WOZA (WOMEN OF ZIMBABWE ARISE) CO-ORDINATOR ARRESTED IN BULAWAYO THIS MORNING
MONDAY 2ND AUGUST 2004
Jenni Williams, one of the co-ordinators
of WOZA - Women of Zimbabwe Arise - has been arrested in Bulawayo this
morning and is currently in custody. Two other WOZA women have insisted on
being taken into custody with her although they are not under
arrest.
WOZA offices were raided two weeks ago by police who said
that they were looking for explosives and weapons. Although they found only
whistles and scarves police said that the WOZA women were wanted for
questioning. It is not clear whether the arrest is in connection with the
raid. Jenni Williams, who spoke to members of the UK WOZA support group on
Thursday last week, was concerned about reporting to the police for
questioning because under Mugabe's latest draconian laws Zimbabweans can be
detained for up to 30 days without charge. On a lighter note Jenni said she
wondered whether the police needed the WOZA women to show them how to blow
the whistles - WOZA being one of the principle whistle-blowers on injustices
in Zimbabwe.
Over the past year and a half in Zimbabwe, WOZA, a
cross-party and cross-cultural women's group, has staged street protests
against POSA (the Public Order and Securities Act), against lack of
constitutional rights, against corruption in government, against lack of cash
in the banks (when the government ran out of currency in November last year)
and against 'human exports' when Gideon Gono urged Zimbabwe nationals to find
work abroad and send back much needed foreign exchange.. The WOZA women have
also joined in protest with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions
demonstrating about economic hardships last November and with the National
Constitutional Assembly demonstrating for human
rights.
Earlier this year WOZA held a Valentines Day
demonstration calling for love and humanity in Zimbabwe during which they
regaled the Chitungwiza police with roses and valentines cards. The idea of
these peaceful but spirited women posing a threat through weapons and
explosives is laughable but it seems the ZANU PF regime is out to silence all
voices of dissent in the run up to the 2005 elections.
For
more information contact WOZA on 00 263 4442988 0r +263 91 288605 or UK WOZA
support group members Lois Davis 07811452030 or Tracy Doig 07967505433.
Fund expresses grave concern over continued downward spiral
in economic and social conditions
Just as some analysts - notably
Standard Bank - suggest that Zimbabwe's economy is on the mend, the IMF has
published a critical assessment that even President Thabo Mbeki's policy
advisers will find difficult to ignore. Harare is trying to make the best of
the assessment, arguing that the decision by the IMF executive board not to
expel Zimbabwe is a vote of confidence in the monetary policy. But the IMF's
accompanying statement could not have been more explicit about the need for
Zimbabwe to go much further, not just in economic reform, but in
re-establishing social and political stability. The board expresses "grave
concern over the continued and sharp decline in economic and social
conditions", noting that GDP has fallen 30% over the past five years and will
decline a further 4%-5% this year. Though inflation has slowed dramatically
from 622% in January to 395%, "unemployment is very high and increasing,
social indicators, which were once among the best in Africa, have worsened,
and the widespread HIV/Aids pandemic remains largely unchecked". "Severe food
shortages have necessitated massive food imports and donor assistance," which
the IMF Board blames on "inappropriate macroeconomic policies and structural
changes". In particular, it says, "the disorderly implementation of the land
reform programme has contributed to a sharp reduction in agricultural
production. Concerns about governance and human rights, and the continued
lack of clarity about property rights have severely damaged confidence,
discouraged investment, and promoted capital flight and
emigration."
Two lessons stand out. There will be no international
support for the Zimbabwe government until far-reaching economic and policy
reforms are put in place. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono
is tinkering at the edges of the problem and even his well-meant reforms are
starting to unravel. Monthly inflation, which slowed to 4,8% in April, was
9,2% in June and though Gono is likely to reach his year-on-year target of
200% by December, the signs are that inflation will rise again in the first
half of next year. So far this month the RBZ has managed to meet only 31%
of foreign-exchange demand at its twice-weekly auctions. Despite this,
the auction rate has held steady at about Z$5 350/US$. Exporters are
warning that they cannot continue without further devaluation or new
export incentives. Bankers expect Gono to announce devaluation - to at least
Z$6 000/US$ - within the next few weeks. Money supply figures and especially
the recent surge in lending to troubled banks also point to higher
inflation next year. At the end of May loans to banks were Z$2,8 trillion -
or more than 12% of GDP - while money supply was expanding at about 450%. On
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange share prices have more than doubled in little
more than six weeks as investors have concluded that the RBZ is not going
to allow interest rates to rise. Investors are shunning money
market investments that yield well below inflation and are piling into the
stock market, just as they did during the hyperinflationary boom a year
ago. Analysts argue that Gono dare not raise interest rates because
troubled banks would be at risk, while the cost of servicing the
government's domestic debt, currently Z$1,8 trillion or 8% of GDP, would bust
the budget.
