolbert Kunonga temporary
custody of diocesan property pending final ruling in a dispute over
ownership of the property.

Kunonga, who was bishop for the capital, was excommunicated after attempting
to withdraw the Harare diocese from the worldwide Anglican Church.

But he has with the backing of government police and security agents been
able to grab control of most of the diocese’s church halls, the cathedral in
Harare and several other properties. Kunonga has barred his successor as
Harare Bishop, Chad Gandiya and his followers from using the cathedral and
church halls under his control.

An appeal by the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA), the
supreme authority of the Anglican church in the region, against a High Court
ruling giving Kunonga provisional control of the property until the courts
make a final ruling on the ownership wrangle is pending before the Supreme
Court, Zimbabwe’s highest court.

But Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku in a ruling made in his chambers three
weeks ago said the CPCA appeal should not -- as would normally happen once
an appeal against a judgment has been noted -- suspend the High Court
decision granting Kunonga provisional control of the property.

But the CPCA, in an application filed Wednesday, says Chidyausiku’s ruling
is wrong at law and should be declared null and void.

The synod that controls fewer church halls after most were seized by Kunonga
says in court papers that it wants “any actions taken by or on behalf or in
the name of Kunonga and his trustees on the basis or pursuant to
(Chidyausiku’s judgment) reversed, and the status as at the time that
judgment was given prevail.”

The matter is yet to be set down for hearing.

The Harare Anglican church has been in turmoil ever since the CPCA – that
comprises all the dioceses of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and Zambia -- first
suspended Kunonga as Bishop of Harare and later excommunicated him from the
church, a move he has refused to accept.

Kunonga was excommunicated in 2008 after trying to withdraw the Harare
diocese from the Anglican Church. He claims he revolted against the mother
church because it supported the ordination of gay priests.

A staunch supporter of President Robert Mugabe, who tried to use the pulpit
to defend the Zimbabwean leader’s controversial policies, Kunonga was
excommunicated together with several priests and other church leaders who
backed his revolt against the CPCA.

The CPCA first appointed retired Bishop Sebastian Bakare as caretaker head
of the Harare diocese before Gandiya succeeded him. -- ZimOnline

Anglican priest seriously beaten by Kunonga mob

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
26 August 2011

An Anglican priest from Chinoyi is still recovering after he was seriously
beaten by a mob working for excommunicated Bishop Nolbert Kunonga.

Reverend Jonah Mudowaya was severely assaulted in Chinhoyi on Wednesday, in
the latest attack on the Anglican community by Kunonga’s supporters.

Former Anglican Nolbert Kunonga

Kunonga supporters have been travelling to vestries and parishes around the
country, with copies of a shock Supreme Court judgement made earlier this
month which gives Kunonga full custody of Anglican properties. Since then
priests and their families have all come under threat by what the Anglican
Diocese of Harare has called “hooligans, masquerading as clergy.”

The Supreme Court has ruled that Kunonga, together with six other trustees,
is the custodian of the Anglican Church’s assets in Zimbabwe until the
matter has been finalised in the courts.

The Mugabe loyal Kunonga lost a bid for re-election as Bishop of Harare in
2007, losing to Chad Gandiya. But instead of stepping down, Kunonga formed a
rival Anglican faction and has been using violent tactics to remain in
power.

Since the Supreme Court ruling by Chief Justice Chidyausiku on August 4th,
Kunonga’s thugs have been going door to door, brandishing copies of the
court’s judgement and threatening priests. Last week Reverend Dzikamai
Mudenda and his family were threatened by the Kunonga mob, and were forced
to flee their Mabvuku home.

Lawyers representing the Anglican Diocese of Harare have now filed a
Constitutional appeal against the Supreme Court ruling, in a bid to stop the
lawlessness by Kunonga and his supporters. Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the
Diocesan Secretary, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the Supreme Court
had made the decision despite an appeal by the Diocese, which is itself
unlawful.

“The Chief Justice ruled that while he reinstated the appeal, he
categorically stated that ‘the appeal shall not suspend the operation of the
order’,” Reverend Dzavo explained.

