http://news.yahoo.com/
Reuters
By Cris
Chinaka Cris Chinaka - Sun Aug 1, 10:42 am ET
HARARE (Reuters) -
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe lashed out at Western
powers on Sunday
over sanctions imposed on his ZANU-PF party, saying the
European Union and
United States were simply bent on driving him out of
power.
Addressing thousands of people at the burial of his sister
Sabina, Mugabe
accused his Western opponents of not recognizing Zimbabwe as
an independent
state of native black citizens with rights over its land and
other natural
economic resources.
Brussels and Washington slapped
financial sanctions on state firms and
travel restrictions on Mugabe and
dozens of his associates nearly 10 years
ago after a violent re-election
campaign and at the start of sometimes
violent seizures of white-owned
commercial farms for black resettlement.
On Sunday, he unleashed another
tirade against his critics, saying they were
using sanctions as part of a
plot to impose their political will on the
southern African
nation.
"We say to hell, to hell, hell with them," he said angrily.
"Sanctions must
go, and they must go. They are hurting our people regardless
of political
affiliation."
"We are still being treated as if we don't
own this country. They want to
tell us, do A, B and C of that, remove
so-and-so and they are now saying
Mugabe must go first," he said. "Whoever
told them that their will is above
that of the people of
Zimbabwe?"
Mugabe, whom many blame for ruining one of Africa's most
promising
economies, said his ZANU-PF party was committed to a black
empowerment
programme designed to increase black ownership across all
sectors of the
economy.
"This is the fight we must fight in an
all-Zimbabwe way," he said.
The coalition government is deeply divided
over Mugabe's plans to force
foreign-owned firms, including mines and banks,
to transfer a 51-percent
stake to black Zimbabweans.
Mugabe said
newfound diamond wealth must benefit the nation not just
individuals and
called on what he called greedy people to curb their drive
for
self-enrichment.
It was not clear whether he was referring to private
companies or some of
his ZANU-PF associates suspected to be smuggling
diamonds out of the
country.
Mugabe, 86, was forced into a
power-sharing pact with his rival, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, more
than a year ago after a crisis over a 2008
national election that local and
foreign observers say was marred by
violence and
vote-rigging.
Although the unity government has stabilized the economy
and Zimbabwe
registered its first growth in a decade last year, analysts say
it is
struggling to attract foreign aid and investment because of Mugabe's
policies.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from
Britain in 1980, says
his policies are meant to correct colonial injustices.
http://news.yahoo.com/
AFP
Sun Aug
1, 8:54 am ET
HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe on Sunday said
Zimbabwe's diamonds
should benefit the entire country, as he urged greedy
politicians to blunt
their appetite for individual wealth.
"Diamonds
should not be pocketed by some individuals," Mugabe told thousands
at the
funeral of his sister Sabina at a shrine for heroes of Zimbabwe's war
of
independence.
"They should help to improve the whole country. Those with
an appetite for
individual aggrandisement, please blunt your appetite. We
will ensure there
is collective benefit and not individual benefit," he
said.
"Leaders must be people-oriented. It's the demands of the people
that must
be looked at and not those of our pockets."
The diamond
watchdog Kimberley Process last month approved the export of
rough diamonds
from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, which
had been
suspended over human rights abuses at big diamond fields.
Mugabe said two
weeks ago that Zimbabwe was projected to contribute around
25 percent of the
global diamond output.
On Sunday, he added that "there are huge prospects
for the diamond
sub-sector to emerge as a major driver of the country's
economic
turnaround".
Mining is Zimbabwe's main foreign currency
earner. Finance Minister Tendai
Biti on July 7 urged Kimberley Process
members to clear Zimbabwe to sell its
diamonds, saying the government
desperately needed the income.
Mugabe also lashed out at the west for
maintaining sanctions on Zimbabwe and
meddling its politics.
"We have
sent an inclusive delegation to the European Union to seek the
removal of
the sanctions," Mugabe said. "The delegation came back
empty-handed."