The second lesson is that there is no light at the end of
the tunnel. The UN Industrial Development Organisation's "Industrial
development report" for 2004, published this month, shows how much Zimbabwe
has deindustrialised in recent years, slipping 20 places down its competitive
industrial performance index. The UN Development Programme's "Human
development report" shows that Zimbabwe has slipped down that league table,
too, so that its human development index is lower now than in the mid-1970s.
Above all, the African Union's highly critical report on the flawed 2002
presidential election sustains the IMF's assessment that the Gono reforms
fall far short of what is needed to turn the country around.
PRIVATE clinics and hospital
fees recently went up by between 17 and 22 percent, further pushing the cost
of health care beyond the reach of many.
The advent of private clinics
and hospitals had provided people in the country with an alternative to the
public health centres.
In fact, most of the working population on medical
aid favoured private health centres to public ones owing to the better
quality of service.
However, due to costs, this is changing slowly and
people are now going to public and municipal health centres whose charges are
far lower cheaper.
With effect from July 1, the average fee that a person
may expect to pay for attendance, including consultation and treatment for up
to 15 minutes, at a private centre is now between $70 000 and $120
000.
Those who require treatment for a longer period would have to fork
out more.
Core hospital fees now range between $300 000 and $777 000 per
day while a normal maternity procedure at the maternity units, ranges from
around $300 000 to about $500 000.
Taken into account would be whether
the delivery was a single and normal or whether any complications arose
during labour.
The clinic or hospital one would be booked into as well as
the type of a ward or room they would be in would also play a part.
A
private suite where one gets first-class treatment and occupies one's
own room at a top-class clinic costs more at around $700 000 a day, while
a general ward in which there are three to four beds costs less at less
fancy health centres.
Costs at Avenues Clinic would be automatically
higher than those at Arcadia Medical Centre, for instance.
Drugs and
medication supplied would also push the costs up further.
Critical care
units at private health centres now cost anything between $475 000 and more
than $1 million.
In operating theatres, basic fees range around $300 000
to $500 000 for general and local anaesthetic.
Costs are calculated
thereafter per minute.
Some of the private health centres in the country
are Marimba Medical Centre, Montagu Clinic, Harare East Memorial Clinic,
Willowvale Medical Centre, Westend Clinic, St Anne's Hospital, South Medical
Chitungwiza Hospital and Westend Hospital, Avenues Clinic, Baines Clinic,
Michael Gelfand Clinic, Glen Norah A Medical Clinic and Bulawayo's Mater
Dei Hospital.
According to the National Association of Medical Aid
Societies (NAMAS), with effect from July 1, 2004, it would be the
responsibility of individual hospitals and units to maintain and ascertain
their own fee structures depending on the facilities and services
provided.
Some people said the increase in fees by private clinics, come
at a time when they were already failing to raise the "ridiculous" amounts
charged.
A further increase only made the situation worse, they
said.
Some private clinics and hospitals have in recent months refused to
accept patients on medical aid and demanded cash deposits, which raised the
costs beyond what the average working person could afford.
Most of
their clientele was made up of people on medical aid who were supposed to
enjoy the service without paying cash upfront.
When private health
centres started demanding cash deposits and core payments of anything between
$2 million and $6 million, some people who used to prefer them turned to
Government hospitals and municipal clinics.
Recently some people called
on the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Cde David Parirenyatwa, to
launch an investigation into the operations of private health centres, saying
their financial demands were getting worse.