In Chidyausiku’s judgement, while acknowledging the multiple applications
and counter applications by the Diocese and Kunonga, the Chief Justice
ironically ruled that: “For the avoidance of doubt, the judgment will not be
suspended by the noting of an appeal against it.”

The Diocese is now arguing in their Constitutional appeal that the order is
null and void for being in contravention of the Constitution.

The Diocese of Harare is demanding that “Kunonga’s agents, followers,
representatives should restore all property, movable or immovable which they
took, seized, occupied or otherwise took possession of from the Diocese”.

Kunonga meanwhile has continued to argue in court that he should be
recognised as the legitimate Bishop, which Reverend Dzavo dismissed as
nothing more than a ‘gimmick’.

“This is a just a gimmick because this is all about money and taking what is
not his. To us, Kunonga is history, and history is in the past,” Dzavo said.

WOZA march on parly hand over 100ths petitions

'CIO spying on exiles in the UK' - Report

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

25/08/2011 21:25:00    Staff Reporter

LONDON, United Kingdom - A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio
report alleges that the former ruling party Zanu-PF government has sent
spies to infiltrate expatriate communities in the United Kingdom has led to
a call to have aid to Zimbabwe cut, protect targets and other measures
including the hunt for the agents.

The British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) current affairs Channel 4
programme Exiles in Fear aired last Sunday.

The presenter Jenny Cuffe said: "Rwanda and Zimbabwe are sending spies to
the UK to stifle opposition, sometimes even to kill. We also hear claims
they are using the asylum system to infiltrate refugee communities here.
Both countries receive huge amounts of aid from Britain."

The aid to Zimbabwe is channelled through various charities. And now a
minister in the UK government has suggested that it may be time to cut off
that financial support.

Former Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Kim
Howells, responded by saying that if there was a grain of truth in the
allegations Britain would have no choice but to stop its funding of
programmes in Zimbabwe.

"If there is any hint at all that these people are threatening British
citizens or residents or they've been allowed to stay here, then we must say
to them: 'I'm sorry, this aid is going to be cut off immediately,'" he said.

Cuffe said the reason aid was being sent through charities was largely
because there were gross human rights violations in the country.

"Another country (other than Rwanda) that receives generous financial
support from Britain is Zimbabwe. Though in this case, because of concerns
about the lack of democracy and human rights, the £88-million of aid is
directed through non-governmental organisations. Zimbabwe too stands accused
of sending secret agents to spy on the refugee community and report back to
President Robert Mugabe," she said.

An unidentified source from Zimbabwe interviewed on the show gave graphic
details of how a "spy" was sent into the community in the UK.

"His mission there was to spy and provide intelligence about the source of
funding for the MDC here back home, to spy on asylum-seekers, to spy on the
Home Office, to spy on the British government, its interaction with MDC
activists in the UK and everything. So he had a very big budget to do that,"
said the unidentified source.

Exiled Zimbabwean journalist Admore Tshuma, said people are no longer safe
in the UK because they are being watched. "It is something really shocking.
It is something which will send genuine exiles and asylum-seekers
underground. We don't trust each other anymore, " he said.

Morgan Mutasa, the chairman of the Bristol branch of the MDC, said: "We have
been calling up the authorities telling them that the MDC in the UK is
infiltrated by the CIO and there is great danger for our people if they are
returned to Zimbabwe, because they have been exposed to these people and
their lives have been put at risk."

No bail for alleged Zanu PF kidnappers

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Pindai Dube
Friday, 26 August 2011 17:46

BULAWAYO - Bulawayo magistrate Abednico Ndebele on Wednesday denied bail to
two Zanu PF youths Godwin Mugumba and Obert Msindo who are facing charges of
kidnapping a party colleague.

According to the state, Mugumba and Msindo of Magwegwe and Tshabalala high
density suburbs respectively, kidnapped a party colleague while attending a
birthday party for Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) boss, Tshinga Dube in
Killarney.

The state alleges that  on  August 7,  the youths, while attending Dube’s
party,  started accusing Nqobile Mlilo who is also a Zanu PF member of not
being a good candidate to lead Bulawayo province’s youth service programme.

