http://www.thetimes.co.za
Published:Aug 31,
2008
Zimbabwean power-sharing talks resumed on
Friday to try to
end the post-election political deadlock that is making the
catastrophic
economic decline even
worse.
President Robert Mugabe and
opposition MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai failed to reach agreement after more
than a month of talks,
following Mugabe's unopposed re- election in a ballot
boycotted by
Tsvangirai and condemned around the
world.
"The most important thing is that the talks are
going on,"
President Thabo Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, told
Reuters. He did
not elaborate.
In a sign of the
growing desperation in Zimbabwe , the
government has lifted a ban on aid
groups providing food and humanitarian
assistance. They were banned ahead of
the election, accused by Mugabe of
helping the
opposition.
South Africa's deputy minister of foreign
affairs, Aziz
Pahad, said no deadline for an end to the talks had been set.
"All we do
hope is that these talks can lead to the finalisation of all
outstanding
matters, so that we can start with normalising the economic,
political and
social situation in Zimbabwe," he
said.
However, the state-owned Herald in Harare earlier
quoted
Zimbabwean justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, chief negotiator for
Zanu-PF,
as saying: "There was no need for more talks since there was a deal
already
on the table that was waiting to be
signed."
But Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change said it
would not sign the deal in its current form, although it
remained committed
to the talks.
Mugabe, who
reopened parliament this week in defiance of
opposition objections, has said
he will soon form a new government without
the MDC.
An MDC spokesman said the party would not co-operate with
Mugabe until the
talks were concluded. - Reuters
http://www.thetimes.co.za
Sunday Times Editorial Published:Aug 31,
2008
When
Robert Mugabe gets booed by members of his own parliament, it is clear
that
the tide has turned on the octogenarian dictator.
But
what is also clear is that there is a palpable reluctance on the part of
Thabo Mbeki, the mediator to the power-sharing talks, to be firm with Mugabe
on his commitment to the deal.
The man who stole an election is still
calling the shots at the negotiating
table, and is allowed to engage in acts
of brinkmanship, as he did this week
when he threatened to pull out of the
talks and announce his own cabinet
that would exclude the Movement for
Democratic Change.
But most importantly, Mugabe had three MPs from the
MDC - Broadwin Nyaude,
Mathias Mlambo and Pearson Mungofa - arrested on
Tuesday, bringing to five
the total number of arrested MDC
MPs.
Underpinning the memorandum of understanding, signed by Mugabe's
Zanu-PF and
the MDC, is the creation of a climate conducive to
reconciliation, the
restoration of democracy and the revival of the
economy.
Until pressure is brought to bear on Mugabe to commit his party
to an
agreement on the composition of a transitional government, the talks
will
remain a charade.
Southern African Development Community leaders
must focus on placing
pressure on Mugabe, not on the victims of his
oppression.
http://www.thetimes.co.za
George BN Ayittey
Published:Aug 31,
2008
Race
has little to do with the crisis. Neither does colonialism. The most
singular cause has been the stubborn refusal of the leadership to relinquish
power
Nothing coming out of Zimbabwe makes sense. The country is now a
certified
"coconut republic," where common sense has been butchered and
arrogant
insanity rampages with impunity.
A loaf of bread
not so long ago cost Z$6-billion and one US dollar exchanged
for one
trillion Zim dollars. The rate of inflation is over three million
percent -
whatever that means. African villagers laughed off the June 27
coconut
runoff , in which President Robert Mugabe, the sole candidate, won a
"landslide victory".
Zimbabwe is a despicable disgrace to Africa
and reinforces the racist notion
that black Africans are incapable of ruling
themselves. We took over from
the departing white colonialists and in
country after country we ran our
economies into the ground and ruined our
countries. The exceptions are few.
Ian Smith, the former and late prime
minister of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe,
must be dancing in his grave. This cuts
deeply into my African pride.
Mugabe has angrily rejected criticism
of his government for the economic
crisis. He always blamed British
colonialists, greedy Western powers, the
racist white minority and the
International Monetary Fund, which he
denounced as that "monstrous
creature".
But Zimbabwean voters knew better. When Mugabe asked them in a
February 15
2000 referendum for draconian emergency powers to seize white
farms for
distribution to landless peasants, they resoundingly rejected the
constitutional revisions by 55% to 45%. Paranoid and desperate, Mugabe
played his trump card; he sent his "war veterans" to seize white commercial
farm land anyway.
To be sure, there is basic inequity in the
distribution of land in Zimbabwe.
Abou t 4500 white farmers own nearly a
third of the country's most fertile
farm land. But the land issue has become
a political tool, ruthlessly
exploited by Mugabe at election time to fan
racial hatred.
Race, however, has little to do with the crisis in
Zimbabwe. Mugabe himself
did well in the beginning, after independence in
1980, and a handful of
African countries, such as Benin, Botswana, Ghana and
Mali are doing well.
Neither does British colonialism, American imperialism,
ethnicity, religion
or gender have anything to do with Zimbabwe's crisis.
The most singular
cause has been the stubborn refusal of the leadership to
relinquish or share
power when their people are fed up with
them.
This has been the gruesome post-colonial African road to implosion,
one that
was religiously taken by Liberia (1990), Somalia (1993), Rwanda
(1994),
Burundi (1995), Zaire (1996), Sierra Leone (1999), Ivory Coast
(2000) and
Togo (2005).
The source of Africa' s perennial crises
can be traced to the alien system
of governance imposed on Africa by its
leaders after independence in the '
60s - in particular, defective political
and economic systems that were
blindly copied abroad and imported into
Africa: the system of "one-party
states" with "presidents for life" and an
economic system of dirigisme or
state interventionism.
These systems
are alien to Africa's own indigenous institutions. The
traditional African
system of governance was confederacy and participatory
democracy based upon
consensus-building under its chiefs. The ancient
empires of Africa -
Songhai, Ghana, Mali and Great Zimbabwe - were all
confederacies,
characterised by great devolution of authority and
decentralisation of
power.
The "one-party state" was a political system that concentrated
a great deal
of power in the hands of the head of state. Any political
system that
concentrates a lot of power in the hands of one individual
ultimately
degenerates into tyranny, regardless of the geographical area
where it is
established.
Billions of dollars in personal fortunes
have shamelessly been amassed by
African leaders while their people wallow
in poverty.
The vampire state does not care about nor represent the
people. It sucks the
economic vitality out of the people. Eventually,
however, it metastasizes
into a coconut republic and implodes. The implosion
nearly always begins
with a dispute over the electoral process - a refusal
to hold elections or
outrageously rigged polls.
Since 1990, one
African country after another has imploded:
In 1990, Liberia was
destroyed by the regime of General Samuel Doe;
a.. In 1991, Mali was
destroyed by the regime of General Moussa Traoré;
a.. In 1993, the
Central African Republic was destroyed by the military
regime of General
André Kolingba; and
a.. In 1993, Somalia was ruined by the regime of
General Siad Barre - and so
on.
In the case of Zimbabwe,
the final chapter has already been written. The
country is finished. It has
followed the same post- colonial African road to
implosion.
Mugabe is
no longer in charge. He is a "hostage president". A Joint
Operations Command
is in charge, after a "military coup" in April.
Ominously, the command is
led by military generals Constantine Chiwenga,
Perence Shiri and Phillip
Sibanda.
Second, Africa's post-colonial story also shows that rebel
leaders who seize
power are often no better. They are themselves "crocodile
liberators",
exhibiting the same dictatorial tendencies they loudly
condemned in the
despots they removed: Charles Taylor vs General Samuel Doe
and Laurent
Kabila vs Mobutu Sese Seko.
As Africans often say: "We
struggle very hard to remove one cockroach from
power and the next rat comes
to do the same thing".
Stay tuned.
Ayittey, a Ghanaian by
birth, is an author, and a professor at the American
University in
Washington DC
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3283
August 30, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE- President Robert Mugabe is about to announce his
cabinet following a
fresh stalemate in the power-sharing deal after a
meeting on Friday in South
Africa.
Presidential spokesman George
Charamba said Mugabe had delayed announcing
his new cabinet "out of
politeness and sheer expedience of ensuring that he
would not have to
reshuffle the Government upon swearing".
A new round of talks began in
South Africa with the state media accusing
Movement for Democratic (MDC)
leader Morgan Tsvangirai of making fresh
demands before he could sign the
power-sharing deal.
In his weekly column in the state-controlled Herald,
viewed as reflecting
government thinking, Charamba said Mugabe did not need
the go-ahead from the
Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) to form a
government.
"Cabinet will be announced, quite soon," the presidential
spokesman, who
writes under the pen name Nathaniel Manheru said.
The
MDC led by Tsvangirai, human rights activists and political analysts
have
all said if Mugabe went ahead and appointed a Cabinet, he would have
breached conditions of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) his party signed
alongside the smaller faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara on July 21
to start negotiations mediated by South African president Thabo
Mbeki.
Mugabe has already appointed provincial governors from his Zanu-PF
party and
replacing four others with new faces.
Charamba also warned
that the military police would intervene if MDC
legislators continued to
embarrass Mugabe as they did when they heckled him
during his speech when he
officially opened Parliament on Tuesday.
Mugabe received a stormy
reception from the MDC MPs who taunted him, singing
songs that said his
party was rotten.
"Judging by the welling fury in the service chiefs, it
should not be
difficult to bring in a few muscular military police to rein
in those
hooligans who are set to suggest and try pushing bad laws,"
Charamba said.
On the rebellion against the leadership of the splinter
faction of the MDC
when Matabeleland -based MPs voted Lovemore Moyo as
Speaker of Parliament,
Charamba said Mutambara and Welshman Ncube should be
decisive and outlaw the
legislators.
Both leaders, he added, should
disown the rebels for "crossing the floor" to
the other MDC, thereby
necessitating by-elections in their constituencies.
"That immediately
wipes out Morgan Tsvangirai's newly found dominance..That
will precipitate a
series of by-elections which the rebels MPs are sure to
lose," Charamba
predicted.
"Neither the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC nor the rebel MPs have
the stomach
for bye-elections."
Zanu-PF has sponsored a brutal
campaign to reverse its initial presidential
loss in the March 29 elections
when it unleashed party militia, war veterans
and the army in the run-up to
the June 27 re-run.
Already, war veterans and the CIO are reported to
have sealed off the Matobo
constituency in Matabeleland, to the
opposition.