Cuckfield Cricket
Club, at first glance, seems an unlikely setting for a gathering of
boisterous Southern Africans with two things on their mind: beer and cricket.
The cricket ground lies a short walk down a quiet country road from the
village of Cuckfield, and is set among the rolling green hills and farmland
of East Sussex, with the backdrop of a majestic country manor. It was here
that the Zimbabwe rebel players' "Red Lions" tour of England drew to a close
on Friday, at the Tony Oates Memorial Cup tournament, and most of the players
flew back to Zimbabwe on Sunday.
The rebel players had an extremely
stressful three months running up to their tour of England; Heath Streak's
criticism of team selection and certain selectors in April led to the sacking
(twice) of 15 players and an ongoing legal dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket
Union, which has now gone into arbitration. The players organised the tour to
act as a break from their traumatic lives back in Zimbabwe, but despite the
relaxed, jovial atmosphere at Cuckfield, it was obvious that many of them saw
this as the last time they would meet on a cricket field.
Cricket has
been played at Cuckfield since 1891, and it seems little about the place has
changed since then. The surroundings create a serene atmosphere, which was
immediately shattered upon my entry to the ground, with the announcer
shouting "Ross, chum, that is my child! Beware!," over the PA to a batsman
who had just carted a six dangerously close to the group of wives and
children near the pavilion.
Jason Oates, who organises the event every
year, said on the club's website that: "The whole ethos behind the day is to
get as many people down to the club as possible and enjoy a day of cricket,
laughter and of course a few beers. I would like to keep the cricket to a
decent standard and hopefully this year, with no first-class cricket on that
week, we will get a few of the legends to come down and show us how it's
done."
Obviously looking to maintain the "decent standard", Travis
Friend, one of the rebel cricketers taking part, joked before the first game:
"It's no more Mr. Shamwari (friend) for you guys." The action on the field
was non-stop, with games limited to 15 overs a side, and the teams were a
mixture of professionals and amateurs. Barney Rogers, who had just broken
into the Zimbabwe national side before the dispute between the players and
the Zimbabwe Cricket Union started, smashed the bowlers to all parts of
the ground before falling to the catch of the day, from Wayne Campbell -
a player with no cricket credentials
whatsoever.
Campbell's
non-existent reputation was exposed by a man with "Has-beens, with a great
future behind us" emblazoned across the front of his Red Lions tour shirt.
Excitedly describing Campbell's catch to a few of his friends who were,
unsurprisingly, in the bar ordering some Castles (Zimbabwe's most popular
beer) when the action happened, he gasped: "Barney hit it and Wayne was
sprinting round at cow corner. He didn't have a chance, but he dove to his
left and caught it in two fingers, just like that. He doesn't even
play cricket! He only plays once a year at these games."
Stuart
Carlisle, who has been captaining the Red Lions side, explained that the
memorial cup was not part of their itinerary, but they were more than happy
to come down to help out, and have some fun. "Tony Oates was a farmer who was
killed in Zimbabwe a couple of years ago, and every year his son, Jason,
organises a memorial match here at Cuckfield," he said. "The Red Lions aren't
actually involved with the organisation at all, but we're pleased to take
part."
Eight rebel players took part in the four-team tournament, with
Carlisle, Gary Brent, Richard Sims and Neil Ferreira playing alongside a team
of Zimbabwean expats and ex-professionals in the Zimbabwe A side,
Rogers playing for Old Whits, and Friend, Craig Wishart and Trevor
Gripper representing the Red Lions in the Zimbabwe B team. Brian Murphy,
who captained the Zimbabwe national side for a short time in 2001-02,
also played for Zimbabwe B. The atmosphere on the day certainly embodied the
"fun and frivolity" which was the Red Lions mantra at the start of their
tour, and the other two teams - Cuckfield and Old Whits - were made up of
friends, family and Cuckfield's resident cricketers.
"We came over
here for stress relief, and to get some of the young guys playing again,"
added Carlisle. "It was a three-week tour, and we've played five games. We
tied two, won two, and lost one. They've all been controlled games, though,
more for the crowds really. Hopefully we've provided
some entertainment.
"It's been very enjoyable. We've also been raising
money for charity. That's been successful and we've raised some money for the
pensioners in Zimbabwe. We leave on Sunday. Some of the guys are going home,
some have had offers from sides in Australia and New Zealand."