The duo later abducted Mlilo and bundled him into a vehicle before dragging
him to unknown place where they severely assaulted him and left him
unconscious.

Mlilo was picked up by a good Samaritan the following morning in a trench
near Ascot Shopping Centre who took him to hospital.

Magistrate Ndebele postponed the matter to 7 September and advised the Zanu
PF youths to seek bail from the High Court.

There has been an increase of intra party clashes among Zanu PF Bulawayo
members in recent months.

Last month, Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial chairman Isaac Dakamela and the
party’s youth league went on a collision course after he condemned the
invasion of buildings owned by foreign  business people in the city by the
restive former ruling party’s youths.

Since June last year, Zanu PF youths in Bulawayo  have seized several
buildings and houses located in the central business district owned by
Indian and Italian families.

The buildings they have invaded so far include Zambesia and Canberra Flats
located between Leopold Takawira and Sixth Avenue which are owned by the
Laloo family, also of Indian origin.

The militant youths have also grabbed Capri building which houses the
Pizzaghetti owned by Di Palma family who are of Italian origin.

Dakamela had on numerous occasions voiced his concern at the takeover of
city buildings by the party youths.

Dangarembga blasts Zim politics

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Maxwell Sibanda, Entertainment Editor
Friday, 26 August 2011 17:41

HARARE - Internationally acclaimed novelist and filmmaker, Tsitsi
Dangarembga has blasted the chauvinistic nature of politics in the country
saying the status quo has ensured that women are shut out of the political
field.

Dangarembga, who joined mainstream politics in 2009, said because of the
macho nature of politics women have been crowded out.

“These men have this hubby thing in which they always want to dominate and
at times you just think these guys were funny. They close all the space for
women participation and it is a sad development that I have witnessed
first-hand,” said the film-maker cum writer.

She bemoaned the absence of a female political party president.

“We have never had a woman as party president and this goes to show how far
we as women can reach as we try to find space within the political arena
dominated by men.”

Dangarembga said it was time that national policies were put in place that
can promote women’s involvement in politics.

“The few women in real power, like Amai Mujuru and Thokhozani Khupe should
be approached so they help advance our cause as female politicians. We need
to engage them so that we can confront the current system and order that is
suppressing women voices."

“Women politicians need a structured quota in politics that can be
representative of their needs,” said Dangarembga who belongs to the
breakaway faction of the smaller MDC party.

Dangarembga was appointed the portfolio Secretary for Education for the MDC
led by Professor Arthur Mutambara.

She was also an Executive Member of the party for Harare Province for at
least a year before the party split.

She was also a member of the party’s National Council and one of the few
artists who have made their political inclinations public which is very rare
among Zimbabwean artists who usually prefer to hide their political feelings
in their artistic works.

The novelist said she joined politics so she could have a platform to vent
her views that of all the oppressed women in Zimbabwe.

“My joining opposition politics was meant to remove this fear mentality
among Zimbabweans that as citizens we cannot participate in politics. I
joined the MDC so that I have space to challenge bad people,” said the
filmmaker.

“Why should other people be feared? Why should we have a culture that breeds
bad people? I should have the freedom to participate in politics and my
participation should not bring in this fear element. I believe there is too
much negative space in politics, a thing we should do away with.”

Dangarembga authored the award-winning novel Nervous Conditions — the first
novel to be published in English by a black Zimbabwean woman. She  also
directed the film Everyone’s Child and wrote the story for the film Neria.

Sadc in 2008 approved a ground breaking Protocol on Gender and Development
which is designed to accelerate the empowerment of women in the region.

Four countries Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Malawi did not sign for
various reasons including constitutional implications in some countries that
automatically render an international agreement legally binding once the
head of state or government have appended their signature to it.

Three years in the making, the Gender Protocol remains a mirage as most
countries including Zimbabwe are yet to make the envisaged strides in female
participation in politics.

Most of the regional countries are far from achieving the 50-50
representation envisaged by 2015.

