Zim Unity Govt Corrupt: Transparency International Zimbabwe

http://www.radiovop.com/

Bulawayo, August 06, 2012 - The Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ)
executive director, Mary-Jane Ncube, has labelled the unity government
corrupt.

“Corruption is one of the major stumbling blocks in moving the country out
of the current crisis .This reflects a government which is not listening to
the people .People are saying we are sick and tired of corruption and we are
experiencing it in every aspect of our lives, but the government is failing
to address this issue except making it a political rhetoric,” said Ncube
during the launch of TIZ Bulawayo office.

Ncube added: “When the unity government was formed parties in the Global
Political Agreement agreed to stamp out corruption but they have total
failed.”

Speaking at the same occasion former president of Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries CZI) Matebeleland chapter, Ruth Labode, said: “Most companies in
the city remain closed despite promises by government to release funds to
revive them through the Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund (Dimaf.”

Bulawayo used to be the industrial hub of Zimbabwe but since 2000 industries
have collapsed due to viability y problems.

In October last year, the government pledged to avail funds under the
much-touted “Let Bulawayo Survive Campaign”.

More than 85 companies have closed shop in Bulawayo while others have
relocated to Harare and other towns, leaving more than 20 000 workers
jobless.

Old Mutual and the government agreed to provide $40 million as seed capital
with both parties contributing $20 million. The government claims it has so
far managed to release $10 million towards the fund.

US$40 000 in donor funds missing

http://www.theindependent.co.zw

August 6, 2012 in News

Staff Writer

THE Comptroller and Auditor-General’s Narrative Report on Appropriation
Accounts and Miscellaneous Funds and Donor-Funded Projects for 2010 shows
that equipment and money valued at US$40 000 donated by the Brazilian
government to the National Civil Protection Fund cannot be accounted for.
The fund, administered by the Ministry of Local Government, provides
resources for emergency disaster management and civil protection.

The report notes computer equipment valued at US$39 000 as well as US$1 000
donated for the construction of a footbridge in Chitungwiza is missing. The
footbridge was never built.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri stated in her report that the agreement with
the Brazilian government stipulated that the donation had to be utilised
during the financial year it was availed.

She warned against Zimbabwe’s misuse of donor funds, saying it may affect
future relations with donor states and communities in need.

“Failure to honour terms of agreements may impact heavily on the country as
no such assistance may be given again in future. The community was deprived
of the facility of the footbridge for the benefit of the Chitungwiza
community as had been planned,” she said.

Parly summoned to ratify Chinese deal

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

President Robert Mugabe has requested parliament to sit tomorrow to ratify
the $164 million loan from China for the upgrading of the Victoria Falls
Airport ahead the UN World Trade Organisation symposium slated for next
year.
06.08.1202:50pm
by Staff Reporter

The loan deal had reportedly caused a rift in the government due to
untenable Chinese demands.

The country’s level of preparedness for the global tourism showcase to be
co-hosted with Zambia came into the spotlight after revelations by a senior
government official that the country had used computer generated images as
well as lied about the state of the country’s infrastructure, particularly
the Victoria Falls airport and medical facilities, to UNWTO organizers when
he appeared or a parliamentary portfolio committee hearing.

The controversial Chinese deal which is believed to have been agreed on in
principle in April this year had been held back amid reports that contents
of the deal caused a rift in cabinet, which forestalled its implementation.

The deadlock saw hardly any progress being made on the upgrading of the
Victoria Falls airport as well as on the building of a medical facility in
Victoria Falls in preparation for the visiting UNWTO officials next year.

Stung by lack of financial resources, the government appears to have
resorted to the Chinese loan in order to make the event a success.

Both the House of Assembly and the Senate are expected to rubber stamp the
loan agreement in line with Section 111B of the constitution which allows
for the parliament’s approval of international grants with financial
ramifications for the government.

Both houses had adjourned to the 3 September. Zimbabwe and Zambia are
co-hosting the global tourism event set to boost the tourism fortunes of
both countries.

However, both countries have been trading blame on their preparedness, with
Zimbabwe accusing its partner of not taking the event seriously.

Zambia has changed its tourism ministers, a development Zimbabwe feels
jeopardizes efforts to successfully hosting the event.

Tensions rise over army and CIO role in census

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
06 August 2012

Members of the army, police and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) are
secretly being recruited to take charge of the upcoming national population
census that will likely determine the constituency boundaries for the
general next election.

A teacher told SW Radio Africa there was crowd trouble at Gokwe Centre on
Monday, as nearly 800 people who registered to be employed by the Zimbabwe
Statistics Agency blocked the route of an Education Officer (EO) attempting
to drive away. They had been camped there waiting to hear if they were going
to be employed in the census.

The EO’s are the one’s who compile the lists of people who will participate
in a four day training workshop before they conduct the actual counting of
people, which will take 2 days. Despite being told the list would be out
last week this did not happen.

“Schools closed on Wednesday, so teachers and headmasters who will be
enumerating were advised to check their names at the district office on
Wednesday. So when we went to check there was nothing. We were asked to
check Thursday, Saturday and now Monday, nothing,” the teacher said.

It’s reported those working during the census will receive $90 daily
allowances plus a flat fee of $800. Our source in Gokwe however said: “These
are just rumours; no one is sure what the figures will be. Some say it will
be $20 per day.” But the exercise is offering poorly paid civil servants a
chance to supplement their income.

“We have come here with our bags in case we get picked and the training
takes four days,” the source said. He said they are worried that a large
number of soldiers and known CIO’s, numbering nearly 300, could be seen
milling around and openly telling them “we don’t trust you and we are the
ones who will run this exercise.”

MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said they had received reports of ZANU
PF attempts to monopolise the process in Zaka, Masvingo and Manicaland.
Deputy Justice Minister Obert Gutu, an MDC-T senator, said the ‘screening
process’ was targeting people perceived to be supporters of the MDC-T.

According to Finance Minister Tendai Biti the census data is meant to be
used by the government ‘to serve the people effectively’ and not be used for
political means.

The census will take place on August 17 and 18 will cost $37 million.
Government also said it would verify the number of Zimbabweans living in
exile, although no information has been published to indicate how they plan
to achieve this.

Anger over eviction of top Chiweshe doctor

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
06 August 2012

Members of the Chiweshe community in Zimbabwe have expressed anger that a
much loved doctor has been evicted from his post as head of the Howard
Hospital, allegedly because of a fight over the funding of the facility.

Dr. Paul Thistle, a Canadian doctor who has spent more than sixteen years
helping Zimbabweans, was forced to pack up his belongings and leave the
hospital after a team of riot police were dispatched to evict him. It’s
understood that Dr. Thistle has since been confined to his home by more
police officers and suspected CIO agents.

The orders are believed to have been handed down by Vice President Joice
Mujuru who is a senior member of the Salvation Army which runs the hospital.
SW Radio Africa was unable to confirm if the orders came from her.