At the
end of July, the rebel cricketers accepted the ICC's proposal for their
dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to be taken to arbitration.
A three-man tribunal has been set up, and will now attempt to resolve
the standoff between the two parties that began in April, and ended with
nearly all of Zimbabwe's main players banned from representing the
country.
"Basically we're in arbitration now, until October 5," explained
Carlisle. "That's when the deadline is, but things are moving forward now,
and we're hoping for a result. It's going to happen."
Zimbabweans,
both white and black, have been scattered far and wide because of the severe
problems at home, and the rebel cricketers are only the latest group to feel
the wrath of the government. Before them, the white farmers and journalists
came into the firing line. Ahead of the Red Lions' arrival in England, Paul
Strang, who played against the rebels for a Zimbabwe World XI in the first
match in Wimbledon, lamented the breakdown of the structure of the
first-class game in Zimbabwe, which mirrored the collapse of normal society
in the country.
"In domestic cricket, you know, we'd have a beer after
the game, and just talk about the game and about cricket in Zimbabwe," he
said. "You'd have 20 guys in there, just to have a drink and a chat after the
game. But now so many players are leaving, it's not really happening so much
anymore." Perhaps not in Zimbabwe, but in places just like Cuckfield,
communities of exiled Zimbos have gathered together, and still find time to
talk about a game that was once their nation's pride, over a cold beer at
sunset.
IRRIGATION
equipment worth millions of dollars and other farming implements are lying
idle on Lynton Farm Plot 15 near Marondera while workers on the plot allege
that they have not been paid since May.
The A2 plot measuring over 200
hectares belongs to the Secretary for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, Mr
Simon Pazvakavambwa.
Some people - including senior civil servants and
politicians allocated pieces of land under the Government's land reforms -
have been accused of underutilising the land, exposing the Government to
criticism from its detractors in the process.
Workers on the farm said
the farm used to be very productive but was now run down and feared for their
future as the new owner was allegedly not committing himself to
farming.
They cited tobacco barns and pigsties as some of the facilities
that were going to waste.
The previous owner, Mr Mike Malzer, used to
grow paprika, maize, tobacco and ran a thriving cattle ranch and
piggery.
But, according to the workers, only one maize field and one
groundnut field were planted last year.
There are 39 cattle and one
calf on the farm.
The farm was divided into 24 A2 plots with Mr
Pazvakavambwa securing the portion where the farmhouse is located.
The
Herald visited the plot on Thursday and discovered that the
irrigation equipment was lying idle and gathering dust.
Three tractors
- two Fiats and one John Deere - a planter and two discs were seen at the
farm.
Workers at the farm complained that they had not been paid and
claimed that some workers stopped work on July 3 in protest over non-payment
of wages.
Mr Witness Pazvakavambwa, a relative of Mr Pazvakavambwa, who
is also employed at the farm, said workers were last paid a meagre salary of
$52 000 each in May.
There are close to 15 workers on the farm but
initially Mr Pazvakavambwa employed only four with the rest being hired
during the last agriculture season.
He said Mr Pazvakavambwa last
visited the farm three weeks ago but did not address the workers as he
usually does. Other workers said they only heard of the visit.
But,
Witness said, the fact that he was related to the permanent secretary had not
made his situation any better. He was suffering just like the rest of the
farmworkers.
"I hope he will come and pay us," he said.
Another
worker, Mr Owen Murisi, said some of the farmworkers were now contracted to
other nearby farmers but continued to stay on Mr Pazvakavambwa's farm in the
forlorn hope that he would one day come and pay them.
Some pregnant
women on the farm showed gloomy faces as they narrated the hardships they
were enduring as a result of the non-payment of salaries
and wages.
The women said they had to rely on the generosity of
well-wishers in the community to survive.
"Around this time Mr Malzer
would have put tobacco and paprika seed and would be planting early maize for
December," said one of the workers.
Mr Murisi said Mr Pazvakavambwa
indicated to the workers that he would grow wheat this year but to this day
nothing had happened.
Yesterday Mr Pazvakavambwa refused to comment on
the operations on the farm.