"Sanctions must go. They are hurting our people
regardless of political
affiliation. We are still treated as if we do not
own our country, as if
Zimbabwe is owned by Europe cum America," he
added.
"They say 'remove so and so,' Of course they mean 'Mugabe must go
before we
can assist you." To hell with them. Hell, hell, hell with them
whoever told
them they are above the people of Zimbabwe that they decide
what Zimbabwe
should be and by who it should be ruled."
Zimbabwe
enjoys the support of the world, he said, despite sanctions imposed
by the
European Union and the United States over land reforms.
"It's just this
EU clique getting support from America," Mugabe said. "The
majority of the
people are in Asia and Africa. We constitute the majority of
this
world."
Mugabe's sister died at a private clinic in Harare after years of
ill-health. She was 80. Her body was brought on a gun-carriage before her
burial with full military honours.
Mourners lined on the sides of the
streets leading to the burial place with
some wearing shirts with Sabina's
portrait and colours and symbols of
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.
Among
those at the burial were several diplomats, ministers from parties in
the
power-sharing government, the security top brass and ZANU-PF supporters.
http://www.diamondne.ws
Written
on August 1, 2010 at 8:22 am
Since she is Mbada Diamonds
Shareholder
Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe has been described as
one of the ‘biggest
beneficiaries from the diamonds from the controversial
Chiadzwa fields’
after it emerged she is a shareholder in Mbada Diamonds,
reports the
Zimbabwean.
Reports of Grace Mugabe’s involvement in the
diamond sector are not new. A
late 2009 news report said she had acquired a
diamond cutting business in
Hong Kong.
Mbada Diamonds is a 50/50
joint venture which was established pursuant to
agreements negotiated and
concluded in August 2009 in Zimbabwe between
Grandwell Holdings Ltd, a
subsidiary of the Reclam Group and Marange
Resources (Private) Limited.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
01 August, 2010
07:30:00 By
BULAWAYO - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says
President Robert Mugabe and
Zanu PF have no power to set fresh election
dates without consulting him, as
he snubbed the burial of Mugabe's sister
Sabina.
While most top government officials were at the National Heroes
Acre in
Harare for Sabina Mugabe's burial, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister
Thokhozani Khupe were in Bulawayo meeting their structures and
supporters
Sunday.
Sabina was declared national hero by the Zanu PF
politburo and the MDC has
always said that Mugabe's party should not be the
only one to decide who is
a hero or not.
Addressing a rally at
Stanley Square in Makokoba, Tsvangirai told about
10000 MDC supporters that
Mugabe and his party have no power to set
elections dates.
"Mugabe
and Zanu PF have no power to set election dates without consulting
me and I
also don't have power to set election dates without consulting him.
So don't
listen to this talk about elections from them, because they cannot
do that
without consulting me," said Tsvangirai.
Two weeks ago President Mugabe's
Zanu PF said that there was "no reason" for
Zimbabwe not to hold elections
in 2011.
Tsvangirai also said people in Matabeleland region have been
marginalised
for a long time and it was high time they should be allowed to
share the
national cake.
"People from this region have marginalized
for a longtime and it's high time
they should be allowed to share the
national cake. Constitutional
Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) will be in
Bulawayo very soon to consult,
please make sure you include the issue of
devolution so that you can also
benefit from national cake".
He said
devolution of power is not about tribalism but about sharing the
national
wealth.
"Some people think that when we talk about devolution of power we
talk of
tribalism or separation of the state but that's not true .What we
are saying
is that whether you are from Dotito, Mt Darwin, Matabeleland or
any other
part of the country you should benefit from the national wealth,"
he said.
The Makokoba rally was also attended by deputy Prime Minister
and MDC vice
president Thokozani Khupe, Information and Technology Minister
and MDC
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa, State Enterprises and Parastatals
Minister
Gordon Moyo, deputy information Minister Murisi Zvizwai, MDC
National
Organizing Secretary, Elias Mudzuri and party Treasurer Roy
Bennett.