Dr. Thistle was apparently ordered to leave, allegedly for ‘undermining’
Salvation Army operations by securing private funding for the facility. The
hospital is supposed to receive some state funding, but it relies mainly on
donations to stay afloat. It is understood that Dr. Thistle has worked
relentlessly in securing as much money as possible to carry on his work,
which has included many development projects.

A Chiweshe community member told SW Radio Africa that this money is now
being used as the reason for getting rid of Dr. Thistle, but said there is
“more to this than just money.” The resident meanwhile said the community
will struggle without Dr. Thistle, describing the doctor as a key part of
their lives.

“He has been working with the community for years. He helps the elderly, he
helps the orphans, he helps everyone. He has been building schools and doing
other projects, just to help people in Chiweshe,” the resident said.

Founded in 1923, Howard Hospital was started by the Salvation Army as a
school and developed over the years into a training hospital. Dr. Thistle
took over from his predecessor, a fellow Canadian citizen, many years ago
and has since been embraced by the community.

Human rights activist Phillip Pasirayi said on Monday that people like Dr.
Thistle are a necessity in Zimbabwe, where the government cannot provide or
support its people. He said that the doctor’s eviction is “sad, but
unfortunately not surprising.”

“This is the type of behaviour of ZANU PF we have seen for years, where they
basically don’t want anyone else but ZANU PF in control or doing anything,”
Pasirayi said.

He explained that other efforts to try and develop communities in Zimbabwe
have been thwarted by ZANU PF in the past, including a project by the Bill
Gates Foundation to build proper housing in Mbare. That project was put on
hold because of violence and intimidation by the ZANU PF aligned Chipangano
gang.

“It is sad because this is happening when the majority of people ion
Zimbabwe are suffering and need help from people like Dr. Thistle. It is the
ordinary Zimbabwean that loses out time and again,” Pasirayi said.

Zimbabwe Exported 7.15 Million Carats of Diamonds Last Year

http://www.bloomberg.com

By Brian Latham - Aug 6, 2012 11:18 PM GMT+1000

Zimbabwe exported 7.15 million carats of diamonds in 2011 through 148
Kimberley Process certificates as restrictions on exports from the Marange
area curbed sales.

The Kimberley Process canceled 44 certificates in the year, the
organization, which monitors trade in diamonds, said in its annual country
report. Zimbabwe’s military and police have been accused of human rights
violations in the Marange fields.

“The year 2011 remained a difficult year for rough diamond exports from
Zimbabwe due to protracted restrictions on exports produced from the Marange
area, leading to the cancellation of many certificates,” according to a
statement from the process.

Access to Marange is controlled by Zimbabwe security forces and data rarely
released. Several closely held mining companies from South Africa, China and
Dubai dig diamonds in the area in joint ventures with state-run Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corp.

The U.S., European Union, Australia and New Zealand have imposed trade
restrictions on Zimbabwean companies including ZMDC over accusations of
human rights abuses by President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front party.

New York-based Human Rights Watch in 2008 said at least 200 people were
killed by security forces in Marange in an operation to remove illegal
miners. The Marange diamond fields were seized from U.K.-based African
Consolidated Resources Plc in 2006.

The fields were then divided between Mbada Mining (Pvt) Ltd., Canadile
Mining (Pvt) Ltd. and China’s Anjin.

Rio Tinto Plc’s Murowa mine and closely held River Ranch Mine (Pvt) Ltd. in
Zimbabwe aren’t subject to Kimberley Process scrutiny because accusations
haven’t been made against them

Biti’s diamond revenue claim under spotlight

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Written by Business Writer
Monday, 06 August 2012 12:28

HARARE - The whereabouts of Zimbabwe’s dividends from the Marange diamond
fields continue to be topical with Finance minister Tendai Biti making
serious allegations of resource plunder by Zanu PF functionaries within the
echelons of these mining activities.

In his 2012 Mid-Term Fiscal Statement, Biti argues that from the projected
$600 million, the Treasury only received less than $200 million.

He further intimated that the mining concerns continue to extract the
resources and dispose the returns clandestinely.

This assertion makes sad reading immediately as it comes after the
certification of Anjin, Mbada and Marange Resources by the Kimberly Process
Certification Scheme.

When crafting a national budget and establishing sources of the projected
income, the fiscal authorities are expected to ensure that the source of
revenue meets, inter alia, three key attributes.

Firstly, the source of revenue must be legal and governed by a distinct
legal framework that regulates it.

This entails that the presence of a clear legal framework will eliminate or
minimise revenue leakages, empowers the government to audit the source of
revenue and also provide for criminal sanction should revenue remittance
defaults arise.

Secondly, the source of revenue must be free from any political or economic
encumbrances, either domestically or externally.

This means that the subsistence of the source of revenue must not be
subjected to embargoes or other inhibitive by whoever so that the tenure and
security of the source of revenue is least interrupted to ensure continued
harvest of revenue.

Thirdly, the source of revenue must have the total political will and
support of the political actors (all of them in their diversity).

This is key in ensuring that there is policy consistency at all-time
regardless of which political party(ies) rules in order to ensure that the
source will not suffer any undue political interference.

Commercial and large-scale diamond mining started in Marange less than four
years ago. To date, the aggregate investment of the five mining is circa
$800 million and by far the biggest investment in Zimbabwe since 2000.

The various diamond mines are largely a 50-50 joint venture between Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and other foreign investors.

ZMDC is a wholly-owned government entity and was established by an Act of
Parliament, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation Act, 31 of 1982. Its
mandate is to, on behalf of government of Zimbabwe, conduct profitable and
commercial mining ventures, jointly or solely.

In 2009, under serious budgetary pressures, a deal was struck with these
mines to remit monthly to Treasury funds to cover for “key government
expenses, which include the civil service wage bill...”

This development is unprecedented in the history of extractive mining in
this country since the arrival of the Pioneer Column.

There is no mining house that had made payments to government in that
fashion. Even Tony Rowland of the Lonhro fame would not have acceded to such
request.

To date, these diamond mines have contributed more than $380 million to the
fiscus.

The Marriam-Webster business dictionary defines dividends as..”a sum of
money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders out of its profits.”

The remittances from diamond mines cannot be classified as dividends because
dividends, by their nature, are declared after a successful 12-month
business calendar year showing surplus of after payments of all operating,
fixed and statutory payments.

The remittances Biti is referring to are not outstanding statutory payments
because all these five mines are up to date on their pay as you earn, value
added tax, royalties and Income tax obligations.

They may, however, qualify as shareholder’s loan. What makes this
arrangement unique and unheard of is the fact shareholders (government) want
to receive funds before full recovery of the investment made.

Worldwide investors always ensure that they have fully recovery of their
investment before settlement of dividends.

Minister Biti has alleged, without providing empirical evidence, that these
diamond mines are not remitting the funds to Treasury as earlier agreed and
are therefore siphoning the funds into a parallel economy that is being used
to build a war chest for Zanu PF ahead of crucial elections.