He demanded that The Herald explain to him
how it got wind of the fact that his farm was underutilised.
"I cannot
talk to you unless you reveal your source. Reveal your story and I will tell
you a story. I don't want to see a story in the paper tomorrow (today)," he
said.
Muderede Case: State Refuses to Disclose Interfering
Politicians
The Herald (Harare)
July 31, 2004 Posted to
the web August 2, 2004
Harare
THE State has refused to disclose in
court the names of the high-ranking politicians and senior Government
officials who are allegedly interfering with investigations in the case of
Chinhoyi businessman and farmer Cecil Muderede who is facing charges of
externalisation, smuggling and contravening the Grain Marketing Board
Act.
A Harare magistrate had ordered the State to supply it with the
names of the high-ranking politicians and senior Government officials after
the investigating officer, Chief Superintendent Musarashana Mabunda, said
that some politicians and Government officials were giving him instructions
to stop the investigations and prosecution.
However, the State,
represented by Mr Gerald Butaumocho, submitted that if the names were
revealed it would prejudice investigations.
"It will prejudice ongoing
investigations if we reveal the names," Mr Butaumocho said before Muderede
was further remanded to August 17.
Muderede, clad in prison garb, briefly
appeared before magistrate Ms Memory Chigwaza.
Charges against
Muderede include externalisation of funds, theft, smuggling and breaching the
Grain Marketing Board Act.
The State alleges that between August 2000 and
August 2001 Muderede allegedly exported 6 400 metric tonnes of cottonseed to
PJC Raw Materials, a South African company.
He is alleged to have
instructed the company to pay US$527, 500, 00, which was due to him into a
South African account, and the money was not repatriated to
Zimbabwe.
During the same period, it is alleged, Muderede exported 2 000
metric tonnes of soyabeans to PJC Raw Materials and instructed them to
deposit a total of US$390 000 due to him into his ABSA bank account in
Sandton, South Africa. The money was allegedly never repatriated to
Zimbabwe.
In October 2003 Muderede exported 2 000 tonnes of maize to
South Africa*s Industrial Commodities Holdings and advised the company to pay
US$344 767,74 into his ABSA account and the money was also not
repatriated.
The charge of contravening the GMB Act arose between May and
August 2003 after he bought 2 527 metric tonnes of maize from Guruve,
Chiweshe, Raffingora, Mhangura, Banket and Chegutu without the authority of
the GMB. He is alleged to have sold the maize to Makonde Industries through
Mayflower Commodity Brokers after he misrepresented that it had been imported
from South Africa.
Although the annual
general meeting of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union doesn't take place until this
Friday (August 6), Wisden Cricinfo has learned that the entire board will be
returned unopposed.
It was expected that the meeting could prove
troublesome for Peter Chingoka, the chairman, and his board after a year in
which Zimbabwean cricket has touched new lows. But 11 of the 12 board members
have been re-elected by the provincial associations and the Ozais Bvute-led
integration committee. Only Kevin Arnott will not be standing, as he is
stepping down for personal reasons.
The news will be a blow to the
rebel cricketers, as the continuing presence of hard-liners Bvute and Max
Ebrahim on the new board makes any compromise highly unlikely. The antipathy
of both towards the rebels is well documented, and they are likely to veto
any move towards concessions being offered to resolve the dispute.
One
of the delegates to the provincial-associations meeting, where the provinces
made their nominations, which took place nine days ago, said the whole
process was stage-managed by the board.
"How can a non-performing board
still want to be retained," said one provincial chairman, who did not want to
be named for fear of reprisals. "These guys are there for personal gains, and
that's why they still want to cling on to their posts." He added that the
recent changes to the ZCU constitution meant that the current board could not
now be removed from power. "They're there until the money runs out," he
added. "And the way they are going it'll run out next year."
Tavengwa
Mukuhlani, the Mashonaland Cricket Association chairman, and his Matabeleland
counterpart Ahmet Esat automatically become board members. Ebrahim and Allan
Welsh were the other two names put forward by the provincial associations.
That may explain why Ebrahim was so desperate to join the provincial set-up
and had to go out of his way to become chairman of a small province called
Masvingo.