Tsvangirai also held another rally in Hwange on Saturday
http://news.radiovop.com
01/08/2010 09:24:00
HARARE, July 31, 2010 - SOME
senior ministers are busying trying to block
top projects instead of helping
the nation's indigenisation and
privatisation programme, Vice President
Joyce Mujuru has revealed.
In an exclusive interview with Radio VOP in
Harare she said this was
resulting in some projects being delayed such as
the Harare Chitungwiza
railway line project and the privatisation of Zisco
Steel in Kwekwe.
"This is very bad. We are trying to privatise and this
results in investors
being turned away or losing interest.
"Some
ministers are busy trying to block projects instead of making them
work. I
am now telling everyone to come forth and tell me in my office which
projects have not been given the go ahead. In fact I have asked the Zimbabwe
Investment Authority (ZIA) to set up a one stop shop so that projects are
approved quickly," she said.
VP Mujuru added that her door was open
to all investors who felt they are
being sidelined by ministers in
Zimbabwe.
VP Mujuru added that firms would now be privatised or
commercialised to make
Zimbabwe great once again.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
31 July, 2010 01:29:00
by
OVER 1 000 workers at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe have been
receiving
Zimbabwe dollar salaries despite the rest of the country
converting to
foreign currency transactions in March last
year.
Arbitrator Mr George Nasho Wilson on Wednesday ruled that the central
bank
should start paying the affected 1 079 workers in foreign currency as
the
Zimbabwe dollar was no longer being accepted as payment for goods and
services.
The workers have not been getting payslips since June last
year, when they
were paid about Z$20 million.
While they have been
getting US$ allowances, the state of affairs
effectively means the workers
have not been making any statutory payments to
NSSA, Zimra or the National
Aids Council.
It also means they probably have no medical
aid.
Zimbabwe started using multiple currencies in February last year
following a
proposal to that effect by then Acting Finance Minister Patrick
Chinamasa.
Lawyer Mr Rodgers Matsikidze of Matsikidze and Mucheche Legal
Practitioners
represented the workers in the arbitration.
On
Wednesday, Mr Wilson ruled that the workers' contracts should be
regularised.
"In the final analysis therefore . . . the employees
should be paid their
(foreign currency) salaries backdated to March 1, 2009
to date.
"The claimants and the respondent be and are hereby ordered to
reconvene at
the works council with a view to regularise the employee's
contracts in line
with the multiple-currency system with effect from March
2009 and also to
engage in salary negotiations for the period March 2009 to
date by August 31
2010," read part of the arbitral award.
Mr Wilson
said RBZ had in its submissions admitted that the contracts needed
to be
regularised.
He dismissed the argument that RBZ was financially
incapacitated.
"Respondent did not send its books of accounts to prove
financial incapacity
as required by Section 76 of the Labour Act.
"A
bare allegation of inability to pay basing on financial incapacity does
not
suffice," Mr Wilson said.
He said collective bargaining could not be done
in good faith as long as the
employees' contracts were still determined in
local currency.
RBZ is in financial dire straits and creditors have
sought to auction the
central bank's property to recover
debts.
However, a statutory instrument has since been gazetted to block
creditors
from seizing RBZ assets.
http://news.radiovop.com
01/08/2010 09:32:00
BULAWAYO, August 1,
2010 - ZIMBABWE'S rail workers have threatened to down
tools in protest over
late salary payments which are also two thirds less
than the prevailing
poverty datum line.
According to the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ)
workers union, salary
payments are always three weeks behind schedule at the
struggling which has
been earmarked for privatization in a bid to help
turnaround its fortunes.
Further compounding the situation are the low
monthly salaries with reports
indicating that the lowest paid employee at
NRZ earns US$125 per month - a
figure that the workers union describes as a
mockery against high basic
monthly needs.
"Workers are suffering
because they are not being paid their monthly
salaries on time. The salaries
are also low if we consider the Poverty Datum
Line (PDL) which is about
US$480," says Gideon Shoko, the general secretary
of the Zimbabwe
Amalgamated Railways Workers Union (ZARWU)
.