WikiLeaks: Gono friends with Mugabe's enemies

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

26/08/2011 00:00:00
    by Gilbert Nyambabvu

CENTRAL bank chief Gideon Gono blasted Zanu PF hardliners for “making his
job difficult” and only found ex-Finance Minister Simba Makoni worth of
praise among the party’s top leadership, a former US ambassador to Zimbabwe
claimed in a leaked diplomatic cable.

Whistleblower website WikiLeaks has released communications from the US
embassy in Harare revealing potentially damaging details of various meetings
between the then ambassador Joseph Sullivan and Gono between 2004 and 2005.

Sullivan claims during a meeting with Gono, the governor pitched himself as
the “go-to-guy” if the West wanted to have any influence with Harare.

“Probably no (government) higher-up and Mugabe-confidant embraces (Zanu PF)
‘enemies’ - Western diplomats, the International Monetary Fund, the
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) - to the degree Gono does,” the ambassador
wrote in the cable dated May 18, 2004.

The RBZ chief is said to have emphasised “his friendships with the MDC
leadership (growing up with Morgan Tsvangirai, giving Welshman Ncube a leave
of absence from the University of Zimbabwe [ahead of the 2005 elections],
and teaching most of the leadership as college students).”

The meetings took place at the height of Gono’s apparent influence and power
as the government’s main economic point-man with the country buffeted by
violent political strife, runaway inflation and debilitating foreign
currency shortages.

According to the cables, Gono claimed Zanu PF hardliners were frustrating
his efforts to rescue the country’s then free-falling economy citing former
information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo and Dr Joseph Made, then in
charge of agriculture.

“The extremists give Gono headaches and prevent him from doing his job. He
cannot engage with civil society, the MDC, and the international community
with some of their public statements. Their misrepresentations also force
him to cover their mistakes,” Sullivan wrote.
“At least to us, Gono has not spoken glowingly about any top Zanu PF figure,
other than former Finance Minister Simba Makoni.”

And during a “far-ranging exchange” on May 13, 2005, Sullivan says Gono
“betrayed a keen sense of (his) self-importance, stressing the personal
danger he had placed himself in for taking command of the Zimbabwean
economy.”

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The US envoy likens RBZ chief to the Charles Dickens character, Uriah Heep,
for talking endlessly about his humble beginnings while touting his
newly-found power and influence including “the confidence of President
Robert Mugabe as his personal banker”.

In his book, ‘Zimbabwe's Casino Economy: Extra-ordinary Measures for
Extra-ordinary Challenges’, Gono revealed he worked as a “tea-boy” at a
Kwekwe Brewery before working his way up to become head of the country’s
central bank.

Sullivan says the excitable governor “repeatedly mentioned his study of
American presidents and produced tapes of President Ronald Reagan's speeches
that he said he listened to in his car.”

Gono also gave a telling insight into businessman James Makamba’s troubles
with the law, telling the US envoy that although he was working on a blanket
amnesty for foreign currency externalisation, there was nothing he could do
for the former Zanu PF official.

Sullivan wrote: “He (Gono) claimed he was unable to do anything about James
Makamba's detention, since he believed the businessman was being held for
personal reasons (a reference to his rumored affair with Grace Mugabe).”
The US envoy felt Gono was “maneuvering on both sides of the fence”.

Sullivan, however, warned: “Gono will face his toughest dilemma, whether to
take his dissent public (like former Finance Minister Simba Makoni) or cower
in private (like the present Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa and former
Reserve Bank Governor Leonard Tsumba).
“In the end, he must sacrifice either his insider privilege or public
repute.”

A spokesman for the governor said on Friday that he would not be commenting
on “planted enemy untruths".

Another associate of the governor added: “Let he who has never had any
encounter with the Americans throw the first stone as future revelations are
unknown.”

But the revelations will give ammunition to the governor’s critics,
including Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere who said last week Gono
must “resign or we kick him out” in a row over an ultimatum issued by the
ministry to two banks which had failed to comply with black empowerment
laws.