He further alleges that some of the key people in this diamond mining
operation now own private jets and a string of concubines.

There is no criminal law on our statutes that ban acquisition of jets by
black people. It’s commonly known that any failure to remit a statutory
payment to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority or Treasury attracts a fine.

Why has Biti not garnished the bank accounts of these mines or still not
fined them?

The truth of the matter is that the arrangement to remit monthly payments is
not legally binding and therefore carries no criminal sanction.

The arrangement was and is a mere gentlemen’s agreement reached to address a
revenue deficit crisis that prevailed at that particular time and still
continue to be with us. As a leading and prominent lawyer, Biti should have
sanitised the arrangement and made it legally binding for both parties.

Section 33 of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Act states that, “Where in a
financial year the revenues of the Corporation are more than sufficient….
The corporation shall pay out of the surplus such dividends to its
shareholders (Government of Zimbabwe, in this case) as the board may
determine in relation to that year.”

So the current and valid legal position is that ZMDC pay dividends once a
year to treasury. Any other arrangement outside this provision is simply
benevolent but not binding.

It is, therefore, an abuse of this gentleman agreement to demand these other
diamond mines to perform when number of variables has changed from date of
initial “commitment” to date.

For instance, diamond prices were approximately $70 per carat and have now
plummeted to $15 per carat.

The United States has intensified its attack on Marange by now forcing all
Indian cutters and polishers to declare that their diamonds used are not of
Marange origin.

This has seriously affected the number of bidders and as such when supply
exceeds demand, prices drops.

Further, the Eurozone crisis has now affected demand prices for many
commodities and diamond is not spared.

It’s also important to mention that, according to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,
platinum still accounts for more than 45 percent of the mining receipts and
by far the biggest earning commodity.

There is no mention of the portion of the platinum receipts paid monthly,
let alone annually to treasury.

Why has Treasury not made initiatives to ensure that platinum mining mines
also contribute to civil service wage bill?

Upon taking over the ministry of Finance in 2009, Biti declared that the
budget was going to operate on “eat what you kill basis”.

The inclusion of the diamond receipts in his 2012 forecast simply promised
people food that was yet to be “killed.”

It will be in deed in the national interest if Biti drops an activist
approach on the diamond receipts matter and tell the truth. — With Resource
Exploitation Watch

Anjin workers feel victimised

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Written by Kaleen Gombera, Staff Writer
Monday, 06 August 2012 13:36

HARARE - Suspended Anjin Investments workers have alleged the army, which
has a controlling stake in the diamond mining company, is victimising them.

Anjin employees engaged in an industrial action which resulted in the
company suspending 1 000 workers this week.

In an interview with the Daily News last week, Tavengwa Sitima, vice
president of the workers committee said army personnel were frustrating them
and stifling discussions on their plight.

“It is better if the army leaves the company; the army generals are only
interested in our strikes because they get paid whenever they come to
resolve our issues,” said Stima.

He said the armyofficials were getting as much as $ 1 000 as allowance to
come to Chiadzwa.

Sitima claims he was dismissed at gun point after some army personnel
accused him of leading and inciting strikes at Anjin Mine.

“I was ordered out of the mine at gunpoint and they threatened to shoot me
if I made any move. They accused me of mobilising the workers for the
strike,” he said.

Personnel at Anjin Investments management who are from the army include
Colonel Lindiwe Ngwenya (Human resources management), Colonel Simeon
Sambadzai (Power and Equipment), Brigadier general Charles Tarumbwa (Company
Secretary and lawyer) and war veteran Munyaradzi Machacha (Board member).

The workers went on strike saying they would not resume operations until
their salaries are realigned with local diamond industry standards, which
they say average $650 for the least paid employee.

The lowest paid worker is getting $235 — less than half of the country’s
poverty datum line which currently stands at around $510— while the highest
paid non-managerial staff gets $700.

In the two years, workers have gone on industrial action eight times.

Sitima said while workers and the Chinese had agreed that salaries would be
reviewed after every diamond sale, the army changed the agreement and
proposed that they were to get 15 percent increment effective until June
2013.

“We were supposed to have salary increments after every sale but the army
forced us to accept 15 percent, the HR manager colonel Ngwenya said whether
we like it or not, we are going to have 15 percent until 2013,” said Sitima.

The workers claimed Anjin already had plans to retrench 500 workers and the
strike gave them the chance to lay-off workers without giving them their
retrenchment packages.

Anjin, a joint company formed by a Chinese government firm and a Zimbabwe
military-linked company has been embroiled in labour disputes with its
workers over poor labour practices and low remuneration since it started
operations in 2010.

Anjin, which operates in the diamond-rich fields of Marange in Manicaland
Province is the only foreign-owned company granted an operating licence by
the government.

Anjin fires 1500 workers, tells them to re-apply

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
06 August 2012

Controversial diamond mining firm Anjin Investments has fired 1,500 workers,
who went on strike last month demanding better pay and working conditions.

The company, a joint venture between senior army figures and the Chinese,
has now told the workers to re-apply if they are interested in their jobs.
The workers are demanding at least $650 for the lowest paid worker, instead
of $235 a month.

Management had initially suspended the 1,500 workers for 4 days and the head
of the workers committee, Tavengwa Chitima, was fired last month. But a
recent High Court ruling that the strike was illegal has given the
management more leverage to harass and intimidate the workers.

Last week one worker, who refused to be named for fear of victimisation,
told SW Radio Africa that Chinese managers at the firm were allegedly
sodomising workers. Despite promises by management that the culprits would
be deported back to China, no action has been taken.

Chinese managers at the firm are also being accused of throwing aside the
bones of people buried in the area now currently being mined and refusing
them a decent reburial. In addition to physical assaults the workers also
claim they are not even allowed to recognise any of the Zimbabwean holidays,
except the Chinese Lunar New Year on 22nd January.

Meanwhile the Center for Research and Development (CRD) which is devoted to
monitoring human rights violations in the diamond mining area has said it is
‘deeply troubled’ by the dismissal of 1,500 workers by Anjin.

“The decision to fire the workers was arbitrary and totally uncalled for. It
is also a gross violation of the right of workers to engage in industrial
action if their working conditions are appalling. The intolerance shown by
the Anjin management in handling the workers genuine grievances is
unacceptable in modern society.”

“There are credible indications of gross human rights abuses against workers
by Anjin management. Workers have been beaten with clenched fists, kicked
around and called racist names by their Chinese employers. CRD has also
received unconfirmed reports of sodomy against the locals by the Chinese.
These ought to be investigated and if found to be true, perpetrators must be
brought to book.

The harassment of the Zimbabwean employees by the Chinese in a day and age
where government is singing the black empowerment tune is totally
surprising. The deafening silence of government in the face of the heavy
handedness and vindictiveness of the Chinese against black Zimbabweans is
equally deplorable,” the group said.