"Workers cannot take that
abuse anymore and we have given the management a
seven day deadline to meet
our demands or we down tools.
"We need salary increments that are in line
with the PDL which is about
US$480. The salary payments are always behind
schedule. Instead of workers
getting their salaries at the end of each
month, they only get their
salaries about three weeks later and that is a
problem," he said
Fanuel Masikati, the NRZ spokesperson could not be
reached for comment. NRZ
is engaged in a labour dispute with workers over
salaries. NRZ appealed to
the Labour Court against a ruling directing it to
pay better salaries. The
matter is still pending.
http://news.radiovop.com
01/08/2010 09:20:00
HARARE, August 1, 2010 - THE
Johanne Marange Apostolic sect has begun
calling the shots and dictating to
President Robert Mugabe politicians
within his Zanu PF party to allow them
to spearhead the party's campaign
next year.
Johanne Marange
Apostolic Church High Priest, Noah Taguta said his church
did not want to
work with Chris Mushowe, Manicaland Governor and Resident
Minister accusing
him of being a corrupt leader.
Taguta, who mobilized close to 200 000
members of his church to listen to
President Mugabe's address two weeks ago,
said he was against Mushowe's
leadership style.
Taguta told President
Mugabe during a closed door briefing at Mafararikwa,
Marange before he
addressed the congregation that should Zanu PF allow
Mushowe to lead the
campaign then his church would step aside.
Sources said Taguta openly
accused Mushowe of corruption alleging he had
used government funds to
construct a road linking mainland Marange to his
home when most areas in the
district were not accessible.
The sources said Mushowe remained silent as
the President listened
attentively to the High Priest's outburst which got
everyone present by
surprise.
Taguta further alleged Mushowe was
involved in shady diamond deals.
The sources said President Mugabe
appeared to be angry at Mushowe as he
listened to Taguta.
"The High
Priest told the President the party was doomed if people like
Mushowe were
allowed to lead Zanu PF's campaign next year," said a senior
Zanu PF
official.
In the closed door meeting most senior Zanu PF officials were
excluded
expect those that had travelled with the President from
Harare.
After the briefing Taguta then gave President Mugabe apostolic
garments that
he immediately wore.
"Mushowe was not given an
opportunity to respond because mukuru (the
President) looked very angry. But
he did not say anything besides just
acknowledging what Taguta had said,"
said another source.
Taguta reportedly told President Mugabe that Mushowe
lost the Mutare West
seat in 2008 because villagers were angry with him
because of his alleged
corrupt tendencies.
Mushowe lost to Shuwah
Mudiwa of the MDC-T.
He was subsequently appointed governor and resident
minister in a move that
also angered top Zanu PF politicians in
Manicaland.
Mushowe is seen in Zanu PF circles as a blue eyed boy to
President Mugabe.
It was not clear how President Mugabe would handle the
grievances brought by
the apostolic church which Zanu PF is desperately
courting ahead of possible
elections early next year.
http://www.afrik-news.com/article18057.html
Sunday 1 August 2010 / by Alice
Chimora
Zimbabwe's judiciary system is being kept under President
Mugabe's wraps
through financial inducements and threats of physical harm
with the new
coalition government doing nothing to re-establish the
integrity of the
compromised bench.
An international lawyers' group
said because of a compromised judiciary
coupled with a culture of impunity
among state security agents and
inadequate training of judicial officers the
rule of law situation in
Zimbabwe remains precarious, 16 months after Mugabe
and former foe Morgan
Tsvangirai formed a power-sharing
government.
The report, titled "A place in the sun; A report on the state
of the rule of
law in Zimbabwe after the Global Political Agreement" was
co-authored by
lawyers' associations and bars from several countries that
toured Zimbabwe
from 24 October to 4 November 2009, the same period Harare
deported United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred
Nowak.
The unity government that came into office in February 2009 with
promises to
fix the economy, uphold democracy and the rule of law has
achieved some
success on the economy. But it has struggled to implement
democratic reforms
and failed to stop lawlessness in the farming sector or
eradicate political
violence that is resurgent in many parts of the
country.