New law to control influx of DRC and Nigerian nationals Tue
3 Aug 2004
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government is drafting legislation
to curb the large influx of Nigerians and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
nationals in the country, ZimOnline has established.
Harare
enjoys warm relations with both Abuja and Kinshasa. But the sources said the
Zimbabwean authorities were worried by the increase in criminal activities
including drug peddling allegedly committed by the Nigerians and
Congolese.
Hundreds of Nigerian and DRC nationals have flocked into
Zimbabwe in the last three years setting up several street corner businesses
mostly in Harare's Avenues residential area.
Both Foreign
Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge and his spokeswoman, Pavelyn Musakwa, could not
be reached for comment.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, in
charge of immigration policy, refused to speak on the matter when contacted
by ZimOnline. "I don't talk to South African journalists. You are persecuting
us," said Mohadi, clearly in the mistaken belief that ZimOnline is run by
South African journalists.
Sources in the Home Affairs Ministry's
Immigration Department said what had prompted the legislation was the
perception within government that most nationals from the two countries were
engaged in illegal activities.
The Immigration Department's
investigations branch was probing numerous cases involving Nigerians and DRC
nationals, who had either come into the country illegally or were using fake
travel documents. Some were also being investigated for allegedly illegally
dealing in foreign currency and gold, the sources said.
"Yes, I
can confirm that something is being done but I can't say more because these
people come from two friendly nations," said a senior immigration official,
who spoke on condition he was not named.
According to the sources,
the authorities are also investigating several marriages between Zimbabwean
citizens and Nigerian and DRC nationals which they suspect to be unions of
covenience only meant to secure citizenship and residence permits for the
west and central Africans.
The Zimbabwe government has deported
scores of Nigerians and Congolese since the beginning of this year for
prostitution, money laundering and foreign currency deals. ZimOnline
Zimbabwe and Botswana talk border problems Tue 3 Aug
2004
HARARE - Senior Zimbabwe and Botswana government officials met
last week to discuss security and immigration problems between the
two neighbours. Relations between the two southern African nations have
soured over Gaborone's decision to construct an electric fence along
the Botswana/Zimbabwe border which it says is meant to restrict the movement
of cattle and wild animals across the frontier.
The
Zimbabwe government believes the fence is aimed to keep out its citizens,
many of whom illegally cross into Botswana to seek jobs. Harare is also
unhappy about what it says is the inhuman treatment of its citizens visiting
Botswana.
Botswana Presidential spokesman Jeff Ramsay said the
officals, who met under the auspices of the Zimbabwe/Botswana joint permanent
commission on defence and security, "discussed a number of issues relating to
police, customs, immigration and wildlife management.
"These
included illicit trafficking in drugs, diamonds and firearms and the
containment of crime along the common border." ZimOnline
Electoral law reform in the region discussed at Vic
Falls Tue 3 Aug 2004
HARARE - Southern African civil society
groups, political parties and parliamentarians are meeting at the Zimbabwean
resort town of Victoria Falls to discuss electoral law reform in the
region.
The two-day conference, which began yesterday, is being
hosted by the Zimbabwe Election Suppport Network (ZESN) and the
Johannesburg-based Electoral Institute of Southern Africa
(EISA).
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of
state summit scheduled for Mauritius later this month is to review laws
governing elections in SADC states. The conference in Victoria Falls will
draw up recommendations to be presented to the SADC summit.
An
EISA project officer, Dieudonne Tshiyoyo, said: "The conference will
(discuss) electoral management bodies and how these can be structured and
appointed such that the elections conducted reflect the will of the voters."
ZESN is expected to table recommendations for reforms required to ensure
democratic elections in Zimbabwe.
President Robert Mugabe has
pledged to reform Zimbabwe's electoral laws and to appoint a new Zimbabwe
Electoral Comission (ZEC) to run elections in the country including a crucial
general poll set for March 2005.
Civil society groups and the
main oppposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) say the proposed
ZEC will lack independence because the President will still have the power to
hire and fire its chairman. ZimOnline
From
Cletus Mushanawani in Mutare The Minister of State for Information and
Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, has said next year's parliamentary
election is an anti-Blair one and aimed at consolidating the gains made since
the 2000 polls.