The seat became vacant after the election of Moyo as Speaker
of the House.
http://www.independent.co.uk
By Nina
Lakhani
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Aid agencies which have been
allowed to resume work in Zimbabwe have
reported a dramatic increase in
malnutrition in rural provinces which were
at the heart of the recent
election violence, even as President Robert
Mugabe hands out cash to the
country's medal-winning Olympians.
The government announced last week
that it would lift a five-month-old ban
on aid work in rural communities,
imposed after Mr Mugabe accused agencies
of backing the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change. On Thursday, the
Red Cross federation made an urgent
appeal for almost $27m (£15m), saying
the food security situation was likely
to be the worst on record because of
rocketing inflation and Zimbabwe's
shortage of foreign currency.
Rachel Pounds, of Save the Children, told
The Independent on Sunday from
Harare: "We are very relieved to be back at
work, but concerned about what
we're going to find. Our local partners have
told us malnutrition rates
among children are up, while thousands of the
poorest children have dropped
out of school to look for food.... Five months
is a long time."
Before the ban, the agency was working in Matabeleland
and the three
northern provinces of Mashonaland, where there was savage
retaliation
following the shock result in March, when voters rejected Mr
Mugabe and his
party. Save the Children and other groups expect to learn
from government
officials tomorrow how and where they will be allowed to
operate.
Meanwhile, on Friday Mr Mugabe gave $148,000 (£81,000) in cash
to the
nation's Olympians, $100,000 (£55,000) of which went to the swimmer
Kirsty
Coventry, whom he called Zimbabwe's "golden girl". The money was in
US
currency, not in near-worthless Zimbabwean notes.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:38
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday vowed to resist any
pressure to
sign an agreement that does not reflect the aspirations of
Zimbabweans as he
revealed intricate details of what transpired during the
collapsed
power-sharing talks.
Shortly before he left for
South Africa, Tsvangirai told The Standard
he had a hard time during
negotiations as he was pressured to sign a deal
with President Robert
Mugabe.
He also revealed how tempers flared as they haggled over
the roles
they could assume in a new inclusive transitional
government.
Tsvangirai also made startling revelations that South
African
President Thabo Mbeki prepared the controversial draft that would
have made
him a lame duck Prime Minister and entrenched Mugabe's grip on the
country.
The MDC leader refused to sign the agreement, saying he
needed more
time to reflect and consult before putting his
signature.
Tsvangirai said it was left to Mbeki to come up with the
final draft
during the Heroes' Holiday after he and Mugabe had failed to
agree on some
sticking points.
These involved the terms of the
transitional government and its
duration, the constitution and the need for
amendments, the roles and
functions of the Prime Minister and the
President.
The sticking points were referred to Tsvangirai, Mugabe
and MDC leader
Arthur Mutambara by negotiators who had failed to find common
ground in SA.
Under Mbeki's draft, Tsvangirai realised that he
would become an
overburdened Prime Minister without any authority: he would
not chair the
Cabinet and would not have any power to appoint, censure or
dismiss
ministers.
Yet Tsvangirai would be expected to make
sure the economy of country,
destroyed by Mugabe's policies, was back on
track.
In that ceremonial role, it would be his responsibility to
ensure the
state "has sufficient resources and appropriate operational
capacity to
carry out its functions effectively".
Tsvangirai
said he came under serious pressure from the three leaders
to sign the
agreement.
Harsh words were exchanged as he was told that was the
"best
agreement" he could get under the circumstances. If the agreement was
unworkable, he could still get back to Sadc leaders, he was
told.
Tsvangirai said Mugabe fiercely opposed any constitutional
amendment
that would dilute his duties, insisting, he needed to remain head
of state,
government and being Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces.
Frustrated by the process, Tsvangirai said at one point he
suggested
that he and Mugabe swap roles in an effort to test the sincerity
and
fairness of the arrangement.
"Mugabe fumed. He said no
ways, he could not become the Prime
Minister," Tsvangirai said.
While Tsvangirai refused to sign, both Mugabe and Mutambara agreed to
the
deal.
Tsvangirai said he took a right decision not to sign. He,
however,
said he made the decision after exhausting all efforts to reach an
agreement
that would ensure Zimbabwe had a transitional government that
could take
Zimbabweans out of the present political and economic
crisis.
While the MDC had pressed for Mugabe to be a ceremonial
President,
Tsvangirai revealed he ended up making significant concessions to
Mugabe for
the sake of the voters who wanted a way out of the
crisis.
"Fully aware that we won the March 29 election, we could
have demanded
nothing but outright victory," he said. "But we reached a
position, where we
said it was important for cohabitation with Zanu PF for
the sake of the
country."
"I said yes, Mugabe can remain the
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces. I also didn't object to Mugabe
heading the National Security
Council," said Tsvangirai, referring to the
body known presently as the
Joint Operations Command, a group made up of
army, police, prisons and
Central Intelligence Organisation
chiefs.
"We hoped this would show we were genuine in the quest to
find an
agreement to establish a transitional government that rebuilds
confidence in
Zimbabwe and ensure there is food, jobs and justice for
Zimbabweans."
But Tsvangirai said his overtures were fruitless
because Mugabe, whom
he said had not had a "paradigm shift and still thought
he was the winner",
refused to make some compromises on the functions of the
PM.
Mugabe insisted that he chaired the Cabinet.
"I
pointed out we could not have a ceremonial Prime Minister. It would
have
been unprecedented," Tsvangirai said.
"Mugabe wanted to me to be
responsible for solving the problems he
created, yet he didn't want me to
have the full authority to carry out that
task. The other problem was how
could I be asked to sort out the mess
(economic problems) when the person
(Mugabe) who created it in the first
place was in charge of the Cabinet,"
Tsvangirai said.
He said it was ironic that pressure was being
brought on him to sign
the agreement, yet it was Mugabe who was supposed to
be pressured into
ceding power.
"He refused to share power. He
opened Parliament, now he is talking
about appointing a Cabinet. This goes
against the spirit of the talks."
Despite failure of the talks,
Tsvangirai said he would not give up.
He spoke as he prepared to
leave for SA en route to Zambia where he
will attend the burial of Zambian
President Levy Mwanawasa.
Tsvangirai would then embark on a
diplomatic offensive in West Africa,
amid indications that the MDC intends
to ask the AU and the UN to take over
from where Mbeki left.
Party leaders said it was time the two bodies took a central role in
trying
to get a deal for Zimbabwe as economic hardships worsen.
Commenting
on the way Mutambara's faction has sided with Zanu PF in
Parliament,
Tsvangirai said: "Events this (last) week show serious political
opportunism
and the betrayal of people's project."
Mutambara was unreachable
last week. He is believed to be in the US.
By Walter
Marwizi
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008 21:36
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe steeled himself for a reception he never
imagined possible,
for a hero of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.
For the first
time in the history of Parliamentary proceedings, MDC
MPs irked by the
arrest of their colleagues in violation of Parliamentary
rules and
procedures, gave him a taste of his own medicine. They disrupted
his address
during the official opening of the Seventh Parliament, setting
the stage for
a new chapter for debates between the political parties.
Members of
the public have expressed mixed feelings over the arrest of
opposition MDC
legislators ahead of the official opening of Parliament last
week and the
subsequent jeering by their colleagues when President Mugabe
addressed
Parliament.
On Monday and Tuesday, the police arrested five MDC
lawmakers - Sure
Mudiwa, Broadwin Nyaude, Mathias Mlambo, Pearson Mungofa
and Eliah Jembere -
on charges of political violence, and for one of them,
rape.
The party said its deputy secretary general, Elton Mangoma,
was
apprehended on his way into the House of Assembly, but managed to escape
arrest.
Subsequently, the MDC legislators who made it to
Parliament on Tuesday
jeered and heckled President Mugabe throughout his
keynote address.
Reacting to the arrests, the MDC said the move was
meant to frustrate
its victory during the March 29 poll, where it reversed
Zanu PF's majority
in the House of Assembly for the first time since 1980.
The party's national
chairman, Lovemore Moyo made history by becoming the
first non-Zanu PF
Speaker since independence.
MDC legislators
in both the lower house and senate also petitioned
Mugabe on his move to
open parliament before the conclusion of the
inter-party talks between Zanu
PF and the two MDC formations. Part of the
Memorandum Of Understanding
signed by the principals of Zanu PF and the MDCs
on July 21 barred any of
the parties from making such key decisions such as
convening
Parliament.
Part of the petition reads: "We, the undersigned
members of the
Movement for Democratic Change elected both to the Senate and
the House of
Assembly declare that: This official opening of the 7th
Parliament of
Zimbabwe is a clear breach of the Memorandum of Understanding
and is
therefore of no force and effect.
"The purported opening
by Mugabe, the illegitimate usurper of the
people's will as reflected on
March 29 2008, is illegal and of no force and
effect. For the avoidance of
doubt, the only person who can officially open
this session of Parliament
will be determined by the outcome of the on-going
dialogue sponsored by
SADC."
The petition also stated that continued harassment, arrest
of MDC
legislators and activists was a direct affront to the will of the
people of
Zimbabwe.
Mugabe paid little attention to the
hecklers during his speech. He is
said to have later told dignitaries at a
dinner in the day that the MPs'
behaviour was "barbaric and
nonsensical".
Newly appointed Mashonaland Central governor, Martin
Dinha was also
quoted blasting the MDC for embarrassing Mugabe.
"This behaviour was deplorable and immature," Dinha said. "It showed
that
some people were playing to the imperialist gallery."
Several
people interviewed by The Standard last week, however, said
the two
developments showed that the country's politicians were still
pre-occupied
with personal agendas and thus not yet ready to work together.
"Now, those arrests and the clowning that followed proved beyond doubt
that
these politicians are still playing ball at the expense of our
continued
suffering. We have always known that these people can not work
together and
they just confirmed it with those two unnecessary
developments," fumed John
Chisvo from Mufakose.
Most people said they were worried the
ordinary Zimbabwean would
continue in plight while politicians seek to
advance their personal
interests.
"(Morgan) Tsvangirai just has
to sign," Rodgers Mavhurume said. "As
long as he continues refusing, there
will be no peace in that Parliament and
nothing of substance will come out
of it. To us, that means continued
suffering and I do not understand why
grown-up men and women would choose to
sacrifice millions of lives for their
own personal interests."