The report released at the weekend says "By far the majority of
the senior
judiciary remains fundamentally compromised by state patronage,
grants of
land and other gifts given to them by the former
government.
"The present government has not sought to claw-back such
inducements from
the senior judiciary nor has there been any policy
initiative directed at
re-establishing the integrity of the senior judiciary
in the eyes of the
public."
Support
To help protect the rights
of the public, the lawyers report called for
increased support for local
organisations such as the Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights and the Legal
Resources Foundation that have over the years
defended poorer members of
society who would otherwise not afford legal
representation in the absence
of meaningful legal aid schemes in the
country.
The report also
acknowledges the role played by magistrates in defending
basic freedoms and
rights of citizens, noting that many magistrates are
subject to threats,
intimidation, arrest and prosecution when they displease
the
authorities.
It cited as an example the case of a magistrate who was
prosecuted for
lawfully granting bail to Roy Bennett, former white
commercial farmer who is
a top ally of Prime minister
Tsvangirai.
"One interviewee described the magistracy as the unsung
heroes of recent
years," the report said.
Zanu (PF) party has
previously rejected reports criticising Zimbabwe's human
rights and judicial
record as part of a Western-orchestrated attempt to
tarnish the Zimbabwean
leader's name.
Some of the more prominent names that were on the lawyers'
mission to
Zimbabwe were General Council of the Bar of England and Wales
chairman
Desmond Browne, Commonwealth Lawyers Association president Mohamed
Husain,
Avocats Sans Frontières representative Lara Deramaix.
Other
team members were Hans Gaasbeek, the chairman of the Bar Human Rights
Committee and the bar's project coordinator, Mark Muller. Jacqueline
Macalesher, and Ijeoma Omambala and Andrew Moran of the English Bar also
visited Zimbabwe.
http://news.radiovop.com
01/08/2010 09:17:00
HARARE, August 1,
2010 - ZIMBABWE'S President Robert Mugabe, has too many
cronies including
ministers who misinform him on many issues resulting in
infrastructure
development being derailed and dilapidated, Harare Mayor
Muchadeyi
Masunda,has said.
"When I told the President that the water levels in
Harare were at crisis
levels he was shocked," Masunda told businessmen
gathered in Harare.
"I told him that there was a serious water crisis and
that the City of
Harare was facing a major cholera threat because the water
was not being
treated using enough chemicals. He was shocked and said he
would look into
the issue."
Masunda said he had told this to
President Mugabe at the Zimbabwe versus
Brazil friendly football game at
Rufaro Stadium before the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa.
"Mugabe
said he thought the water situation had returned to normal but I
told him
that we are in serious trouble and a lot of investment is needed in
the
water sector of Harare," he said.
Masunda said officials did not tell the
President the truth for fear of
losing their jobs in government. "I am a
lawyer and came here because I was
asked to come here," an angry Masunda
said.
"I am a professional and do not care what politicians think about
me. If I
am not happy here at Town House then I will quit and return to my
legal
profession at the Chambers.
"In fact I earn more money per hour
than I am currently being paid by the
City of Harare," Masunda
revealed.
http://news.radiovop.com
01/08/2010 09:28:00
HWANGE, August 1, 2010 - MDC-T
deputy Organizing Secretary, Senator Morgen
Komichi who was arrested last
week in Lupane, has been granted a US$60 bail
and ordered to appear at the
same court on 29 September, by a Hwange
Magistrate.
Komichi was
arrested in the instruction of Matabeleland North province
police officer
commanding Edmore Veterai on frivolous charges of
communicating falsehoods.
He had gone to Lupane after he had been told to
report at Lupane Police
station last week.
Komichi is being charged with contravening Section 31A
III of the Criminal
Law (Cordification) and Reform Act when he addressed a
rally at Negasha
Stadium in Lupane in February this year.
The police
are accusing him of communicating falsehoods and undermining the
police by
accusing the provincial police led by Edmore Veterai of
confiscating three
MDC vehicles in 2008.