Import duties drive up food prices, hurt poor

http://www.irinnews.org/

 

Photo: IRIN

Food has become unaffordable

HARARE, 26 August 2011 (IRIN) - Barely a month after the Zimbabwean government reintroduced duties on imported food items such as cooking oil and maize meal to protect local manufacturers, the move appears to have backfired, making essentials unaffordable for low-income consumers.

The government scrapped import duties on cooking oil, sugar, maize meal, meat, salt, soap and other basic goods in 2009 to encourage the flow of these commodities into the country after the emptying of shop shelves in the wake of hyperinflation.

A quick survey by IRIN revealed that the price of all basic commodities has shot up recently. Two litres of cooking oil which cost US$4 a month ago was up by almost a dollar; a bar of washing soap cost up to 80 US cents more; while margarine rose by 40 cents and imported chicken was selling at around a dollar more in some shops.

Tendai Biti, the finance minister, announced the reinstatement of import duties on basic commodities in July 2011.

However, local industry remains depressed. John Mufukare, secretary of the Business Council of Zimbabwe, told the media recently that local firms had failed to achieve the 60 percent half year production targets due to financial constraints. 

Profiteering

Meanwhile, Innocent Makwiramiti, a Harare-based economist and former chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, put the blame squarely on local manufacturers.

"We have observed that locally produced goods feature prominently in the list of commodities whose prices have gone up sharply. There is no reason why that should be so and the only explanation is that they are doing it for speculative reasons and out of greed," Makwiramiti told IRIN.

He feared that some manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers would create artificial shortages by hoarding goods, thereby pushing up prices.

We have observed that locally produced goods feature prominently in the list of commodities whose prices have gone up sharply

Welshman Ncube, the industry minister, promised investigations into the price hikes, which he described as "unjustified".

"We will ask the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, the Competition and Tariffs Commission and the Pricing Commission to look into the price hikes and establish if the emerging pricing pattern is out of speculation. We will take stern action against the offenders," Ncube told IRIN.

However, economist John Robertson warned against introducing price controls. "Price controls will have a disastrous effect on the economy. Several years ago, the government tried it and we had biting shortages as producers decided to stop operations or simply hoarded the commodities, which went to the black market and prices rose steeply," he told IRIN.

“Struggle to survive”

Moses Zirima, a teacher in Harare with a family of four, said: "Prices of basic commodities have been sharply increasing in the last three weeks and the struggle to survive has intensified for people like me. My family has cut down on the amount of food we eat on a daily basis because we can no longer afford big amounts of sadza [thick porridge] and meat."

Zirima, like other civil servants, was awarded a paltry salary increment in July, and even before the recent wave of price hikes he was struggling to make ends meet.

"Given that the salaries of the majority of the people are still poor, the decision by the government to reintroduce duty on basic commodities is ill-timed. Most of us don’t think that prices should rise at this rate especially given the fact that we are using foreign currencies which should be stable," added Zirima.

The coalition government set up in 2009 adopted multiple foreign currencies to replace the local dollar which had been rendered useless by the world’s highest hyperinflation rate, and the move helped bring down inflation to below 2 percent.

Health threat

The hike in prices has forced people to source essentials such as illegal cooking-oil produced in unhygienic conditions.

Tecla Sibanda, a vegetable vendor from a low-income suburb in Chitungwiza, about 35km south of Harare, told IRIN she had opted to source homemade cooking oil from illegal producers. Sibanda said several people had fallen ill after using the oil for cooking in the past but "we will cross that bridge [the possibility of falling ill] when we come to it.

"My family shares a house with three other tenants and we had an arrangement that we would take turns every week to buy basics such as cooking oil and mealie-meal and then share. However, the price increases that we are seeing taking place have rendered that impossible, so each family for itself.

"I learnt from one of the tenants that the backyard businessman who used to supply homemade cooking oil during those days of shortages had resumed operations, so that is where I am buying from now and the queues that form at his shop show that many people are doing the same," said Sibanda.

The informal sector, which has helped many Zimbabweans to survive by selling imported foodstuffs, has been particularly affected by the re-imposition of import duties.