Some were however optimistic there could
be peace in Parliament once a
"better deal" is on offer.
"Some
of us know that should Tsvangirai sign what is being offered by
Zanu PF, the
pact would not solve our problems because we understand that it
is not in
favour of what his donor friends set as conditions for funding,"
Catherine
Mutodzaniswa said. "Let Zanu PF table a better deal and that way,
there will
be peace in Parliament and that will be the beginning of the road
to
happiness for all Zimbabweans."
While others said they hoped to see
more meaningful co-operation from
the country's politicians in parliament,
some said they hoped the MDC would
also be able to facilitate constructive
debate and equally jeer at
"dangerous" laws proposed by Zanu
PF.
"If these people are to work together, we hope MDC continues to
be
alert," said Tawanda Pasimupindu. "That way, we can avoid the mistakes we
have been making in these past years."
By Jennifer Dube and
Sandra Mandizvidza
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:31
THE National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations
(Nango)
yesterday said the government's lifting of the ban on the field
operations
of NGOs, though a welcome move, could fail to bring about the
required
change because of "selective application".
The
lifting of the ban - which followed complaints from MDC leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai and US ambassador James McGee - also did not have any
"tangible
commitments by Government to remove the bureaucratic, security,
financial
and other restrictions to effective humanitarian operations", it
said.
On Friday, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare
announced that the suspension of NGOs' and private voluntary
organisations
(PVOs) field operations had been "lifted with immediate
effect".
The lifting was for organisations involved in humanitarian
assistance,
food aid, relief, recovery and development, family and child
care
protection, care and protection of older persons, rights and
empowerment of
people with disabilities, HIV/Aids treatment, care and
related support
services.
"This suspension is hereby lifted for
all PVOs/NGOs registered in
terms of the PVO Act Chapter 17:05." said the
statement, signed by the
Ministry's Permanent Secretary Lance Museka. The
statement added that the
Ministry would tomorrow hold a meeting of all PVOs
and NGOs to "clarify
operation modalities".
But in response
yesterday, Nango spokesperson, Fambai Ngirande said
they "cautiously"
welcomed the move. He said there was need for "further
clarification from
government".
"The lift therefore characteristically excludes
organisations
operating in areas such as transitional justice, human rights,
governance
and democracy. It also does not recognise the inseparability of
Civil
Society's social, economic, cultural, political and civic
responsibilities,"
Ngirande said.
Among other things, Ngirande
said there was need for the government to
"reform the PVO Act and other
repressive pieces of legislation" which
scuttle the operations of
NGOs.
"There is need for confidence-building mechanisms to allow
stronger
cooperation between the State and Civil Society," Ngirande said.
"This
should include the retraction of unfounded statements by public
officials
accusing all NGOs of politicising humanitarian assistance in
support of the
MDC and western imperialism."
Because of the
violence that rocked the country prior to and
immediately after the disputed
Presidential election run-off, Ngirande said
the demand for food and other
forms of aid had also rocketed.
"The figures have now increased; we
are now talking about maybe five
million who need food assistance. New work
has to be done in terms of
re-organising the communities," he said. "As a
result of the violence,
people now also need assistance for shelter,
repatriation, clothing and
other such basic requirements."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the lifting of the
ban was
a "positive development (which) will help ensure that neutral and
impartial
humanitarian assistance is provided to the people of Zimbabwe".
By
Vusumuzi Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:29
ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have launched an
HIV/Aids and
Human Rights Charter that seeks to protect and promote the
rights of people
living with the virus.
The charter was
drafted by the ZLHR division, the HIV/Aids, Human
Rights and Law Project
that was established in 2004 to cultivate a legal and
human rights-based
response to the pandemic in Zimbabwe.
Keynote speaker at the
launch, South African constitutional judge
Justice Edwin Cameron said the
charter came at the right time given the
"extraordinary political situation"
in the country and the shocking life
expectancy.
"Zimbabwe has
one of the lowest life expectancy that put males at 35
and females two years
longer than that. I am shocked by the fact that I read
in Time Magazine that
45% are undernourished."
It's a pity that government had banned the
humanitarian food aid
organization in such a situation," Cameron
said.
He blasted Zimbabwe's human rights record saying tyranny was
linked to
poor health delivery and showed remorse "over his countries
support and
unwillingness" to change the state of affairs in
Zimbabwe.
Cameron, who said he was proud to be gay, added that it
was
unfortunate that people where in denial that man to man sex happens in
Africa and Aids transmission was rampant in these circles.
Cameron cited section 4.8 in the charter that says "no person shall be
subjected to compulsory HIV testing" and further states that one should sign
a Consent Form before being tested, as discriminatory.
"Why
should a doctor not go ahead and test without the consent of the
person. In
the case of TB, Hypertension and Cancer does a doctor ask for
consent? Why
do we make HIV discriminatory by saying one should feel he
needs to consent
to be helped?"
Tinashe Mundawarara, programme manager of HIV/AIDS,
Human Rights & Law
Project said: "This Charter is a result of concerted
efforts by many
national partners who are committed to ensuring dignity,
justice and
equality for all."
He added: "We want to lobby
government to use this to formulate
legislative laws that protect HIV/Aids
affected people."
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August
2008 21:26
THE United States government is demanding reimbursement for
food aid
that was allegedly stolen by government officials and police
officers in
June when the government banned the operations of humanitarian
non-governmental organisations.
This emerged in a
letter to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare,
Nicholas Goche by the American Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James
D McGee on
August 25, 2008.
"We need to urgently finalise the outstanding
matter of the theft of
20 metric tonnes of US Government donated food by
Zimbabwean government
officials at the Bambazonke police station on June 6,"
wrote McGee.
The move could worsen already simmering tensions
between the two
countries, as the government - indicates McGee's letter -
denied
responsibility "for the disappearance of the stolen food and
therefore not
financially responsible for reimbursement of the
commodities".
McGee insists that government is responsible.
"Because the Governor
(of Manicaland at the time, Tinaye Chigudu), police
and military officers
were directly involved in the events that transpired,
responsibility for the
theft does rest with the government of Zimbabwe," he
said.
"We again request your assistance to obtain a police report
of the
incident and to correct this matter through financial reimbursement
of the
stolen food."
When the government banned the field work
by humanitarian
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on June 4, it argued
that some of them
were meddling in the country's internal
affairs.
Attempts to get a comment from Goche were fruitless. But
in a
televised statement on Friday, his Ministry announced that the ban had
been
lifted.
"The government has with immediate effect lifted
the suspension of
operations of private voluntary organisations and NGOs,"
said the statement.
It could not be immediately established if the
lifting of the ban was
in direct response to McGee's letter, and another one
by MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai on Thursday.
In his letter
McGee said the "draconian ban has turned an already dire
situation into a
potentially catastrophic one".
On Thursday, Tsvangirai appealed to
Goche to lift the ban. He said the
continued ban was against the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed
between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations on
July 21.
"The effect of the MoU and the joint statement
signed by all parties
was obviously understood to mean your letter banning
NGOs from providing
food aid and associated relief was immediately revoked,"
Tsvangirai said.
The MDC leader said the situation had become so
critical that there
was "rampant starvation throughout the
country".
"In the circumstances, I appeal to you to immediately
address a letter
to all NGOs unequivocally countermanding your instruction,
to allow urgently
needed humanitarian work to be carried out in the country.
Such a letter is
obviously within the spirit of the MoU, our joint statement
and indeed in
the interest of every Zimbabwean."
By Vusumuzi
Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:24
THE Standard Press and newspaper Editor Davison Maruziva last
week had
their application for refusal of further remand thrown out by
Harare
magistrate, Morgan Nemadire who ruled that the application was
premature and
its basis unclear.
Represented by Group
Chief Executive Officer Raphael Khumalo, the
newspaper and its Editor were
consequently further remanded out of custody
to September 22,
2008.
The paper and its Editor on Thursday applied for refusal of
further
remand following the state counsel's proposal that the matter be
postponed
to September 8, 2008, after a deal struck between the state and
lawyers for
MDC leader, Professor Arthur Mutambara on August 6, 2008,
without consulting
the newspaper and the Editor or their legal
counsel.
"It is not readily clear to this court why accused 2
(Maruziva) and 3
(The Standard Press counsel) seek refusal of further remand
at this stage,"
Nemadire ruled on Friday. "Is it because they will not be
available on the
8th . . . Is it because they were not consulted . . . Or is
it because they
feel the State is not ready. . ."
Their
co-accused, leader of the smaller formation of the opposition
MDC, Mutambara
was earlier this month remanded to September 8 to allow him
to travel to the
United States of America on business.
The defence counsel for the
newspaper and its editor, represented by
Advocate Eric Morris and Deepak
Mehta respectively, said they were not
consulted on the new date of
September 8, 2008.
Nemadire had initially remanded the newspaper
and Maruziva to
September 8 saying despite the arguments over the date, the
matter was still
going to be postponed anyway following the unavailability
of state
prosecutor Tawanda Zvekare, who was said to have fallen
ill.
Mehta then indicated that he and his client (Maruziva) already
had
other commitments for September 8, 2008 hence a new date had to be
agreed
upon.
Charges against the paper, Maruziva and Mutambara
arose on April 20
this year following publication of the opposition leader's
opinion article
titled A Shameful Betrayal of National Independence, which
the state says
was prejudicial to the state and also in contempt of
court.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:20
AS uncertainty continues to shroud the inter-party talks between
Zanu
PF and the two MDC formations, and the aftermath of the convening of
Parliament, civic activists have called for "radical action" as the best
possible solution out of the crisis.
On Wednesday,
youth and students' organisations met in Harare and
resolved to lead a
campaign of "civic disobedience". And on Thursday, a
political commentator
said the only "legitimate" way out for Zimbabwe was to
allow Parliament to
elect the President.
One of the conveners of the youth meeting,
Zimbabwe National Students'
Union (Zinasu) president, Clever Bere said they
resolved to mobilize youths
to protest against Zanu PF's grip on power,
which he said was against the
people's will.
"We discussed many
issues to do with the current political
developments, trying to find
alternative ways forward and try to provide
leadership to the country. One
of the key issues that came out is that the
young people do not recognise
Robert Mugabe as the legitimate president of
Zimbabwe," Bere
said.