Addressing hundreds of Zanu-PF supporters at Nyahondo
Primary School in Mayo communal lands on Sunday, Prof Moyo said time had come
to deal with Britain' s puppet MDC once and for all by recording a resounding
victory for the ruling Zanu-PF at next year's election.
He said:
"Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, confirmed on June 14 that his country
was working closely with MDC to effect regime change in Zimbabwe. That was a
confirmation of what we have been talking about since the formation of the
party. Time has come for us to deal with the puppet once and for
all.
"In May last year, the MDC tried to organise a 'final push' to oust
the Government, but it backfired and it was the party's final fall. They
fell into a Blair toilet and that is where they are as I speak now. What is
left is just to flush the toilet and that is what we are going to do next
year."
Prof Moyo said the elections were also aimed at defending the
country's land, sovereignty and heritage.
"The land reform programme
is a logical thing to defend and if we lose the elections, we will have
surrendered the land back to the whites - a thing that will never happen.
Like what President Mugabe said, next year's elections are not a Zanu-PF and
MDC thing and Britain has shown interest in Zimbabwe's affairs because of the
successful completion of the land reform programme.
"For the past we
were saying everyone has a duty to play in the land reform programme. That is
why our detractors are now bitter. Makore ose apfuura aya taiti iwe neni
tinebasa ndosaka vaya vanewaya vavekugumbuka," he said.
Prof Moyo called
on party members to be united and avoid divisions caused by trivial issues as
that would give the enemy a chance to gain mileage.
"There is a sad
development within the party where some of us appear to be working to reverse
the gains made by the land reform programme by working with some of the white
former commercial farmers. Some are already selling their land to them and
this should stop," he said.
Prof Moyo took a swipe at newspapers which
were publishing so-called opinion polls in which they were saying people in
Zimbabwe had shown unwillingness to participate in next year's
elections.
"We wonder when are the surveys done because people are
registering in large numbers to exercise their right to vote in next year's
elections. Those who say Zimbabweans are not willing to register in next
year's elections are dreaming," he said.
Prof Moyo took a swipe at
some civil servants whom he accused of frustrating those intending to
register when they embark on the mobile
registration exercise.
"Although most people are showing interest in
registering to vote, there are some civil servants who are playing games and
always give a lot of excuses when they go out to do the mobile registration.
We want to warn that these bad apples in the civil service will be weeded
out," he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Minister in charge of
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies Programme and Member of Parliament for
Makoni North, Cde Didymus Mutasa, said he were aiming for a 100 percent vote
for Zanu-PF in the constituency.
"Like what Professor Moyo said, we
want to ensure that Zanu-PF wins the elections overwhelmingly. We now have
our land back and we should consolidate it. We can only achieve a 100 percent
in the votes if people register," he said.
Prof Moyo donated 100 flags
and 2 200 rulers for schools in Makoni North. He also donated Umdala Wethu
Gala T-shirts to the Zanu-PF Makoni District Co-ordinating Committee.
Government invites China to assist in housing
development
Municipal Reporter Government has invited China to assist
in the development of affordable housing and provision of heavy-duty
equipment for road construction.
At least 80 percent of residents in
urban areas are lodgers and there is a huge backlog for houses.
The
Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Cde Ignatius
Chombo, last Friday appealed to China to help in the construction of
houses.
He appealed to Chinese financial institutions to advance housing
loans, which could be repaid over a period of time.
"We can also go
into joint ventures with Chinese construction companies," he said.
He
made the request during a visit to his office by a Chinese delegation led by
Cde Xie Lijuan, the vice-chairperson of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
"Zimbabwe and
China can co-operate in housing construction and delivery. We have a huge
backlog of those in need of housing," he said.
A number of Chinese
construction companies are already operating in the country with a majority
of them winning Government tenders.
Cde Xie said Zimbabwe and China
should take advantage of sanctions imposed on the country by the West to
boost relations.
Cde Chombo said another area of co-operation was in the
supply of heavy-duty equipment like graders, bulldozers, tipping trucks and
equipment for road tarring.
He said companies that have traditionally
done business in this area were of British and American origin and were no
longer keen on working with the Government.