In June this year Global Witness, a human rights group focused on the
exploitation of natural resources, recommended an investigation into the
activities of mysterious Chinese business tycoon Sam Pa, diamond firm Anjin
and Sino Zimbabwe to see if they “risk funding future human rights abuses.”

The report titled, “Financing a Parallel government”, exposed how the
Central Intelligence Organisation , army and police chiefs were involved in
the diamond, cotton and property sectors. The ownership structures of
companies like Anjin were exposed as being dominated by senior members of
the state security.

Meanwhile Zambian miners have killed a Chinese manager by pushing a mine
trolley at him during a riot over pay at a coal mine. A second Chinese was
injured, as were several Zambians, during the riot on Saturday. The workers
are furious that their wages are lower than a new minimum of $220 a month
paid to shop workers.

SADC to assess Zim talks progress

http://www.timeslive.co.za

Vladimir Mzaca | 06 August, 2012 00:40

Completion of Zimbabwe's draft constitution and other key developments in
preparing for elections will come under scrutiny this week when the Southern
African Development Community's executive secretary and his team visit
Harare.

SouthAfrica's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Vusi Mavimbela, told state television
there this week that Pretoria was impressed with the progress made in talks
between the rival parties in the often-fractious power-sharing government.

The two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change have endorsed the
draft constitution and President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF is expected to make
public its stance this week.

SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao will assess the situation tomorrow
before briefing President Jacob Zuma's mediators.

His team is expected to visit Harare in the next two weeks, before Zuma
presents his report to the SADC politics and defence meeting in Maputo on
August 17.

"We have been holding meetings on Zimbabwe. We will be going there before
the Maputo meeting," said Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma's special adviser.

A coup was possible in Zim - official

http://www.news24.com

2012-08-06 12:01

Cape Town - Economic and political tension in the last decade could have led
to a coup d'état in Zimbabwe, but the country’s armed forces remained
professional and loyal, a top army official has told the media.

According to the Herald online, Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander Air Marshal
Perrence Shiri said the role played by the armed forces during the last "few
years" made a difference between peace and conflict.

"We have all seen how in other countries' military forces have caused
destabilisation by either taking sides to a political conflict or taking
power through military coups.

"To this end, I would like to commend the Air Force of Zimbabwe officers for
their discipline and loyalty, which saw to it that economic challenges did
not degenerate into a conflict."

Shiri praised the defence forces for being exemplary.

"I thank the officers for their resilience during these trying times that we
have gone through. We have been exemplary," he said.

He said the operating environment for the air force had been quite
challenging because the country was under sanctions.

Sanctions, he said, were meant to make the citizens suffer so that they
revolt against the government.

"The illegal economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the United States of
America, Britain and allies were obviously aimed at hurting the ordinary
citizens, reducing our capabilities and ultimately destabilising Zimbabwe.

"The economic hardships were aimed at reducing the quality of life of all
citizens so that they can turn against the government."

- News24

Possible SA link in Zim activist's absence

http://www.news24.com/

2012-08-06 14:02

Cape Town - Friends and colleagues of Zimbabwean human rights campaigner
Paul Chizuze, who has been missing for six months, are losing hope of
finding him and are desperately hoping he has fled to South Africa,
according to reports.

Four months after his disappearance, a relative saw his dusty vehicle parked
in a prominent position outside the government tax offices while passing
through the border town of Beitbridge en route to SA.

According to the Cape Times, colleagues say they were told by a security
guard working nearby that the car had been there for several weeks. But
Zimbabwean police did not do any forensic tests on the vehicle. One source
described the issue as "too sensitive" for the police to handle.

Chizuze had a modest SA bank account opened about seven years ago. But his
colleagues say they have established that no withdrawals have been made
since his disappearance.

Chizuze left his home in Bulawayo just after 20:00 on 8 February 2012. The
58 year old was seen driving his Nissan Hardbody with registration number
ACJ 3446.

Information on massacres

Some family members say they fear Chizuze may have been abducted, hijacked
or murdered on the night he disappeared. A relative who declined to be named
said the family was despairing.

"I now suspect he was murdered and we should all accept that we will never
find him alive."

Chizuze was a prominent activist and investigator during and after the
massacres (Gukurahundi) in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland region in the 1980s, when
then prime minister Robert Mugabe ordered a North Korean-trained brigade of
the Zimbabwean army to kill thousands of opposition supporters loyal to
Joshua Nkomo, leader of Zapu, then a rival to Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party.

Zimbabwe education and culture minister David Coltart, a close friend and
former colleague of the disappeared activist, said Chizuze had too much
information on Gukurahundi.

The minister said Chizuze had been working on issues that could have
embarrassed authorities in the government, especially hardliners.

- News24

Zim team struggles to make an impression at the Olympics

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
06 August 2012

The Zimbabwe Olympic team is likely to go home empty handed after another
medal hopeful, Sharon Tavengwa, pulled out of her 42km marathon, midway
through the race.

Tavengwa was struggling with an injury and was forced to pull out of the
race at the 27km mark, leaving the country’s quest for a medal in the hands
of triathlete Chris Felgate and marathon runners Wirimai Juwawo and Cuthbert
Nyasango.

Felgate begins his campaign for a medal in London on Tuesday, while Juwawo
and Nyasango will run in the marathon on Sunday.

The Olympic team is yet to pick up a medal since the opening of the games.
There was hope that swimming ace and seven-time Olympic medallist, Kirsty
Coventry, would defend her titles, but with younger swimmers coming into the
fray it proved too much for Coventry.

The failure by Coventry to win any medals this year ended an 8-year medal
run swimming in the Olympics for Zimbabwe, started by the Harare born
swimmer at the 2004 Athens Games.

Food imports embarrassing: Nkomo

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

05/08/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

VICE President John Nkomo has said Zimbabwe must produce enough grain to
meet its needs within two years to bring an end to the “perennial
embarrassment” of surviving on food imports .

Nkomo told a field day in Murehwa that Zanu PF had established a production
and labour department to lead efforts to boost agricultural production and
end costly imports of grain from the region.

“We want to end the embarrassment of perennially surviving on food imports
from such countries as Malawi and Zambia that used to depend on us for their
food security,” Nkomo said in a speech read by a senior Zanu PF official.

“They have even been learning from us, so we cannot stand that reality of
importing food from them, yet we have the human resources to turn around
everything and start producing competitively.”

The United Nations World Food Programme recently said about 1.6 million of
the country's estimated 12 million people would need food aid this year due
to poor harvests.

The number is 60 percent higher than the one million who needed food
assistance last year, with most of them living in rural areas.

Once a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe has faced perennial food shortages in
recent years following a slump in food production partly blamed on President
Robert Mugabe's controversial land reforms.

The majority of the beneficiaries of the reforms lacked the skills and means
for large-scale farming, and were given little support from the government.
But Nkomo said the farmers must stop coming up with excuses and start making
productive use of the land.