Bere said the youths agreed that the official opening of
Parliament
last Tuesday was in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding
signed by the
principals of the two MDC formations and Zanu PF on 21 July.
The youths were
drawn from various organisations, mostly in
Harare.
He said: "Indeed it was not within his mandate for Mugabe
to
officially open parliament until and unless there was a political
settlement, political agreement and political consensus with the other
parties, particularly the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which won the
elections on March 29. We will soon be launching a petition against this
move."
Bere repeated the same sentiments at a public discussion
on Thursday,
where he said following his assumption of the chairmanship of
the Southern
Africa Development Community (Sadc), SA President Thabo Mbeki
could not
continue as mediator in the talks as there was now a clash of
interest.
"Being the Sadc chairman, Mbeki cannot continue in his
role as a Sadc
mediator. The mediator has to report to someone in Sadc, and
being at the
helm, this means Mbeki now has to report to himself. This
compromises the
whole process," Bere said.
Speaking during the
same discussion, a political commentator from the
National University of
Science and Technology (Nust), Dr Themba Dlodlo said
under the current
crisis, Parliament should be allowed to sit as an
electoral college and
choose a President. "We need to have a solution to
this. This crisis must
end. Why not give power to Parliament to choose a
President? We cannot move
forward in a situation where the governing party
has a minority, and the
opposition has a majority," Dlodlo said.
The inter-party talks
proposed that the current parliament would only
last for a limited time
frame leading to fresh elections. This arrangement,
said Dlodlo, may still
not work.
"We cannot go back into an election to solve a problem
which was in
the first place created by an election," he said. "Parliament
is the only
legitimate body at the moment that was elected fairly. The
presidential
election was disputed. I propose Parliament should be given a
role to choose
a President and Prime Minister if there is to be such a role,
and have their
roles clearly separated."
Prominent Harare
pastor who is also a human rights activist, Bishop
Ancelimo Magaya, said the
crisis was now "a spiritual issue" that could only
be solved through
"prophetic action".
"I believe at some point Zimbabwe will be able
to recognize the
supremacy of God. A power-sharing arrangement can actually
worsen, rather
than solve the crisis," Magaya said.
Last year,
Magaya called on members of the Zimbabwe National Pastors'
Conference (ZNPC)
to March to the President's Office in protest. The march
did not take
place.
By Vusumuzi Sifile
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August
2008 21:18
Serious water shortages - blamed on increased power outages
resulting
in the local authority failing to pump or purify water - have
become
widespread in Bulawayo, igniting fears of an outbreak of water-borne
diseases.
Hundreds of Bulawayo residents last year
contracted water-borne
diseases owing to serious water shortages after the
dams supplying the
country's second biggest city dried up.
The
government refused to intervene to tackle the water shortages
because of a
struggle over control of the city's water supply.
Authorities said
they could not help Bulawayo unless the MDC-
controlled council handed over
control of water supply to the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority
(Zinwa).
The council refused, citing failure of the government to
provide water
in other cities where it had control of the water
utility.
A survey last week revealed that residents at various
suburbs were
restricted to only a few hours of water every three days after
the local
authority resorted to stringent water rationing, owing to lack of
treated
water at the city's reservoirs.
"We have not had water
for the past four days," said a seemingly
distraught Moreblessing Moyo from
Cowdray Park on Wednesday.
Residents from other suburbs - mostly
high-density areas where the
water cuts were more pronounced - said they
only had water for a few hours a
day in the morning while some said they
only had water for a few hours every
two days.
Officials at the
local authority - who blamed water cuts on the
troubled Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (Zesa) that has increased its
load-shedding regime - said
the power cuts had grossly affected operations
at its water
works.
Khonzani Ncube, the Acting Town Clerk of the Bulawayo City
Council,
said the council could not treat or pump water owing to power
outages. She
warned of worse water shortages since the municipal authority
had little
treated water left in its reservoirs.
".Due to
increased power outages by Zesa, pumping of water at the
municipal
reservoirs has been greatly affected," Ncube said. "As a result,
residents
are experiencing water shortages due to limited treated water in
our
reservoirs."
Fullard Gwasira, the Zesa spokesperson last week said
the troubled
parastatal was facing serious challenges, hence the increased
power outages
sometimes lasting over 15 hours a day. He attributed the power
cuts to
inadequate coal supplies.
By Nqobani Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30
August 2008 21:15
A local magistrate on Monday relaxed the bail
reporting conditions for
Peter Muchengeti, the Zimbabwe Civic Education
Trust, (Zimcet) regional
manager for the Midlands
province.
Muchengeti, who had been ordered by the court to
report twice a week
at the Criminal Investigation Department offices in
Gweru every Tuesday and
Wednesday will now report only once a fortnight. The
relaxation comes after
he briefly appeared before Magistrate Rosa
Takuva.
Although Muchengeti's lawyers Brian Dube of Gundu and
Mawarire legal
Practitioners and Reginald Chidawanyika of Chitere and
Chidawanyika law
firm, had put it on record during his initial hearing that
their client was
subjected to torture and inhuman treatment while in
detention and that
Magistrate Takuva had ordered the state to investigate
the matter and
present its findings on August 25 when Muchengeti reappeared
in court, the
matter was not heard.
When Muchengeti reappeared
in court there was no docket. Chidawanyika
told The Standard that there was
no clear explanation why Muchengeti's
docket was not at the courts.
"Muchengeti's docket was not with the public
prosecutor and unclear reasons
were given by the police for the absence of
the docket," Chidawanyika said.
"However, we will keep on fighting that this
matter be heard in
court."
He said they would pursue the issue of torture on September
16 when
Muchengeti is due to appear in court again.
Muchengeti,
who was arrested last month, is facing charges of
breaching Chapter 9: 23 of
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Muchengeti is being
accused of publishing or communicating to another
person "a statement which
is wholly or materially false with the intention
or realising that there is
a real risk or possibility of
public violence or endangering public
safety".
The charge is said to arise from comments that Muchengeti
allegedly
made to the "Voice of America Radio Network (Studio 7
Broadcasting) through
its reporter Patience Rusere which was wholly false
that there was a
discovery of six bodies at Mashekandumba Village at the
30-kilometre peg
along the Gweru-Kwekwe Road".
By Rutendo
Mawere
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008 21:13
SOUTH AFRICAN President Thabo Mbeki has failed in his bid to
facilitate a
negotiated political settlement in the country and should seek
assistance
from credible international bodies, political analysts have
said.
Mbeki, who was appointed by the Southern African
Development Community
(Sadc) to mediate in the Zimbabwe crisis, has been
widely criticised for his
"quiet diplomacy". He was however hailed after he
brought the parties to the
talks together to sign the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) which paved the
way for serious negotiations that raised
hopes for a possible deal.
The deal however never materialised
after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
refused to sign the power-sharing
agreement.
The rift between Zanu PF and the MDC widened in the past
week after
President Robert Mugabe unilaterally appointed resident ministers
and opened
parliament on Tuesday in direct contravention of the MoU the
parties signed
on July 11.
The MoU forbids the convening of
parliament and the appointment of a
cabinet without the consent of all the
three political parties.
But the 84-year-old leader, who has led
the country on an economic
slide for the past 28 years, has vowed to appoint
a new cabinet.
"We shall soon be setting up a government. The MDC
does not want to
come in apparently," said Mugabe soon after opening
Parliament last week.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
president, Lovemore Matombo
believes Mbeki has failed to solve the crisis in
the country and should seek
assistance from other facilitators.
"The ZCTU is of the opinion that the facilitator should include AU
(African
Union) and UN United Nations), since we are convinced that Thabo
Mbeki has
failed," Matombo said.
University of Zimbabwe political scientist
Eldred Masunungure agrees:
"Mbeki has failed. The problem is that he does
not want to admit failure. He
wanted Tsvangirai to accept a deal which
entrenches the status quo. No one
in his sane mind would have accepted such
a deal."
He said although AU commission chairman Jean Ping and UN's
special
representative to Zimbabwe Haile Menkerios were provided with
regular
progress updates about the talks as part of the "reference group",
their
contribution was minimal as they were not directly
involved.
University of Zimbabwe political analyst Heneri
Dzinotyiwei also
questioned Mbeki's credibility as a mediator. He said the
South African
president failed to provide guidance at strategic
moments.
Dzinotyiwei said although the Sadc summit held in South
Africa this
month recommended the convening of Parliament, Mbeki was
supposed to
reconcile that recommendation with the position in the MoU which
forbids the
opening of the House before a final agreement has been
reached.
Mbeki, said Dzinotyiwei, should have stepped in to prevent
Mugabe from
convening Parliament without the consent of the two MDC
camps.
"The performance of President Mbeki is questionable from all
angles.
He is flip-flopping and time is running out for him to explain how
he
proposes to proceed," said Dzinotyiwei. "Maybe the time has come for the
UN
to step in."
Masunungure agrees: "It's a complex protracted
crisis that does not
need one mind. He should seek assistance."
He said Menkerios and Ping's involvement in the talks was minimal
because
Mbeki wanted to hog the limelight for resolving the crisis if he had
succeeded.
"The reference group was rendered redundant because
it was not
involved in the talks. Mbeki wanted to steal all the glory by
going it
alone," he said.
Masunungure does not see anything
coming out of the on-going talks.
"Not in the immediate term. Zanu PF has
dug in and is not prepared to cede
more power and I see the same in
MDC."
As the search for a political settlement continues with no
solution in
sight, ordinary Zimbabweans are feeling the pinch of worsening
economic
conditions in the country.
By Caiphas Chimhete
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
21:01
MONEY the government accuses businessman Mutumwa Mawere of having
allegedly externalised is locked up in a South African company currently
under liquidation, it emerged last week.
In 2004, the
police issued a warrant of arrest against Mawere accusing
the Zimbabwean
born business mogul of externalising US$18 464 595.27, C$628
071.84 and ZAR4
515 367.48 from SMM Holdings Limited.
But fresh details emerged
last week that Southern Asbestos Sales
(SAS), currently under liquidation
owed SMM money in unpaid asbestos fibre
sales, which all but exonerated
Mawere. The details, contained in documents
in our possession, will be
another blow to the government's efforts to nail
the acquisitive businessman
in the wake of the 2004 Presidential decree that
wrested Mawere's
assets.