"These [price hikes] are worrisome developments which, if not addressed, will reverse the gains made in overall macro-economic stabilization," said Finance Minister Biti at a recent press conference.

 

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

OPINION: Mujuru death exposes leadership vacuum

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Tony Hawkins     Friday 26 August 2011

While the controversy over whether Gen Solomon Mujuru’s death in a fire at
his home last week was accidental or foul play rages on, Zimbabwe’s
political parties are reassessing their strategies now that the Zanu-PF
kingmaker has gone.

With President Robert Mugabe (87) nearing the end of his political career,
the stage is set for a fierce clash between two Zanu-PF factions, one led by
the general’s widow, senior vice-president Joice Mujuru , the other headed
by defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

On the face of it, Mujuru is the big loser. Without Gen Mujuru,
deputy-commander of the Zanu liberation army during the civil war in the
1970s and the first black head of the Zimbabwe National Army, her faction
has lost its brand. He was always the real power in the faction of which she
is titular head. Few analysts see her as the effective, decisive leader that
her late husband certainly was.

For months now there has been talk of a possible alliance between prime
minister Morgan Tsvangirai (59) and the Mujuru faction against Mugabe, with
some in Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change fearing their party
could be co-opted and swallowed in the same way that Joshua Nkomo’s Zapu was
absorbed by Mugabe’s Zanu-PF two years ago.

After the general’s death, this is a much less attractive option for
Tsvangirai but a more promising one for the general’s widow. Though as the
senior vice- president she is the heir presumptive to the Mugabe throne,
especially as the other vice-president, John Nkomo, 20 years older than her
and reportedly unwell, is not a player in the succession stakes. Mugabe
himself prefers Mnangagwa.

The vastly experienced Mnangagwa (65) has been in government since
independence in 1980, holding many senior cabinet portfolios, including
defence, finance, justice and state security, as well as serving a spell as
speaker of parliament. Those who worked with him in the finance and justice
ministries, including senior judges subsequently dismissed by Mugabe,
describe him as a competent administrator who listens to his officials.

Joice Mujuru (56) has no such track record as an administrator and owes her
prominence in the party more to her late husband’s powerbroker activities
than her own ability.

On paper, who succeeds Mugabe could turn out to be largely academic because
opinion polls, such as they are, suggest an easy win for Tsvangirai,
assuming that the elections are even remotely free and fair. Those who
support a Tsvangirai-Mujuru ticket — which includes many businesspeople —
argue that this would continue the inclusive government of national unity
while marginalising extremists within Zanu-PF, such as the Mnangagwa faction
and political hotheads like indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere.

Kasukuwere hit the headlines again last week with his threat to cancel the
business licences of 13 multinationals which have so far, he says, failed to
comply with Zimbabwe’s localisation law requiring foreign-owned firms to
dispose of 51% of their shares to black Zimbabweans. Kasukuwere gave the
multinationals, including Barclays and Standard Chartered banks, Impala
Platinum , Aquarius, Rio Tinto, Nestlé, British American Tobacco , Cargill
and Canada’s Caledonia Mining, 14 days to submit their proposals for
localisation, which should be completed within five years.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono responded angrily, seeking to
reassure depositors who were reported to have withdrawn their money from the
two international banks that he was the only person with the authority to
withdraw banking licences and that he had no intention of doing so.

Kasukuwere promptly hit back, telling Gono that if he did not want to
implement government policy, he should resign or “we kick him out”.

Lurking in the wings is the military. Gen Constantine Chiwenga (55), is
often named as a possible starter in the race to succeed Mugabe, though this
seems unlikely. More important is which faction the top brass will back when
the time comes to choose a new Zanu-PF leader. Only last month a senior
military officer told a foreign visitor that however the succession struggle
played out within Zanu-PF, the party would remain in government. “No other
party would be allowed to win,” he said.

Just how much of this was bluster and bravado is impossible to assess. Like
so many leaders in Zimbabwe today from all parties, regardless of whether
they are discussing politics, the economy, the country’s mineral wealth or
its external debt, there is a disconcerting disconnect with reality.
Ministers, officials and soldiers are prone to wild claims, devoid of any
realism but resonant of the leadership deficit that is clear in Zimbabwe in
2011.