In the run up to the sham June 27 2008 presidential
run-off elections,
Lupane Police impounded President Morgan Tsvangirai's
campaign vehicle and
two others belonging to the Matabeleland North province
and the Youth
Assembly. The three vehicles are still at Lupane police
station.
While both Mugabe and Tsvangirai
have been seeking support from apostolic Christians, the Vigil was surprised to
be joined by a large group of Zimbabwean Christians. We were grateful for their
prayers – and touched when they prayed for those on our register. Dressed in
white robes, they said they had come to
Their attendance was timely as the
Vigil has been reminded of the cost of Mugabe’s misrule by a new report by the
Solidarity Peace Trust titled ‘A fractured nation: Operation Murambatsvina five
years on’. Some 700,000 were left homeless and an estimated 2.4 million lost
their livelihoods in the sudden destruction of informal housing and small
businesses aimed at driving MDC supporters back to their rural homes where they
could starve out of sight.
Looking back at the Vigil diary, we
note the entry for 11th June 2005: ‘The heavy media coverage given to
Mugabe’s scorched earth policy ensured that the Vigil was besieged by people
eager to sign our petition demanding that South Africa stops supporting the
Mugabe regime. Many people lingered to talk about the situation, expressing
great concern at the plight of those made homeless in winter. And from the
activists who support the Vigil week in and week out there was an anger unseen
before – even during the successive stolen elections.’
(We recall our dismay at the time
that the left of centre British newspaper the Guardian thought Operation
Murambatsvina was a thoroughly sensible thing – talk about useful
idiots!)
Solidarity Peace Trust has been
tracking the fate of some of those displaced 5 years ago and notes: ’The story
is a grim one with many of those we remembered now prematurely dead and others
living in unspeakable poverty.’ In short, those whose lives were devastated
remain poverty-stricken and forgotten.
The state has done nothing
whatsoever to alleviate the plight of those displaced by Operation
Murambatsvina. In fact the only help they’ve got has been from NGOs and the
Vigil is surprised that it is an MDC minister who now wants to block NGO work.
Minister for Regional Integration and International Co-operation, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, echoing the Zanu-PF line, has ordered donors and NGOs to
report all their activities to her – criticised as an attempt to divert donor
funds from projects the government doesn’t like. Before she joined the
gravy-train, Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga had opposed government interference in the
affairs of NGOs. Can’t she let well enough alone and concentrate on getting her
share of the diamonds? See:http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/787/a-fractured-nation-operation-murambatsvina-%e2%80%93-five-years-on/#more-787
and http://www.solidaritypeacetrust.org/798/poverty-on-top-of-poverty/#more-798.
Some other
points:
·
The UK
Supreme Court has ruled that failed asylum seekers who made a fresh claim for
refugee status should be allowed to work if they have waited more than 12 months
for a new Home Office decision. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7914736/Tens-of-thousands-of-failed-asylum-seekers-given-right-to-work.html
and http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/29/restrictions-sought-asylum-seekers-jobs
·
We were
glad to be joined by the activist we helped to escape from
·
Our
sympathy to committed supporter Patrick Nyamwanza who was very distressed to
learn yesterday that his mother in
·
Vigil
supporters might be interested to see a piece about the Vigil on the Zimeye
website: http://www.zimeye.org/?p=20005
·
It was
good to have with us for the whole afternoon, Adriano Navarro, a Portuguese
student from the London School of Economics who bought a Vigil tshirt and a
‘Mugabe must Go’ wristband and generally empathized with the plight of
Zimbabwe.
·
While we
were looking back at the diary we found that Roy Bennett visited us 5 years ago
(
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check the link at the top of the home page
of our website. For earlier ZimVigil TV
programmes check: http://www.zbnnews.com/home/firingline.
FOR THE RECORD: 142
signed the
register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
The Restoration of Human Rights in
Zimbabwe (ROHR) is
the Vigil’s partner organisation based in
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts
·
Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil,
outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429