In his supporting affidavit filed in the High Court, Samson
Mangoma,
an Assistant Commissioner with the Zimbabwe Republic Police alleged
Mawere
had colluded with then SMM board chairman William Mudekunye to fleece
the
group of money realised from the export proceeds of asbestos fibre from
Shabanie-Gaths mine.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
appointed Mangoma in 2004 as an
investigator of Mawere.
But
papers seen by Standardbusiness show that the money in question
had not been
externalised by Mawere but owed to SMM by SAS.
In the supporting
affidavit of SMM Holdings in the matter of SAS,
Washington Samanga, chief
operating officer of AA Mines, said SAS had
admitted being indebted to SMM
in the amounts of US$18 464 595.27, C$628
071.84 and ZAR4 515 367.48 as at
April 29, 2004 in affidavits filed in the
liquidation proceedings of SAS. He
said SAS alleged that it had paid certain
amounts to SMM's behalf. He said
SMM had denied barring an amount of US$4
646 445 of proceeds that ought to
have been remitted to SMM by SAS but
instead were transferred to Zimre
Holdings Limited.
"The amounts transferred to Zimre Holdings
Limited were utilized to
acquire an asset, which asset had been recovered by
SMM in terms of the
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Reconstruction
of State Indebted
Insolvent Companies) Regulations, 2004 of the Laws of
Zimbabwe," he said.
Samanga said the amount of US$4 646 445 should
be deducted from the
amount due and owing by SAS to SMM.
"Accordingly, the net outstanding amount due, owing and payable by SAS
to
SMM in respect of asbestos fibre sold and delivered to customers is US$13
818 150.27, C$628 071.84 and ZAR4 515 367.48," Samanga wrote.
Documents in possession of Standardbusiness show that there could have
been
collusion between AA Mines and SAS customers not to pay for asbestos
fibre
delivered. The motive of the collusion could not be established last
week.
In a facsimile dated January 5, 2005 to Hindustan Composite Limited,
Masimba
Chandavengerwa, AA Mines marketing director thanked the company for
having
delayed in paying SAS.
"We would like to thank you for having
agreed to hold onto these funds
up to this date despite the pressure you
have from your banks and SAS to
effect payment," Chandavengerwa
wrote.
"We shall be grateful if you could hold on until end of
January 2005."
He said: "Should you incur any expenses as a result
of these delayed
payments, they will be for our account."
While
AA Mines was urging SAS customers to delay payments, its holding
company,
SMM was instructing customers to pay directly into its accounts.
In
a February 24, 2005 letter, AMG chief Arafas Gwaradzimba wrote to
SAS
client, Sri Venkateswana instructing them to effect money owed to SAS
directly to SMM.
Gwaradzimba wrote that in terms of a court
order granted by the High
Court of South Africa SAS was required to pay
Petter Trading, a company
associated to it a certain sum of money that SAS
had owed to SMM.
Gwaradzimba said that the court order was obtained on the
basis of a cession
agreement.
In terms of the cession
agreement, AA Mines agreed to cede to Petter
Trading its rights and
interests to payments that it was entitled to receive
from SAS.
"The purported cession agreement relied upon by Petter Trading is a
false
document and currently a matter of dispute between the parties,"
Gwaradzimba
said.
Gwaradzimba said that the court order which SAS relied on to
claim
payment was rescinded in the High Court of South Africa
(Witwatersrand) on
November 29, 2004 which makes it necessary for SMM to
receive all payments.
But in a nasty rejoinder, Aakhil Hoosain, SAS
financial manager,
expressed concern about Gwaradzimba's blatant disrespect
of commercial
transactions and applicable laws.
"The context in
which you are interfering with my company's commercial
claims against our
customer is disturbing," Hoosain wrote.
"The court order related to
a commercial relationship between three
parties and does not extend to SAS
customers/debtors."
Hoosain said there was no legal basis for SMM
to give instructions to
its customers/debtors in respect of legitimate sales
made by SAS as a
principal.
Gwaradzimba last week told
Standardbusiness there was nothing wrong in
SMM demanding payment from SAS
customers.
"SAS were selling asbestos on behalf SMM. They were
selling to SMM
customers so SMM continued to liaise with the customers
because the company
(SAS) was in liquidation," he said.
Mawere
said it was ironic that Mangoma was looking for him to
investigate the
allegation that funds allegedly owed by SAS to SMM were
externalized.
Samanga on behalf of SMM lodged a claim in the estate of SAS
in South Africa
claiming that SAS owed the same funds "the Administrator and
his colleagues
have been busy trying to keep away from SAS".
"The question is why
would SMM proceed to file a claim for the same
funds that I am being pursued
by Mangoma?" he asked.
"So in this unusual case, it is interesting
that even after the claim
has been lodged by SMM, Mangoma is still looking
for me on the same
allegation."
By Ndamu Sandu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
20:59
Some commercial banks have stopped issuing travellers cheques
from a
United States based company as sanctions imposed on President Robert
Mugabe's
regime continue to bite.
Sources in the
banking industry said American Travel Related Services
Company, the
suppliers of the travellers' cheques, has stopped their
operations in the
country to comply with the regulations under the sanctions
imposed by
Western countries on Zimbabwe.
The scrapping of American Express
Travellers cheques by most banks
with effect from September 1, is set to
deal a big blow to Zimbabwe's
cross-border traders who are credited with
keeping the battered economy
afloat.
Zimbabweans intending to
travel overseas would also be affected by the
move as they are only allowed
to carry US$100 in cash when leaving the
country.
A survey by
The Standard revealed that most banks had stopped
providing the
service.
Kingdom Bank Limited posted a notice advising its clients
about the
latest development.
"Following a review of its
operations in Zimbabwe, American Travel
Related Services Company (American
Express), the issuers of American Express
Travelers cheques, has notified of
its intention to suspend the sale of
Travellers Cheques in Zimbabwe," the
bank said. "The suspension is with
effect from September 1,
2008.
"Accordingly, Kingdom Bank Limited will effectively suspend
selling of
American Express Travellers Cheques by close of business on
Saturday August
30, 2008."
A banking official at the Commercial
Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) added:
"We were notified last month by
American based suppliers of the
travelers' cheques that there will be no
further supplies to Zimbabwe."
John Robertson, an economist said
the move will severely impact on
Zimbabweans travelers especially those who
intend visiting the US using the
travelers' cheques.
"The
development effectively sees those who intend to travel to
America incurring
double costs since they would have to first travel to
neighbouring countries
to purchase the travelers cheques," Robertson said.
The US has
threatened tougher action against Zimbabwe if the stalled
crisis talks
between the MDC and Zanu-PF do not produce a settlement
"reflecting the
March 29 vote".
Last month, the US government expanded its targeted
sanctions against
Mugabe's close associates to include other individuals and
companies with
close links to his regime, citing continued politically
motivated violence.
By Nqobani Ndlovu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008 20:57
THE delay in receiving payment coupled with power outages have stymied
Zimbabwe's gold production, projected to fall further this year, players in
the industry have warned.
Collen Gura, Metallon Gold
Zimbabwe chief executive officer told a
business meeting that power outages
were rampant despite miners paying in
foreign currency to power utility,
ZESA Holdings.
"Most mines are getting four hours a day out of 24
hours and this
affects shifts," he said.
Gura said gold miners
were incurring unnecessary costs through the
increased chemical consumption
caused by power outages. He said power
outages also led to dewatering costs
caused by flooding.
"One of our mines are below Mutare River and we
have closed
underground mining because we have no pump space. We have
equipment lying
idle," he said.
Gura said gold producers are
hamstrung by late payments to gold
deliveries adding further agony to the
sector.
"Not only are you getting it less, but you are getting it
late," he
said.
In its half year results ended June 30 2008,
RioZim Limited said its
cashflow continued to be impaired by the delay in
the payment for gold
deliveries to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which dates
back to November
2006.
Gura said gold prices have been trailing
international prices. He said
Zimbabwe should take a leaf from Mali and
Tanzania where producers are paid
in foreign currency but liquidate the
proceeds to local currency.
"What is painful is when people deny
that people in the gold sector
are operating in misery," he
said.
He said mining is a long term venture which needs clear
ground rules.
He said the mining rights and indigenisation laws
should be clear and
consistent. Gura said Metallon has been trying to list
on the London Stock
Exchange for the past four years but was encountering
hurdles. He said
Metallon has failed to explain to potential investors the
proposed
indigenisation law. Under the law, locals will have 51%
shareholding in
foreign owned companies operating in Zimbabwe.
"The question we could not answer is to do with indigenisation. One
says if
I put £1 is there any insurance to compensate me for the 51 pence
lost," he
said.
It just stops certain things from happening and here now we
are, not
listed."
Zimbabwe's gold production has declined over
the years due to
operational constraints and poor incentives that have made
investment into
the industry a tough choice. From a peak of 27 metric tonnes
in 1999, gold
production plummeted to seven tonnes last year. This year gold
production is
projected to fall to 4.5 tonnes.
By Ndamu
Sandu
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30
August 2008 20:24
THE faithful multitudes of the Beautiful Game, as
that greatest of its
exponents, Pele called it years ago, are familiar with
the oft-repeated
claim that no matter the level of the match, a team must
always play to win,
if only because winning is a good
habit. The same applies; more so,
perhaps, to that other game of life and
death, the less aesthetically
pleasing one, called politics.
There can be no doubt that the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC scored a
significant political victory over their adversaries with the election of
Lovemore Moyo as the new Speaker of the House of Assembly, turning the
tables on Zanu PF, for the first time in 28 years.
These
developments surrounding the institution of Parliament have to
be seen
within the context of the negotiating process. Having failed to pin
down the
MDC in Pretoria, Zanu PF played what they perceived to be a
disarming card,
by going ahead with the convening of Parliament.
For a moment, this
decision appeared to have caught the MDC unawares
given the apparently
conflicting signals over the matter last week by the
MDC leader Tsvangirai
and his Secretary General Tendai Biti. But after the
initial panic, they
made the right decision to play their own card and, so
far, as events have
shown, it was a card that Zanu PF found hard to counter.
Zanu PF,
plainly, miscalculated, thinking erroneously, not only that
they would
benefit from the support of the Professor Arthur Mutambara MDC
MPs but also
in hoping that the MDC would carry out its threats of
boycotting, in which
case they would have had ample room to manoeuvre and
gain an upper hand in a
House of Assembly in which they are now juniors.