Mujuru’s death and Mugabe’s impending retirement will leave a vacuum that
none of the pretenders to the throne seems competent to fill. – (This
article was first published by the Financial Mail)

·      Tony Hawkins is professor with the University of Zimbabwe’s  Graduate
School of Management.

Zuma needs a democratic Zimbabwe to gain credibility over Libya

A letter from the diaspora

Friday August 26th 2011
Many of us have thought that if Mugabe really wanted to stop the violence he
could very easily do so. It is after all his own supporters who are largely
responsible; if they were going to listen to anyone, it would surely be to
Robert Mugabe?

Miraculously, it seemed that moment had finally arrived during the funeral
of Solomon Mujuru attended by an estimated 25.000 people. There were the
usual zealots in the crowd who could not resist the temptation to boo and
jeer every time Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s name was mentioned.
Unbelievably, Mugabe intervened and told his followers to stop jeering,
reminding them that this was an occasion for mourning. He went on to urge
peace and told the crowd that people should be free to follow the party of
their choice. It all seemed too good to be true.

It was Morgan Tsvangirai, speaking at an MDC rally, who picked up on that
very point. In effect, he said Mugabe must follow through on his
anti-violence or his words are mere rhetoric. “That (the violence) must stop
and if you want it to stop you can stop it.” And that is the nub of the
matter. Does Mugabe want the violence to end? After thirty-one years of
Mugabe and Zanu PF rule, Zimbabweans know that violence is the Zanu PF way.
If any more proof were needed, we have only to look at the report issued by
the NGO Zimbabwe Democracy Now. Their report reveals Zanu PF’s secret plans
to ensure that they win the next election and behind every one of the six
steps is the threat of violence, real or implied. Secret lists of voters and
their families; forced political rallies; hundreds of road blocks that could
effectively shut down the country; a very violent youth movement (no longer
in uniform); an informer network that would operate in schools, government
departments and townships and a fresh drive to recruit thousand of new
militia.

During his ‘Peace’ speech at General Mujuru’s funeral, Mugabe made several
references to the ‘peace’ that he says has prevailed in the country in the
last few months and while it is true that there has been some diminution of
outright violence, the situation in the country is very far from peaceful.
The violence has simply taken another form; the mere fact that Solomon
Mujuru’s death in a farmhouse fire has roused so much rumour and suspicion
surely tells us that Zimbabwe is riven with fear and suspicion. Only today
we hear that Minister Kasukuwere has threatened foreign owned companies who
fail to comply that the government’s treatment of them will be “more vicious
than the land reforms.” Kasukuwere has given these firms, including mines
and banks, just fourteen days to say how they plan to transfer to local
ownership. Remembering the violence that accompanied – and still
accompanies – the farm take-overs it is not difficult to see how this piece
of ‘empowerment’ will end.

Far from heeding the Prime Minister’s warning to the military to stay out of
politics, another retired arm general this week threatened Tsvangirai with
the promise that ‘doom’ will be ‘inflicted’ on him. And, speaking at the
commemoration for General Mujuru in Marondera, the Commander of the Defence
Forces, Constantine Chiwenga told the thousands of mourners from all parties
that having fought the Liberation War against the British, ‘Boers’ like Iain
Kay, the elected MP for the constituency, had no place in Zimbabwean
politics. The ignorant racism and intolerance of Chiwenga’s remarks is yet
another reminder that violence and the threat of violence lie deep in Zanu
PF’s psyche.

Across the world, events in Libya have dominated the news. As the ‘rebels’
fought their way to Tripoli I found myself wondering if the MDC were right
to have rejected the ‘armed struggle’ as the means to achieve change in
Zimbabwe while Zanu PF continues to use violence and fear to maintain power.
Democratic change may be a long time coming through no-violent means but
when it does, it will I believe, be a more lasting and meaningful change.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson author of the Dube
books, detective stories set in Zimbabwe with a political slant and
available from Lulu.com