By
Agencies Last updated: 08/03/2004 04:36:38 MALAYSIA and Zimbabwe have
postponed plans to cooperate on the massive Matabeleland Zambezi Water
Project that is envisaged to improve water distribution in the arid
Matabeleland region.
Government and corporate officials from both
countries had been expected to sign a deal regarding the project during an
ongoing business summit on Malaysia's northern Langkawi island.
The
project is expected to cost at least US$600 million.
But Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe, who is attending the summit, said that the agreement
could not be sealed immediately because various details were still under
negotiation.
"The water project still requires much more discussion and
it's not yet ripe," Mugabe was quoted as saying by Malaysia's national news
agency, Bernama.
The project is expected to involve pumping water from
the Zambezi River, the largest river basin in Africa, and channelling it 450
kilometres away to the Zimbabwean city of Bulawayo and other parts of
Matabeleland province.
Herald
Reporters LOCAL security forces continue to serve on United Nations missions
in a seal of approval of their professionalism and
expertise.
Yesterday the Zimbabwe Republic Police dispatched a contingent
of 25 senior police officers to Kosovo on a peacekeeping mission and also
welcomed back 17 other officers returning from a similar tour of duty in that
country.
This is despite a barrage of negative reports in the local
private and international media alleging that the police lacked
professionalism.
Speaking at a farewell and welcoming ceremony for the
officers in Harare yesterday, Police Commissio-ner Augustine Chihuri said the
UN had shown its faith in the officers' professional abilities by requesting
more officers.
"Allow me to hastily point out that the Zimbabwean police
force has continued to earn the trust of the United Nations in spite of a
barrage of negative reporting our country has been subjected to by some
political malcontents masquerading as journalists.
"Our police
officers have shone like beacons in these international duties as exemplified
by the ratings of the contingent which we are welcoming," he said.
At
least 17 officers recently arrived in the country from Kosovo where they were
on a peacekeeping mission while the other 25 are set to leave the country
today for Kosovo.
The team, which includes two chief superintendents,
three superintendents, two chief inspectors, five inspectors, including
police spokesperson Inspector Andrew Phiri, seven assistant inspectors and
six sergeants, is expected to spend a year in Kosovo.
Commissioner
Chihuri said the police's industriousness and diligence has left an indelible
mark on the international scene.
"The United Nations itself has shown its
trust in our officers by requesting for an even bigger number to replace the
returning 17 at a time when the mission in Kosovo is reported to be
downsizing," he said.
"I hope that the contingent, which is departing
tomorrow (today), will take cue and try to emulate or surpass your
success."
On a sad note, he said some of the officers had lost their
property during the mission but the UN officials had compensated
them.
"We all felt sorry at the news, although unfortunate, that should
be expected in a country ravaged by such intense ethnic
fighting.
"This should also sound a strong message to those who are
deploying tomorrow that you are not going for a holiday," said the Police
Commissioner.
He said the officers were expected to strictly adhere to
the UN Code of Conduct as any deviations would be dealt with
ruthlessly.
Commissioner Chihuri urged them to remain united and exhibit
their true ambassadorial qualities throughout their
deployment.
"Always bear in mind that the country's detractors, working
in cahoots with the foreign media, have continued to dent the nation's
image," he said.
He said they would be deployed together with officers
from other countries and they were expected to appreciate the differences in
culture and remain disciplined.
"It is through your behaviour that the
international community will judge the country," he said.
Cde Chihuri
urged the departing officers to take advantage and use the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe's Homelink facility to send money back to their families.
The
central bank came up with the facility to harness foreign currency
from Zimbabweans living and working in the Sadc region and abroad.
A Zimbabwe Pensioners Association has been formed under the
auspices of the Flame Lily Foundation of South Africa.
The aim
is both to alleviate the plight of those whose pension has become worthless
and are without alternative means of support, and to bring pressure on the
Zimbabwe government to honour its pension obligations abroad.
Zimbabwe/Rhodesian pensioners and annuitants, widows and others interested
should write to the ZPA, PO Box 1884, Pinetown, 3600, providing the following
information: full name, postal address, telephone number, e-mail address if
available, pension fund, pension number, date of last payment received and
last amount received (Zimbabwe dollars).
If the pensioner is
critically in need of assistance, this should also be stated.