“The land was the major reason we waged the liberation war, yet 32 years
after independence, people have not yet started fully exploiting it,” he
said.

“Yes, for the majority it is a matter of failing to access resources, but
there has to be the individual effort and innovation to boost productivity
and justify the implementation of the agrarian revolution.”

Dzikamai Mavhaire, Zanu PF secretary for production added: “The time for
slogans and singing war songs has since passed. What we are facing now is a
new but different war.
“It is a war whose weapon is the hoe, so we must act like real business
people. Zanu PF will not tolerate laziness.”

Poor families get US$10 per month

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

05/08/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

THE elderly and child-headed families have started receiving cash payments
of between US$10 and US$25 per month to help mitigate the impact of current
economic difficulties, a senior government official has said.

The programme has already covered 18,000 households in ten of the country’s
districts. Officials said they hope to extend the assistance to 250,000
households by 2015.

“The programme is in a phased approach with the goal of reaching all 65
districts by 2015,” said Lancaster Museka, Secretary for Labour and Social
Services.

“To date, two cycles of cash disbursements have taken place. A delayed
payment cycle for May and June is being prepared and will be paid within the
coming few weeks.”

Zimbabwe is recovering from a decade-long recession characterised by
hyper-inflation, shortages of most basic commodities and massive
unemployment as companies were forced to close due to inclement operating
conditions.

Although the economy has recorded consistent growth over the last few years,
the most people are still struggling to survive with unemployment remaining
high while the few lucky enough to have a job earn well below the poverty
datum line of about US$560.

Museka said the cash assistance programme, which will be extended to all the
country’s provinces in phases, is funded by the government and international
development partners.

“The donors who have pooled their resources so far are DFID, SIDA, the
Netherlands Government and European Commission,” Museka told state media.

“Unicef provides additional financial and technical support over and above
the donor funds it manages through the Child Protection Fund.

“Government, through fiscal funding to the ministry (Labour and Social
Services) matches the donor funds on a 50-50 basis and this year it
committed US$7 million which was revised downwards to US$2 million during
the Mid-Term budget review by the Ministry of Finance.
“The funding will increase annually both from donors through the CPF and
Government.”

Districts covered to date include Mangwe (Matabeleland South), Umguza
(Matabeleland North), Mzilikazi (Bulawayo Urban), Epworth (Harare), Makoni
(Manicaland), Rushinga (Mashonaland Central), Goromonzi (Mashonaland East),
Kariba (Mashonaland West), Chivi (Masvingo) and Zvishavane (Midlands).

Museka said officials were already working including more provinces in the
programme.

“The modalities for payments remain the same when the next 10 districts are
brought on board to make a total of 20 districts that will be receiving
payments in 2013,” he said.

“The process will be repeated towards the end of next year and the coming
years with an additional 10 districts added per year until full national
coverage is reached.”

Mail & Guardian’s court bid to see Zimbabwe election report resumes

http://www.bdlive.co.za

by Franny Rabkin, August 06 2012, 17:31

THE court battle between the government and the Mail & Guardian newspaper
over the disclosure of a report on Zimbabwe’s hotly disputed 2002 elections
continued in the North Gauteng High Court on Monday, with the newspaper
saying the government had no legal grounds to refuse to make the report
public.

The government has fought against making the report available since the Mail
& Guardian first sought access to it in 2008 in the North Gauteng High
Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.

The report, on "legal and constitutional issues" in the run-up to an
election widely believed to have been stolen by Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe, was commissioned by former president Thabo Mbeki and written by
Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Constitutional Court Justice Sisi
Khampepe.

Now the case is back in the high court after the Constitutional Court
ordered that this was the kind of case where the high court judge should
have taken a "judicial peek" — to look at the report without disclosing its
content — to see whether the government’s grounds for refusing had any
validity.

Judge Joseph Raulinga has had his judicial peek at the 22-page report, but
gave no clues in court on Monday as to what the report contained.

Counsel for the Mail & Guardian, Frank Snyckers SC, spent the morning
arguing that the government’s "belated attempt" to introduce new evidence —
affidavits by Mr Mbeki and President Jacob Zuma — should be refused.

The lack of evidence on the government’s part to justify why the report
should not be disclosed was the main reason the Supreme Court of Appeal and
the Constitutional Court found the government had failed to make out its
case for refusal.

Until recently, there were no affidavits before the court by Mr Mbeki or
either of two judges.

However, the Constitutional Court held that the government may have been
"hamstrung" by the fact that it could not refer to the report itself in its
evidence; that was why a judicial peek was the way forward.

Mr Snyckers said the new affidavits were not the "ex parte representations"
envisaged by the Promotion of Access to Information Act that can be made
when a judge takes a judicial peek, because they did not address the content
of the report at all.

"They do not refer to the contents of the report. Instead (the government)
tried to cure evidentiary flaws by sticking them in as part of ex parte
representations," he said.

The affidavit by Mr Mbeki said his reason for commissioning the report was
to "assist me and the national executive (to) take policy decisions on how
best to support and strengthen the quest for political and economic
stability in Zimbabwe".

In terms of the act, the government may refuse to make the report public on
the ground that it was "prepared … for the purpose of assisting to formulate
a policy".

But Mr Snyckers, referring to past judgments, said even if Mr Mbeki’s own
"private" reason was policy development, this had to be the purpose from the
start and had to be part of the judges’ mandate or terms of reference. The
government’s initial affidavits in the case had said the idea of using the
report for policy development had come about only after the report had been
received, he said.

The case continues on Monday and Tuesday.

rabkinj@bdfm.co.za

ZMC licenses new daily paper

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

August 6, 2012 in News

Staff Writer

FORMER Zimbabwe Independent deputy editor and veteran journalist Barnabas
Thondhlana has been granted a licence to publish a daily newspaper, The
Observer, by the Zimbabwe Media Commission. A weekly, The Zimbabwean, was
also granted a licence.

Thondhlana, who also worked at Financial Gazette, Daily News, The Mail and
other local and international newspapers, said he was ecstatic promising
that The Observer would be a worthwhile read for the discerning reader.

“Our payline is bold, independent and fresh”, he said.

“We are sourcing the necessary funding to get the project off the ground and
we expect to be on the streets in early September. We will, however, start
off as a weekly before graduating to a daily in about six to eight months,
funds permitting,”

MDC 99 calls for a No vote on Constitution

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

MDC 99 led Job Sikhala has rubbished the draft constitution as a negotiated
settlement of three political parties saying it fails to capture the
collective aspirations of Zimbabwe and called for the convening of a
Zimbabwe Conflict Resolution Conference (ZICORECO) by SADC at the earliest
possible time to come with a transitional constitution to take the country
to the next elections.
06.08.1203:04pm
by MDC99 Information Department

Briefing journalists on the position of his party to the draft constitution
which was recently completed by COPAC, MDC 99 leader Job Sikhala said the
draft constitution should not be taken seriously as it sought “take Zimbabwe
back to the stone Age” in some of its clauses.