The proceedings
also demonstrated the angst among MPs who showed they
can no longer be
easily manipulated as has been the case in previous
Parliaments, when that
institution was no more than a rubber-stamping organ
of the
Executive.
At a time when the confidence in the judiciary as the
last bastion of
protecting fundamental freedoms is very low, Parliament has,
like a phoenix,
risen from the dead to demonstrate, at least fleetingly,
that it can stand
its own ground. One can look to the future and say that
gone, perhaps, are
the days when Parliament was simply part of the gravy
train, which the
Executive took for granted. That can only be a good thing
for Zimbabwe's
fledgling democracy. These are the small but no less
significant gains in
the tortuous road towards democracy.
For
my part, this new found power is something that the MDC must build
on. They
should recognise that, finally, they no longer have to play the
hand-maiden
at the party. It is no longer necessary to resort to the
all-too-familiar
tactic of boycotting because they now have power which can
be used
pro-actively. The MDC should not underestimate the kind of power
that comes
with the type of leverage they now have in the main House of
Parliament. The
heckling on Tuesday is just one form of protest but it is
not enough - they
now have to be pro-active in the use of the law-making
process.
Instead of boycotting and withdrawing into its cocoon for purposes of
scoring moral victories, the MDC must exploit their parliamentary power and
use it pro-actively to redress the repressive legislative framework
represented by laws such as AIPPA, POSA, the Electoral Act, etc. They might
fail because of obstacles that will be placed in their way but they should
not stop trying. In other words, instead of saying, "chitongai tione (Go
ahead and govern)", they should be saying "ngatitongei tione (Let's govern)"
because in this arena they can now assert a counter-power to their
adversaries in the business of government.
Clearly, what these
developments show is that for as long as it
intends to use the veil of legal
process to govern, Zanu PF has, rather
inconveniently, driven into a
cul-de-sac and the options are very limited
without the co-operation of the
MDC.
A government needs to make laws, which in terms of the
Zimbabwe
Constitution, have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament -
Assembly and
Senate. It is crucial to appreciate that under Section 32 of
the
Constitution, the legislative authority vests in the legislature which
consists of the President and Parliament. Bills ordinarily originate from
the Assembly, pass through the Senate and eventually require Presidential
assent in accordance with the provisions of Section 51. And herein are the
ingredients of a possible constitutional crisis, which means no party can
govern effectively without the other.
The law-making process
requires a simple majority except that where it
involves the amendment of
the Constitution, there must be a two-thirds
majority. This means that on
the basis of the precedence set at the election
of the Speaker, the MDC can,
surely, muster a simple majority to effect
changes to the vast plethora of
legislation that it has challenged without
much success over the years
because it has been hamstrung by Zanu PF's
dominance.
Of
course, success will be subject, first, to the agreement of the
Senate,
which is dominated by the handpicked faithful of Zanu PF and second,
the
overall power of the President, who may withhold his assent to
legislation.
But it is important to note that this power of rejection by the
President is
not absolute.
This is because, the Constitution states under S.
51(3b), that where
certain conditions are met, a Bill that is rejected by
the President may be
returned to him if the House of Assembly by a vote of
at least two thirds
majority resolves that this be done. In that case, the
Constitution states
in mandatory terms that the President 'shall assent' to
the Bill within 21
days. His only other option at that point would be to
dissolve Parliament, a
circumstance that cannot be ruled out, but is
unlikely.
This, of course, is predicated on the assumption that the
MDC can
persuade some Zanu PF MPs in order to muster that two-thirds
majority. This
cannot be guaranteed but also can no longer be ruled out
given the voting
pattern for the Speaker which appeared to show that some
Zanu PF MPs voted
for the MDC candidate. Zanu PF's failure to crack the whip
on this occasion
is unusual and indicates some fissures within the ranks,
which the MDC might
exploit.
There also seems to be a latent
marginalisation of the Mujuru faction,
signalled most prominently by the
relegation to the inferior divisions of
former Mashonaland East Governor Ray
Kaukonde in favour of Aeneas
Chigwedere, who in the wake of electoral defeat
had sought to claw his way
back by claiming the controversial Mubaiwa
Headmanship. The question remains
whether and how they will react to this
apparent marginalisation.
What this boils down to is that Mugabe
cannot go ahead in the
"business as usual" mode. By convening Parliament,
there is now the
realisation that Zanu PF will need to work with the MDC, as
equal partners,
not juniors and his affirmation that negotiations are still
possible
indicate his own recognition that there is not much way out of this
conundrum.
Conversely, the MDC would also need the cooperation
of Zanu PF,
because it could create the same blockages, through the Senate
or the
Presidency, which might be hard to surmount. In normal democracies,
such a
scenario would ordinarily lead to a coalition arrangement. This
indeed is
the case in older democracies such as Germany. This reliance on
partners
presents an effective check on the potential excesses of the
Presidency.
But, in the midst of the celebrations, it is important
that the MDC
keeps the eye on the ball. They have now shown that they have
the power in
Parliament which Zanu PF cannot do without unless it decides
boldly to
by-pass that institution and rule by decree. President Robert
Mugabe can, of
course, still use the temporary powers to make laws under the
notorious
Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act. But these would
eventually
require Parliamentary approval and can only buy time for no more
than six
months. So ultimately, the convening of Parliament has shown both
parties to
the argument that none of them can proceed with the business of
government
without the co-operation of the other.
Alex
Magaisa is based at, Kent Law School, the University of Kent and
can be
contacted at a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30 August 2008
20:21
FOR most Zimbabweans, as for their friends abroad, the
possibility of
an imminent end to President Robert Mugabe's presidential
career is a
gripping prospect.
If Mugabe can still be
persuaded by his African neighbours that it is
indeed time to go with
dignity, Zimbabwe's future could be brighter than
many now
believe.
However, if his Zanu PF inner circle join him in trying to
protect
their jobs and power, Zimbabwe could be in for still more economic
and
political deterioration.
But that will not last
forever.
What many now overlook is the reality that whenever Morgan
Tsvangirai
becomes Zimbabwe's next president, building a new Zimbabwe won't
be easy.
Friends should be planning now for what needs to be done once
Mugabe is
gone.
After 28 years of Mugabe's patronage, Zanu PF
stalwarts hold nearly
all positions and perks of power. Every military
chief, all senior
government officials, most judges and media editors, the
great majority of
bureaucrats (and now, ironically, most big farm owners)
owe everything to
Zanu PF.
It will be no surprise that they
will struggle to hold on. Even if
power changes hands peacefully and the old
guard agrees to serve the new
government or retire, there will be issues of
trust and professional
confidence. Certainly, there will be a massive need
for new leadership, new
experience, revived professional integrity and
restored competence.
There are few in Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC,
including Tsvangirai
himself, with obvious governance credentials other than
evident integrity,
courage and commitment. Except for some doughty MDC
members of the old
parliament, no MDC party loyalist knows much about
running a country.
Encouragingly, there are still many top
professionals, academics and
civil society leaders at home and abroad who
will be ready to help. It is
largely these people - many with good MDC
credentials, some, even, from
within the ranks of Zanu PF, and many others
who have kept away from overt
politics and focused on civil leadership -who
have led this change in
Zimbabwe. It is they who will sustain the new
Zimbabwe. They will need and
welcome Canadian help.
Some of us
may baulk at yet another demand for African
"reconstruction".
There will be those who argue that we should offer plenty of verbal
congratulation and encouragement, that we should be genuinely pleased that
the people of Zimbabwe can now get on with rebuilding their society and
economy, and that we should work to entice the new Zimbabwe back into the
Commonwealth.
But they will resist doing anything that costs
money or requires
diversion of scarce resources from Afghanistan, Sudan or
our
already-established list of CIDA countries of focus. If this is our
thinking, we should look again.
Despite its present economic
desperation, Zimbabwe is far from the
usual resource-deprived, weakly
educated, brain-drained development
challenge.
Zimbabwe still
boasts an infrastructure, a business, academic and
professional base that
outstrips any other in sub-Saharan Africa except
South Africa.
Zimbabwe has rich mineral wealth, a fine tourist environment,
agriculture
potential that is the envy of southern Africa, transportation
links that
worked once and can work again, and a trained, willing population
(the
latter thanks in large measure to Mugabe's early emphasis on
education).
What is most needed now is sound economic and
political management to
get it all going again.
This is
something that Canada has been good at. It requires the sort
of experience
that Canadians have in abundance. It does not require great
sums of
additional funding.
Since 2002, Canada has promoted dialogue among
Zimbabweans, providing
a venue for them to talk of their hopes and their
efforts to bring about
change. We should continue to encourage this sort of
national discussion.
We should increase our support to Zimbabwean
civil society. Against
great odds they are doing a remarkably courageous and
effective job for the
real people of their country.
Canadian
NGOs like CARE and OXFAM provide food for hungry former farm
workers, and
rural development opportunities to existing small farmers.
Zimbabwe's potential is obvious. The rewards of investing
realistically, but
quickly, in the new Zimbabwe will be substantial.
By John
Schram: A senior fellow at Carleton University's and a senior
fellow at
Queen's University's Centre for International Relations. He
retired as
Canada's ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2005.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 30
August 2008 20:17
AT every turn during Zimbabwe's nearly three decades
of independence,
Zanu PF and the government have deliberately mounted
sustained assaults
against ordinary defenceless citizens of this country,
only to turn around
and wrap themselves in the mantle of a
Messiah.
The latest demonstration of this is the unbanning
on Friday of field
operations of non-governmental and private voluntary
organisations.
On June 4 2008, the government banned the operations
of the
organisations alleging that there was suspicion most of the
non-governmental
organisations "were dabbling in politics". The sins of a
few organisations
should not have been used as an excuse to punish others,
who have so far
stepped forward to do what any people-orientated government
would have done
in the first place - take responsibility and ensure that its
people are not
left to go hungry.
The only reason why the NGOs
are involved is because of the inability
of the government to provide for
and protect its citizens from the ravages
of hunger.
The
government has the resources and machinery to track down and deal
with those
suspected of "dabbling in politics" if indeed such a conspiracy
exists. But
since it has not named and shamed such organisations, we can
only conclude
that this is yet another of the government's diversionary
ruses, meant to
provide a patina of legitimacy for punishing its own people
just as it did
with Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina and others. The list of the
violations this
government has committed against defenceless citizens is
inexhaustible.