He said his party is calling on SADC to immediately call for the Zimbabwe
Conflict Resolution Conference, where a new transitional document will be
agreed upon before the country holds elections. Sikhala said failure to hold
such a conference will result in his party joining campaigning for a “NO”
vote in the referendum.

“There must be a transitional democratic constitutional order, make a
transitional constitution which will specifically deal with the democratic
electoral framework and elections roadmap. This is the only route available
to Zimbabweans”, said Sikhala.

He said his political party was unhappy with a number of provisions in the
draft which include the bloated parliament, the exclusion of other public
officials from adhering to term limits.

He said by agitating for a “No” vote, his party was not playing into ZANU-PF
hands which is dithering on its position on the new constitution, saying his
party maintains that Zimbabweans can only hold the next elections with a new
constitution a position different from ZANU-PF which wants to push for an
election using the old constitution.

ZANU-PF has been dithering on whether to endorse the draft constitution or
nor despite having earlier announced through its leader in the negotiation
process Patrick Chinamasa revealing that 97 percent had endorsed the new
document. However hi assertions were trashed when ZANU-PF held a 16 hour
long politburo meeting on Wednesday which failed to come up with a position.

The mainstream MDC-T party has since endorsed the new draft constitution
together with MDC-N and is pushing for a “YES” vote in the coming
referendum. The civic society has remained tightlipped with only the
National Constitutional Assembly rejecting for document.

An all stakeholders conference shall be held after which it would have to
gunner no less than a two-third majority in parliament before a referendum
could be held and then presented to the president for ascent.

Harare renames Enterprise Road after Solomon Mujuru

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
06 August 2012

The Harare City Council has renamed Enterprise Road after the late General
Solomon Mujuru.

A full Council meeting last week reportedly approved the change, which now
waits for the approval of Mujuru’s widow, Joice.

“Council approves the naming of Enterprise Road after the late retired army
General Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mujuru after consulting the surviving spouse and
his family,” read the council minutes.

According to the Council, Enterprise Road was picked to be renamed after
General Mujuru, because it is near the KG VI army barracks.

The Council has also renamed Rotten Row after the late Chief Justice Enoch
Dumbutshena and Churchill Road after the late Professor Walter Kamba.
Dumbutshena and Kamba’s families have agreed to the changes.

Council said it was renaming Rotten Row after Dumbutshena because the Harare
Magistrates’ Courts are located along the road. It also said Churchill Road
would become Professor Walter Kamba Road, because the University of
Zimbabwe, where he was the first black Vice-Chancellor after independence,
is in that road.

Ministers vow to block Gono’s new measures

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

August 6, 2012 in News

Tendai Marima
FRESH clashes have erupted over banks after Reserve Bank governor Gideon
Gono this week raised the minimum capital requirements for commercial and
merchant banks by a massive 700% to US$100 million from US$12,5 million, in
a bid to force mergers and recapitalisation to consolidate the fragile
sector.
This triggered a reaction from cabinet ministers who on Tuesday resolved to
block the new demands.

Sources said while the governor was on Tuesday making the announcement from
his offices at 88 Samora Machel Avenue in Harare, a high-level government
meeting along the same street was taking place at the Office of the
President and Cabinet where ministers blocked his proposals.

Some ministers at the meeting argued from an indigenisation point of view,
while others pushed economic angles. Gono’s rivals, driving the
controversial indigenisation policy to take over foreign-owned banks,
claimed his move was designed to protect foreign financial institutions and
collapse locally-owned ones. Others said the current thresholds were
relatively sound given Zimbabwe’s small US$10-billion economy.

“In the Ministry of Finance’s original proposal, minimum capital
requirements for commercial banks were set at US$30 million,” one minister
said, indicating a statement would soon be released to veto Gono’s
proposals.

In his mid-term monetary policy statement on Tuesday, Gono not only hiked
the minimum requirements for commercial and merchant banks, but also for
building societies by 700% to US$80 million from US$10 million and for
microfinance institutions by 400% from US$1 million to US$5 million.

This comes against a background of a series of bank collapses in 2004 and
the recent closure of Genesis Investment Bank, Interfin Banking Corporation
and Royal Bank last week. Last year, ReNaissance Merchant Bank was also
closed. Most of the remaining 23 banks are weak and unsound.

Given problems affecting the banking sector, Gono has been criticising
malpractices such as insider loans, concentrated shareholding and neglect of
fiduciary duties to lenders and depositors. On Tuesday he lamented what he
described as “a fragmented banking system characterised by numerous weak and
under-capitalised banks” before proposing mergers, acquisitions and
recapitalisation to consolidate the sector.

Asked about the situation, Gono yesterday said he was not aware of any
resistance to the new requirements. “I’m not aware of what you are referring
to as intentions to reverse my monetary policy measures by anyone or any
quarter,” Gono said. “Until such a time that I’m in the picture of that
development, I cannot comment.”

Bulawayo residents march against corruption

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

This weekend BPRA took part in celebrations to launch the anti corruption
campaign by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) in Bulawayo held under
the Theme “Tshiya ubugwelegwele, thuthukisa uBulawayo” (Stop corruption,
develop Bulawayo). The event was attended by more than 200 residents from
Bulawayo’s 29 wards and included a road show and a march against corruption
around the city center.
06.08.1204:51pm
by Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association

Bulawayo residents were encouraged to work closely with TIZ and other
organisations to fight corruption. Residents highlighted that there is a lot
of abuse of state resources which resulted in poor services being rendered
to residents as their taxes were being misdirected by corrupt officials.
They also raised concerns about the inconvenience of water and power cuts
and the general deteriorating service delivery in the city pointing to the
fact that if corruption was curbed a lot of problems in these areas would be
solved.

Reverend Ray Motsi of Churches in Bulawayo and Grace to Heal bemoaned the
fact that corruption was now even affecting the national economy. He said it
is time that people started to play an active role in trying to stop
corruption in the country. Residents lamented the fact that the custodians
of peace and security, the police, had become so involved in corruption that
they felt there were now lesser channels to use to fight this cancer if the
police were also involved.

Mzilikazi residents have joined the wider calls for a more transparent
system of administration for the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer (HSCT)
programme arguing that the poor information dissemination on the programme
was now causing many of them to lose out on its benefits. The sentiments
were expressed at a consultative meeting held at Macdonald hall in Mzilikazi
ward 8 were BPRA gathered residents to talk about the benefits and
challenges of the project so far in the pilot areas.

Thousands attend memorial service for Ndabaningi Sithole

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
06 August 2012

Thousands of people thronged the late Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole’s farm in
Mount Selinda, Chipinge for a public memorial service to remember the
founding president of ZANU PF who died in 2000.

Many people view Rev Sithole as an icon of the liberation struggle for a
free Zimbabwe. He founded and was chief architect of ZANU PF in August 1963
with the likes of the late Edgar Tekere at the house of Enos Nkala in
Highfields, Harare.

Speaking at the ceremony on Saturday Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said
the country has suffered in the last 30 years because of a lack of vision by
Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.

Tsvangirai told the gathering, that included ZANU Ndonga and MDC-T
supporters, that many nationalists in Africa who do not have vision must be
replaced. Quoted by NewsDay the Prime Minister explained that the country
was suffering from a failure by the leadership to bring freedom, food and
jobs.

‘Are people happy, are we free? Are we independent? It’s zero. A second,
third and fourth revolution has to come and even if people like Tsvangirai
come as democrats, remove them if they fail. We should have a vision for
this country so that Sithole is happy where he is,’ Tsvangirai said.

The MDC-T MP for the area, Mathias Mlambo, told SW Radio Africa the Chipinge
district was solidly behind their party and that they’re going to fare well
in the next election. The district has five parliamentary seats, one of
which was won by ZANU PF.

‘We are working on winning that constituency in this district. We work very
well with ZANU Ndonga members and they’ve promised us their support again,
like they’ve done since 2000,’ Mlambo said.

‘No way out for Mugabe’

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

WONAI MASVINGISE 13 hours 3 minutes ago

President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF have no room to reject the draft
constitution crafted by the Constitution Parliamentary Committee (Copac),
MDC-T spokesperson and one of the Copac chairpersons, Douglas Mwonzora, said
yesterday.

The Global Political Agreement, which gave birth to the formation of the
inclusive government between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, mandated
Copac to draft the constitution after consulting the electorate.

Addressing journalists in Harare, Mwonzora, who was speaking in the company
of party secretary-general Tendai Biti, said if Mugabe and Zanu PF were to
reject the proposed governance charter, they would have turned against
Zimbabweans and should be prepared to face the consequences.

“If the people of Zimbabwe vote ‘yes’, which I know they will if it is not
changed, and Mugabe decides not to sign the draft constitution after the
people of Zimbabwe have voted ‘yes’, then that’s his own problem. We are
actually waiting to see that kind of scenario,” said Mwonzora.

Zanu PF is currently deadlocked as the party’s politburo has held three
successive meetings in which they have failed to come up with a position on
the draft constitution as some hardliners in the party reportedly want to
have the process abandoned.

Speaking to journalists, Biti accused Zanu PF of trying to negotiate the
draft constitution to suit Mugabe at the expense of the people of Zimbabwe.

“You don’t negotiate a constitution for an individual, the problem with Zanu
PF is they were negotiating for President Mugabe, they negotiate with the
mentality that Mugabe will be there forever,” Biti said.

“A constitution is a contract among citizens on how they want to be governed
or misgoverned. It’s a reflection of the political balance sheet of the
country.”

The MDC-T secretary-general also said Mugabe had imposed a “Zezuru hegemony”
on Zimbabwe which was oppressing people of other ethnic groups.

“At the moment Zimbabwe is among the last countries on the Happiness Index,
we are oppressed by Zanu PF,” he said.

Citing the Kenya, Ivory Coast and Egypt experiences, Biti said African
leaders had an appetite for power which made it difficult in some
circumstances to smoothly transfer power after elections are held.

He, however, added that the draft constitution would ensure that democracy
prevailed and power was transferred to the winning candidate following an
electoral victory.

“The (draft) constitution is making it very clear that the authority to rule
is coming from the people. Our government is very indifferent, there is a
culture of impunity, if you go to the rural areas the roads are the same as
they were in 1842 when Mzilikazi crossed the Limpopo River.”

At a Press conference held later in the day at the party’s Harvest House
headquarters, the MDC-T’s highest decision-making body, the National
Council, said it had resolved to urge Zimbabweans to vote ‘yes’ to the draft
constitution in the coming referendum.

The party said it had made the decision to accept the draft constitution
after a seven-hour meeting.
Biti said the draft represented a milestone achievement for the MDC-T.

“This constitution represented years and years of work by the MDC in
advocating for a new people-driven constitution,” said Biti.

A statement released by the party yesterday said: “After extensive
deliberation, the National Council resolved to accept the constitutional
draft. This is despite the fact that some aspects which the MDC would have
wanted included in the draft could not be incorporated.

“The MDC urges Zimbabweans to ignore prophets of doom who have dismissed the
constitution as they want to reverse the gains made by the people.” -
NewsDay

Tortured for inspecting voters’ roll

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

Written by Thomas Madhuku, Own Correspondent
Monday, 06 August 2012 14:48

HARARE - On that dreadful Monday afternoon I walked into the evil forest
where no man has ever returned unharmed.

I sought to find out what exactly was wrong with my country’s voters’ roll.

I must admit, I was brave to choose to work on the voters’ roll story
considering how it has been topical and a source of power for President
Robert Mugabe’s decades - old regime even after the formation of the MDC in
1999.

Many reports about it suggested countless discrepancies in the form of ghost
voters, the underage among many other stories that I had heard even before I
became even a journalist.

My task was to actually investigate and confirm such anomalies and I must
admit that I got the shock of my life when I discovered that in Chipinge
South Constituency only, there were more than 1 441 anomalies.

Don’t mind the roll I studied because the copy I saw at the Registrar
General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede’s office pointed to a different story
altogether.

I set my sight on Mudede’s office because I respected the principle of fair
comment.

This is why I patiently waited for more than a week to finally get his
audience.

When I arrived at his office, I was shaking because since I started this
business of journalism I had never interviewed a top government official of
Mudede’s calibre, so I was really nervous but had to soldier on.

I was ushered into a room with three people already waiting for me and in no
time, Mudede joined us and we all stood up to show our respect.

He took me down memory lane explaining his adventures in my home area
Chipinge, how he had victimised white people at a certain club in Chipinge
after getting reports that the club accepted people who at that time owned
horses.

The pre-interview discussion between me and Mudede resulted in him calling
me Musharukwa, a trademark name in Chipinge usually given to respectable
people.

In no time we started the process of comparing my own copy of the voters’
roll and the one from his office.

I followed through, as Mudede’s assistants proved to me that Zimbabwe’s
voters’ roll was indeed perfect.
“So Musharukwa mazvionaka kuti the two documents are different,” he said.

After proving me wrong, his next mission was to know where I got my copy of
the voters’ roll.

I sensed danger and immediately sent a text to my friends and relatives that
I had landed myself into serious trouble at Mudede’s office.

Immediately I felt like I needed food to eat because I was hungry, I needed
to visit the toilet and I was thirsty. I ended up failing to understand what
exactly I wanted at that time.

Mudede had instructed his subordinates whom I understand are from the
dreaded Central Intelligence Office (CIO), to guard me while he called
vakomana.

I had arrived at his office at 1200 hours and by about 1500 hours, I began
losing hope of leaving the place. I waited and in the meantime friends and
relatives were calling to check on me.

Although I had feelings of trepidation I pulled the little strength left in
me at that moment to assure them that I was fine.