The government loathes competition, even where
such competition only
exists in the realms of its fertile imagination. It is
the government that
has politicised distribution of food aid by demanding
Zanu PF membership
cards before starving villagers can access scarce food
from the state-run
Grain Marketing Board. Similar concerns over proof of
membership of the
ruling party are being raised even as the government rolls
out its recently
launched food hampers under the Basic Commodity Supply Side
Intervention
programme.
Banning the activities of NGOs has been
nothing short of an attempted
genocide by starvation. Elsewhere in this
issue, we report the deaths due to
hunger of several prison inmates in
Masvingo. Institutions such as prisons
operate farms, meant to provide the
food requirements of the inmates. It is
unforgivable that people should die
in a place where they are supposed to be
looked after, while serving their
sentences. We are certain if the crisis
facing the prisons was in the public
domain, the very same NGOs whose
activities were banned, would have offered
to help and thus saved lives.
Being imprisoned is punishment
enough. Having to die in prison is
double tragedy.
So there is
nothing to celebrate after the government lifted the ban.
How many poor
souls and vulnerable children and the elderly died or have
been left on the
verge of starvation just because Zanu PF wanted to assert
its supremacy and
Trotskyite doctrine of "immediate action regardless of the
consequences"?
For nearly three months the government has
refused to listen as the
local humanitarian groups and the international
community warned of an
impending catastrophic humanitarian crisis. It is
only the threat of this
scale of neglect being brought before the United
Nations that has moved the
government from its indifference to the imminent
disaster.
The government should be ashamed of such callousness. It
should not
seek to portray itself as a saviour, because by its conduct, it
has
demonstrated that it is an evil monster prepared to inflict further
suffering and misery on defenceless citizens.
The race must now
be to ensure that ordinary Zimbabweans, who look up
to the government in
their hour of need, are not allowed to suffer a day
longer.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Saturday, 23 August 2008 18:35
THERE is a saying that I often heard
from elders in my days of youth.
They used to say, "Kufa kwemuJoni kamba
haivharwi" when someone important
failed to turn up for an event or
something that was anticipated didn't
happen.
I have no
clue about the origin of that saying but I suspect it has
something to do
with the colonial experience. I am told it literally means
that the death of
an officer does not necessarily mean that all business
must cease. More
generally, it is that the failure of one thing does not
necessarily mean
that everything else has failed.
I am reminded of this old saying,
as I observe the developments on the
Zimbabwean political scene and in
particular Zanu PF's decision, apparently
supported by Sadc, to convene
Parliament, notwithstanding that the talks
have yet to yield a meaningful
result.
The MDC has gone some way to gain fluency in the difficult
and complex
language of African politics and given the circumstances of
Zimbabwe,
African leaders have found it increasingly difficult to ignore
Morgan
Tsvangirai and his party. But it is repeating the obvious to say that
one
should avoid total faith in the African leaders because many of them
have
too many skeletons in their own cupboards.
Sadc was only
going to be a key player in the heat of the tragic
circumstances of
Zimbabwe's elections from March to June. Time, being of the
essence, was
always going to be the enemy in the long run. Because, sure
enough, the more
the dispute dragged on, the less there would be the world's
attention and
consequently the less the pressure on the African leaders, to
"do something"
about Zimbabwe, to borrow the ubiquitous phrase whenever
Zimbabwe is
mentioned.
As it happens, the Beijing Olympics and the
Russia-Georgia conflict
have robbed Zimbabwe of its prime slot in the global
media. Indeed, in the
order of priorities, the worry of global leaders is
over Georgia and Russia's
actions and less about Africa. Zimbabwe is lucky
to get the few seconds on
prime time news. And with less media attention,
African leaders tend to
return to familiar type, which is why Sadc's
lackadaisical approach to
Zimbabwe is hardly surprising.
Sadc's
failure so far to resolve the Zimbabwean problem is testament
to its youth
and inexperience. It simply lacks the cojones to confront the
likes of
President Robert Mugabe. There was always going to come a time when
Sadc
would be ready to take a quick-fix deal. It's hardly surprising,
therefore,
that Sadc appears to have largely endorsed the deal on the table,
contrary
to the expectations of Tsvangirai and his faction of the MDC. It is
unlikely
that Sadc will return soon to consider the matter and it now
appears that
pressure will be exerted on Tsvangirai to agree,
notwithstanding his
concerns, however genuine they may be.
For Mugabe, Sadc could not
have delivered a better gift. For months,
he has suffered the ignominy of
being the outcast, shunned by his erstwhile
comrades bar President Thabo
Mbeki. At some point, even his old
battle-hardened comrade, Angola's
President Eduardo dos Santos appeared to
have deserted him in his hour of
need. But, it now appears, he took the
opportunity over the weekend to argue
his case and convince them that what
he was presenting to his political
nemesis was reasonable under the
circumstances.
For Sadc to
agree that it may be necessary to convene Parliament is a
significant step
in that it symbolically acknowledges Mugabe's presidency -
after all it is
he who will preside over the opening of the legislative
body. That process
had been suspended in order to deal with the
power-sharing issues and, in
the process, Mugabe's legitimacy. Yet, as is
common cause, Mugabe's
presidency is at the core of the talks.
It was thought that
pressure from Sadc, even in the form of the
dreaded sanctions would be more
effective to bring Zanu PF into line. That
prospect was, for the opposition,
more likely at the height of the disquiet
over the chaotic elections. But in
the aftermath of the recent Sadc Summit,
that now seems very unlikely.
Mugabe appears to have managed to put off that
very uncomfortable pressure
point. And that, too, is the opposition's loss
in this game of high
stakes.
Zanu PF was desperate not to form a government at its
greatest point
of weakness after the elections. Its main option was to seek
some
accommodation with the MDC, and use the MDC as a "Juice-Card", that is,
in
the language of mobile telephony, to secure some much-needed credit to
run
for another few years. If that failed, the sub-option was to endeavour
to be
seen as being conciliatory and willing to work with the opposition.
That, at
least it hoped, would show its reasonable side.
svangirai's reluctance to sign is a result of fear of being used as
Mugabe's
"Juice-Card". But given Sadc's current stance, Zanu PF appears to
have
managed to persuade its erstwhile comrades that it is being reasonable
in
trying to accommodate the opposition. The pressure from Sadc, it now
appears, is on the MDC to agree, however messy the deal is.
On
its part the MDC's options are rather limited. It may be right to
refuse to
be used as a "Juice Card" by Zanu PF if the power-sharing
agreement is
hollow but it has to acknowledge that it has failed through
legal means to
remove Zanu PF from power. The MDC does not appear to have
the facility or
will to front a popular revolt. This closure of options is
why the MDC has
agreed to talk to Zanu PF otherwise it would use other
methods.
For my part, I think it is futile to think that Zanu PF was ever going
to
commit political hara-kiri on the negotiating table, when it went to such
great and, quite frankly, despicable lengths, to cling on in the first
place. There is, perhaps, need for some reality check on the part of the
opposition, recognising its strengths and limitations and appreciate that
what it would get through negotiations was always going to be far short of
what it could get through a total revolutionary victory.
The
other option often touted by some people is the so-called "tongai
tione"
stance; in other words, for the MDC to stand aside and let Zanu PF
govern in
self-destruct mode. To their credit, of late, the MDC leaders have
shown
none of this boycott approach to politics. They know it may provide
fodder
for popular rhetoric but they also realise that the talks are their
most
viable option at this delicate stage. They have consistently shown a
willingness to engage in order to resolve the differences. It has been
argued previously in these pages that entry into government will have its
positives and negatives and the challenge upon the MDC is to make sure that
the positives outweigh the negatives.
Crucially, they know that
failures in their march to power are
consequent upon Zanu PF's exclusive
control of the state apparatus, from the
media, finance, the security forces
and importantly, the electoral
machinery. What they need to consider is
whether entry into government would
lend them some influence and, possibly,
control over these structures. Are
they likely to succeed in the next
election whilst they remain outside
government or will their chances be
better when they can counter Zanu PF's
influence in the state machinery? If
they remain outside, what will have
changed in the next five years in terms
of Zanu PF's strategies if it
retains exclusive control of the state
machinery? These are questions the
MDC needs to consider its decision-making
process.
For my part, I do not think the MDC has to enter
government on the
basis that it will create any miraculous changes in the
next five years. It
won't have the capacity to do that; not even the
promised billions will
deliver those changes. Rather I have always viewed
MDC's entry into
government in strategic terms. I am convinced that total
control will never
be delivered by Zanu PF on the negotiating table.
Remaining on the outside
will simply perpetuate more of the
same.
There is not going to be total change at this stage, no, not
even the
"tongai tione" approach can deliver that total control in the end -
it
simply postpones some form of accommodation between the parties. The main
reason for the opposition to enter the ranks of government is strategic,
with an eye on the next phase of elections. Perhaps by then, if it stays
clean, it might have neutralised some of Zanu PF's influence in the state
machinery.
By Alex Magaisa: based at Kent Law School, The
University of Kent. He
can be contacted at a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Nothing Wrong With Heckling A Rogue Leader
Saturday, 30
August 2008 20:31
I notice that the Zanu PF controlled press did not
like the booing and
heckling that President Mugabe was subjected to during
the official opening
of Parliament.
Personally, I do not think
that other than embarrassing and annoying
Mugabe, the booing would have
achieved anything politically.
However, I do not see anything wrong
with booing Mugabe, especially
considering that the majority of these MPs
and the generality of other
Zimbabweans believe that Mugabe is only
President because he won a
discredited election run-off which was
characterised by violence,
intimidation, torture and sometimes even the
murder of innocent civilians.
Given that the police, most likely
with instructions from Zanu PF,
arrested a number of MDC-T MPs during the
opening of Parliament, it is
difficult to understand why anyone would think
that the leader of Zanu PF
should get anything less than a hostile reception
from the MPs who make up
the majority in Parliament. For sure, President
Mugabe has all the powers he
needs and can do whatever he wants, but for the
majority of long-suffering
Zimbabweans, anything that reminds our Dear
Leader that he is no longer
popular is certainly good news.
The
state-owned media will never publish these home-truths, I have
deliberately
forwarded these thoughts to The Standard whose Editor thanks to
President
Mugabe's repressive media laws, has previously been arrested for
merely
publishing people's opinions.