At around 5 pm, my lawyer arrived and immediately requested to see me, from
the room I was detained, I could overhear my lawyer arguing harshly with
Mudede who kept on telling him to get away.

I believe that led to the quick appearance of more CIO officers and the
police officer who later took me to the Law and Order section at Harare
Central Police Station.

Upon arrival at the police station, I was ushered into a room with countless
police officers.

I was questioned by the officers who wanted to know my intentions in
tempering with the voters’ roll.

“You want to write falsehoods so that Britain and America can maintain
sanctions against the country,” one police officer yelled at me. These
officers really appeared to be men on a mission.

“If you don’t want to tell us where you got the document, we will extract
the information from you,” another officer said.

They threatened me with all sorts of words and actions but I kept on
insisting that I did not remember the place.

After they demanded to see my press card, I swiftly pulled it from my pocket
and handed it over to them not knowing that I was adding more trouble to my
misery.

After a moment of scrutinising it, he said, “you are not registered.”

“So what were you doing at the RG’s office, you are not a journalist,” he
said.

I was later taken to the cells where I met more than 100 people picked from
the streets for various crimes ranging from touting, armed robbery and most
commonly “obstruction.”

I did not feel like eating, the drama that had started at 1200 hours had
frozen my appetite. I wanted time to rest after some good six hours of hell.

That cell which was to become my home for the next three days measured
around three by four metres and there we were 30 of us.

Bugs, urine stinking blankets and cold floors were my friends for all the
time I shared with suspects.

Ben Freeth Poem

Opportunity: Stares MDC formations in the face

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 6th August 2012.

Rather than waste valuable time and stationery preparing guides to a flawed
constitution and engaging in spin, the MDC formations should admit failure
in their negotiations for a new constitution and go back to the drawing
boards.

In view of the fact that Zanu-pf would like to renegotiate extensively and
if possible introduce new issues, the MDC formations should stop wasting
time engaging in the blame game and seize the opportunity to amend their own
mistakes which caused an outrage.

Procedures were never followed in the first, therefore, there is no point in
the MDCs saying the draft cannot be renegotiated. Procedures which were
breached include the sidelining of the outreach submissions and the
inclusion of a principal (Welshman Ncube) as a negotiator, something that is
very concerning.

COPAC should be held to account after gobbling US$45 million in three years
of squabbling. The coalition government has nothing to show of that money
and time. Attempts to suggest that Zimbabwe’s economy was back on track
because of the increased number of cars on the road did not work after the
Reserve Bank cautioned last week that the economy was in bad shape. It is
arguable that the cars on the roads could be the left overs from COPAC’s
US$45 million.

The MDC formations know very well that people are unhappy and don’t like the
draft constitution in its present form, based on reactions by civil society
bodies, but the two parties are now embarrassed to eat the humble pie and
return to the negotiating table after adopting the charter in record time
while Zanu-pf has made a U-turn on its approval of 97% citing what amounts
to more than 3% as unsatisfactory.

If only there were opinion polls in Zimbabwe, the public would say what they
prefer ahead of the 2nd stakeholders conference and before the revised copy
is debated in Parliament, then it would be easier to tell if the leaders are
still resonating with the public or not.

Behind closed doors, their members and civil society activists are angry at
what they see as betrayal on devolution, Gukurahundi, 2008 violence, land
seizures without compensation, disenfranchisement of exiles, a vague
reference to dual citizenship and many others.

Before asking people to vote Yes, it makes a lot of sense to for the
coalition parties to get certain things out of the way before parliament is
dissolved. First, they should address the issue of security sector reforms.

That could be done by at least retiring some of the controversial
securocrats like the Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri; Brigadier
General Nyikayaramba and the CIO Director General Happyton Bonyongwe to
ensure a free and fair referendum and elections; (for people to be convinced
that there are security sector reforms, they would like to see the immediate
criminal prosecution of beneficiaries of the culture of impunity).

Second, they should open up the air waves through the transparent licensing
of non-partisan independent radio and television broadcasting houses (this
is crucial prior to the referendum and elections - for informing and
educating the people about the diverse views on the draft constitution and
the competing manifestos or programmes of the respective parties, political
leaders and activists).

Third, the coalition parties should adopt an up-to-date biometric voters
roll (this is vital for eliminating multiple voting by capturing voters data
including fingerprints and a digital photograph. Countries that have adopted
biometric voters rolls include Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, Tanzania,
Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, among others.

Fourth, they should restore the Diaspora or Expatriate or Absentee Vote; (
According to a paper prepared by Andy Sundberg, based on information from
“Voting from Abroad”: The Intermediate IDEA Handbook, 2007, a total of 115
countries (including in Africa) allow external voting for various
combinations of elections from presidential and referendums to legislative
elections (see ‘The History and Politics of Diaspora Voting in Home Country
Elections’, http://www.overseasvotefoundation.org).

Fifth, the provision of Dual Citizenship (helps to promote development and
employment creation via investment in financial, commercial, manufacturing,
transport, properties and financial remittances – helped by tax/duty
holidays because ‘charity begins at home’, rather than wait for Foreign
Direct Investment, though vital, it usually comes with strings attached).

Reports that Zanu-pf wants the proposed National Peace and Reconciliation
Commission abolished even before it has been set up exposes the lies being
used to sanitise the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill.

The parties would be deluding themselves to believe that credible national
healing can take place by sweeping rights abuses committed before February
2009 under the carpet and before the victims of political violence and land
grab are compensated fairly and in full.

That is what matters more to the ordinary people of Zimbabwe than the
selection of presidential running mates. When opportunity stares MDC
formations in the face..!

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Identity, Citizenship, and the Registrar General: The Politicking of Identity in Zimbabwe

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/7965

August 6th, 2012

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The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) have released a new report on citizenship titled ‘Identity, Citizenship, and the Registrar General: The Politicking of Identity in Zimbabwe’. You can download a copy a this link.

Executive Summary This report addresses a fundamental issue that most people are aware of, but rarely give much attention to until they are personally affected; acquiring identity documents and citizenship. It is common knowledge that there are many challenges that Zimbabwean citizens face in accessing identity documents. It is also widely known that the prominence of the ‘alien’ status in 2002 through the amendment of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 4.1) has seen some people losing their Zimbabwean citizenship; forced to identify themselves as other nationalities to which their descendants belonged such as Malawian or Mozambican.

This report is based on the views and experiences of a total of 160 Zimbabwean women from 9 different provinces of the country. It details women’s perceptions of identity, the challenges they face in accessing identity documents and citizenship status as well as the consequences that losing or failing to access such documents and status has on the quality of their lives as well as the lives of their children. It also analyses the role that the Registrar General’s (RG) office plays in making identity documents and citizenship inaccessible entitlements to the general public.

The paper makes recommendations based on these women’s views and supporting evidence from previous analyses and press reportage; these recommendations would improve services that the RG’s office gives to the public if implemented.

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 12:03 pm

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