These are the issues that any
self-respecting newspaper should concern
itself with, rather than worrying
about the booing of unpopular presidents
in parliament. In any event, the
booing and heckling of presidents and prime
ministers has always been a
feature of many countries' parliamentary
politics, and the fact that the
state-owned media or those who control them
never expected this would happen
to Mugabe should not stop MDC-T repeating
the same thing next time Mugabe is
in Parliament.
Hudson Yemen Taivo
United
Kingdom
---------------
What President Mbeki Must Tell
Mugabe
Saturday, 30 August 2008 20:30
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki
was set to head out to Harare, Zimbabwe, to try
and salvage the talks
between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai over the
future of
Zimbabwe.
He does so following a dramatic turn of events in
that country as the
MDC won a vote for the position of Speaker and as
opposition MPs jeered
Mugabe as he delivered his opening speech to
Parliament.
Mbeki, already regarded with some suspicion by the MDC,
goes to
Zimbabwe with his credibility as a mediator in tatters.
This follows the decision by the recent SADC summit that the
Zimbabwean
parliament should be allowed to convene despite a memorandum of
understanding between Mugabe and Tsvangirai in which it was agreed that such
institutional action be suspended until a settlement was
reached.
It seemed the decision was designed to pressure Tsvangirai
into caving
in because Mugabe had, at the time, cobbled together an alliance
with an MDC
splinter group that would give him a majority in the
house.
This is largely academic now as it appears that the MDC
splinter group
has thrown its lot in with Tsvangirai.
But Mbeki
will not easily be trusted again by the MDC.
Fortunately, he has a
ready opportunity to demonstrate his neutrality.
Mugabe is now planning to
tear up what remains of his agreement with the MDC
by unilaterally forming a
government.
This, coupled with the repeated detention of opposition
MPs, suggests
that he has decided to go it alone.
Mbeki must
refrain from holding hands with Mugabe. He must refrain
from grinning
through garlands of flowers at Mugabe's side. He must refrain
from
continuing the charade that Mugabe is a legitimate head of state.
He must stand up to Mugabe and deliver one simple message: Step aside,
the
game is over.
Hartley
South
Africa
-----------------
Two-faced Charamba
Saturday, 30 August 2008 20:29
GEORGE Charamba was angry because of the
deportation of Caesar Zvayi
by Botswana.
This is
surprising since he condoned the deportation of Ms Odinga.
It is
not widely known that Ms Odinga, sister to Raila, was given 48
hours to
leave Zimbabwe on account that she is related to Raila Odinga, the
Kenyan
Prime Minister, who has been very critical of Zimbabwe's leaders in
Zanu PF.
Ms Odinga is a true hero to the people of Zimbabwe.
Totemless
Suffolk, UK
-------------
More Boos
To Mugabe
Saturday, 30 August 2008 20:27
MDC legislators
should be congratulated for showing President Robert
Mugabe during the
opening of the Parliament on Tuesday how people truly feel
about
him.
Mugabe is using the army and police to keep himself in
power by all
means but he should know that the people of Zimbabwe have
rejected him and
when the moment that he leaves office comes, we will come
out in our
millions to celebrate the end of our misery.
Agrippa Zvomuya
Harare
-------------
Thestandard Sms
Saturday, 30 August 2008 20:33
CONGRATULATIONS
to the MDC and all those who voted for the people's
Speaker of Parliament. -
Elated.
THAT'S the way to go MDC legislators! The old
man must suffer the same
treatment every time he wants to "officiate" as
President!- Makagona.
WELL done to the MDC for their showing at
Parliament. They made ZTV
delay the Newshour at 8pm. - Dawn.
What power-sharing?
WHAT does President Robert Mugabe mean by
power-sharing when all the
provincial governors are appointed from Zanu PF?
Morgan Tsvangirai should be
very careful. - S Dladla.
******
SURELY Morgan Tsvangirai cannot be made to report to
President Robert
Mugabe, who has a record of failure even at party level.
Mugabe had a longer
than normal period to prove himself but he kept failing,
no matter the
number of chances to make corrections. The MDC is not prepared
to have its
president reporting to Mugabe. - Mutinini.
Victims
of hooliganism
IF President Robert Mugabe behaved like a leader of
hooligans during
elections, he should expect hooligan conduct from victims
of hooliganism. He
should not expect well-behaved children when he shows no
respect for them.
He should have started by congratulating and welcoming the
Speaker and then
apologised for the election violence on behalf of Zanu PF
in the spirit of
the talks and reconciliation, then he would have gained our
respect and we
would have blamed the MDC for not reciprocating the gesture.
But if he doesn't
behave, he should expect more of that. We applaud the MDC
for shaming him
for arresting elected MPs on such an important national
occasion. Why does
he expect to be treated with kid gloves when he treats
others with bare
fists? - Whirlwind.
Zanu PF
sell-outs
ZANU PF MPs are sell-outs. How can Lovemore Moyo win 110
votes when
two MDC-T MPs were arrested before the opening of parliament? To
say all 10
MDC MPs voted for MDC-T would be lying. Someone within Zanu PF
voted for
Moyo. If Professor Arthur Mutambara thinks he has the support of
his young
Turks then he does not know what's in store for him. Viva Lovemore
Moyo. -
Anon, Mufakose, Harare.
MoU being violated
MDC-T MPs were transferred from Harare Central Police Station to
Matapi
Police Station - which was condemned by the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee and the African Commission - while Parliament was being opened.
The Memorandum of Understanding is being violated. MDC beware -
Oracle.
******
MORGAN Tsvangirai must not sign the
power-sharing deal because what
difference does it make when President
Robert Mugabe still has all the power
to ruin and which is what he has been
doing for the past 28 years? Better no
deal. - Master.
******
IS Professor Arthur Mutambara for or against us? Where do
his MPs
stand? We did not vote to give President Robert Mugabe five years
with
executive powers. Strip these politicians of power. -
Nani.
Never mind time
IT is understandable that
Zimbabweans want a deal between the parties
as soon as possible. However,
anyone who knows anything about negotiating
will tell you not to be too
anxious about time. Let us just pray for the
negotiators that our country
will be salvaged by the outcome. - Prayerful.
******
THERE is something awfully wrong with the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply
Authority (Zesa) in Kwekwe. They switch off the town
centre during normal
business hours. - Hopeless Johnso.
More
Zesa power blues
I am dismayed by the services of Zesa in Chegutu.
Power is on and off
every now and then. Can they please do something because
some of us are
preparing for our final examinations and therefore need
electricity to study
at night? Zesa needs to do something.- Nyasha
Mandisekwe, Chegutu.
Zinwa disappoints
I am highly
disappointed by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority's
negative reaction to
minimise the loss of revenue and waste of huge
quantities of treated water
through the overflowing of Epson Tower for
nearly 17 hours. Consumers have
been deprived yet again of their right of
access to treated water. No wonder
why Zinwa claims huge losses of
revenue. - Disappointed.
******
MOST parastatals are being headed by Zanu PF types with
questionable
education and management credentials. It is time to weed them
out for the
sake of the nation. - Gringo.
******
WE loathe all things Western, yet the grain that we depend
on now is
from North America and our politicians got their degrees from
Britain and
even the blind can see who the best of our swimmers is. -
Reality.
Futile obsession
THE reality about the
West is like an over-played record that has
become boring. The vast majority
of the Western citizens are not interested
in Zimbabwe and the few who do
probably wonder if we have nothing better to
do. While Western economies
continue to grow, it's Zimbabwe that has the
world's fastest declining
economy. It's Zimbabwe that is suffering. It's
Zimbabwe that has no food and
not the West. Let's put our house in order if
we want the world to take us
seriously. - Think about it.
More Zanu PF predations
ZANU PF is on the rampage again here in Gutu. People are being forced
to
bring money or goods as tribute to Zanu PF. Self-styled war veterans and
youths then distribute these items among themselves. - Chomumadyira, Gutu
East.
******
FOR those who are still to face
the reality of the economic crisis
confronting Zimbabwe, here are the facts:
the health system has collapsed;
the education system has collapsed; the
transport system has collapsed and
industrial production has collapsed.
-Forewarned.
lution to the talks that are taking place: Mugabe
remains President
and head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces. So the service
chiefs can continue to salute him as much as they
want. Morgan Tsvangirai
becomes Prime minister and head of government as he
is the only one who will
be able to attract new capital inflows into the
country. So I do not see
where the problem lies. Let's not behave like we
have nothing better to do.
We have a locally man-made
economic crisis. It's Zimbabweans who are
suffering. They are the ones with
no food, medicine, electricity, water,
foreign currency, no production in
industries and a collapsing education and
transport system, yet in the West,
they are going on with their lives while
their economies continue to grow.
Furthermore, the vast majority of citizens
from the West don't have any
interests we are made to believe by the
architects of the Zimbabwean crisis.
The few who do are busy laughing at us
for destroying our economy. -
Eclipse.
The opposition, the African Union, Sadc, the
European Union, the
United Nations and all the other ones are mum on the
Diaspora vote, which
could have been the deciding factor in our elections. -
Why.
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.
Letter from Stu Taylor
2. Prayer for
Zimbabwe
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Jag
It was music to the ears seeing Mugabe cajoled and heckled at
the opening
of parliament - but that is a far cry from what SHOULD have
happened -
remember Hendrik Verwoerd of South Africa?
Who in
their right mind would have believed they could come to any form
of agreement
with Mugabe - he is so far gone on his path of evil that we
must just let
nature take its course; as he himself said, only God will
remove him - and
God WILL - soon. Enjoy my book "Lost In Africa" - a
lighthearted, sometimes
sad account of a whitey born in this neck of the
woods - the trials and
tribulations of a life in a volatile region -
e-mail me on ingwe@zol.co.zw - cheers. Stu Taylor. I also
have a
(working) landline: 079 - 26548 and sometimes a cell no - 0912
100475.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.
PRAYER FOR ZIMBABWE
Lord, give us a vision for our
country.
May it be a land of justice and peace,
Where people do
not take unfair advantage of each other; Where all have
sufficient, and
poverty and evil will have no place to fester;
Where seeking to
serve others means more than honour and success. Where
order does not rest on
force; Where faith, hope and love flourish, And
all work for the will of
God.
Cherylynn
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.