http://news.yahoo.com/
Reuters
By Cris Chinaka Cris
Chinaka – 11 mins ago
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) – Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe on Saturday
threatened to act against companies from
Western countries that have imposed
sanctions on his party over suspected
election fraud and rights abuses.
The 86-year-old leader repeated threats
to nationalize foreign firms,
threatening to retaliate against firms such as
Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX)
and Anglo American (AAL.L) (AGLJ.J), which
operate in Zimbabwe.
"We ask them, think again, think now. Is it
sanctions or no sanctions. We
will be very, very strict to the extent of
refusing investment from those
countries (that have imposed sanctions),"
Mugabe told ZANU-PF supporters at
the end of the party's annual
conference.
"If you have companies here, organizations here, we will work
against them
also."
He told reporters after the conference that the
companies "have to get their
mother countries to remove sanctions or there
will be sanctions against
them."
Anglo American and Rio Tinto
together with financial services firms Barclays
Plc (BARC.L) and Standard
Chartered (STAN.L) and food group Nestle (NESN.VX)
are some of the large
foreign-owned companies with investments in Zimbabwe.
The government
early this year published rules forcing foreign-owned
companies worth over
$500,000 to sell at least 51 percent of their shares to
local
blacks.
"NOT FOOLS"
"Why should Anglo American continue to take
our gold out? Why should Rio
Tinto continue to take our gold out? If the
sanctions remain and continue,
those processes will have to stop," Mugabe
said.
"Don't expect your banks here will remain what they are. We are not
fools."
Anglo American has in the past ten years sold its mines and sugar
estates in
Zimbabwe but Anglo Platinum (AMSJ.J) is developing a platinum
mine in
central Zimbabwe while Rio Tinto owns a diamond mine in the
south-west of
the country.
Analysts say the empowerment rules have
created uncertainty and deterred the
billions of dollars of foreign
investment required to rebuild the economy
after a decade of mismanagement
under Mugabe's ZANU-PF administration.
The veteran leader says the
country has suffered from sanctions imposed by
the European Union, United
States and Australia and says this is punishment
for seizing white-owned
farms for landless blacks.
Mugabe said his party was well prepared for
elections next year, adding his
opponents would not win as happened in 2008
when ZANU-PF lost its majority
in parliament.
Mugabe also lost the
presidential vote to Movement for Democratic Change
leader Morgan Tsvangirai
but retained power after a disputed run-off vote,
which forced the two
rivals to form a power-sharing government last year.
"What happened in
2008 is gone. The year 2008 is not coming back, never
ever, never ever.
ZANU-PF operates as an entity with a mission and we are on
a mission to
re-establish ourselves, our dominance," he told his supporters.
When
asked by reporters whether he was confident of victory, he said: "Sure,
why
not."
ZANU-PF, which officially endorsed Mugabe as presidential
candidate, also
resolved to expel envoys and relief agencies who meddle in
local politics,
tasked the government to draft a treason law for people or
organizations
that call for sanctions and to hold elections next year.
http://www.sabcnews.com/
December 18 2010 ,
6:20:00
Thulasizwe Simelane: Mutare
Zimbabwean president
Robert Mugabe wants a law that will make it a
treasonous offence to call for
sanctions to be imposed on the country. His
Zanu-PF party has consistently
accused Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change of marshalling
its Western backers to impose economic
restrictions on that
country.
Mugabe's proposal forms part of what he calls an anti-sanctions
strategy,
tabled at his party's annual conference. The mooted strategy
includes the
threat to take over United States (US) and British companies,
if those
countries maintain their sanctions on the president and his
leadership.
Mugabe was as combatitive as ever, with Western imposed
sanctions his pet
hate. Gentle persuasion has failed to bring about a
lifting of the embargo,
and now his administration says it is time for
drastic action. Mugabe also
sounded a subtle warning to Prime Minister
Tsvangirai's MDC, accused of
campaigning for the
restrictions.
Mugabe has his sights on US and British companies
operating in Zimbabwe,
saying in some cases his government needs to read the
riot act to the
British and other companies to say that 50% ownership will
be taken away
from them. He warned that at some stage they will have a go at
the companies’
100% and eventually take them over.
The Zimbabwe
president says his coalition arrangement with Tsvangirai cannot
be allowed
to continue. It could be derived from deliberations on the first
day of
Zanu’s conference that elections for the coming year are a foregone
conclusion if Mugabe and his party have anything to do with it.
Associated Press
(AP) – 2 hours
ago
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's president said Saturday his party
is
ready to regain its political dominance, likening it to a fast-moving
train
that would crush those who stood in its way.
Winding up the
annual convention of his ZANU-PF party, President Robert
Mugabe said the
party was "rejuvenated" after losing its parliamentary
majority in the last
elections. He described it as a "fired, fueled,
fast-moving
train."
Mugabe has called for national elections next year to bring an
end to the
shaky two-year coalition with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a
former
longtime opposition leader.
But in his closing address to
4,500 party loyalists, Mugabe stopped short of
declaring a timetable for
future elections. He has been in power in Zimbabwe
for 30
years.
Tsvangirai's party argues the nation is not ready for elections
next year,
citing economic woes and long delays in rewriting the nation's
outdated
constitution.
The coalition was formed after violence-marred
elections in 2008 that lost
Mugabe his three-decade parliamentary majority.
Tsvangirai and his Movement
for Democratic Change party boycotted a
presidential runoff poll, citing
torture, intimidation and illegal arrests
of his supporters.
Mugabe described the convention in the eastern city of
Mutare as two
historical days that would chart the party's work in future
months.
"We are back on the revolutionary rails," Mugabe said.
He
said delegates gave momentum to black empowerment programs. Tsvangirai's
party insists that business takeovers are scaring away much needed investors
in the embattled economy.
Mugabe said foreign banks and financial
institutions will be scrutinized
under the empowerment drive.
"Don't
expect your banks here to remain the same as they have been," he
said.
Foreign mining interests were removing gold and minerals from
the country
and making money from them. "This must now stop," Mugabe
said.
Foreign companies whose nations imposed targeted sanctions
involving travel
and banking bans on Mugabe and his party leaders also faced
measures against
them.
"We will be very, very strict to the extent of
even refusing investment from
their countries", said Mugabe.
On
Friday, Mugabe warned that unless sanctions are removed his party will
take
100 percent of Western firms. Under the current empowerment laws, black
Zimbabweans can acquire a 51 percent stake in main
businesses.
Britain, the former colonial power, the U.S. and the European
Union enforced
restrictions on Mugabe and his party elite to protest
democratic and human
rights violations in a decade of political and economic
turmoil.
http://www.mg.co.za
FANUEL JONGWE | MUTARE, ZIMBABWE - Dec
18 2010 16:45
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's party was on
Saturday set to back his
push for elections in the country early next year
as supporters pledged to
"bury forever" his "Western" backed political
rivals.
Delegates from Mugabe's Zanu-PF movement were meeting behind
closed doors on
the last day of its annual conference in the eastern city of
Mutare where
the veteran president is due to address delegates at 7:00 pm
(1700 GMT).
"Zanu-PF is on an unstoppable roll," said Simon Moyo, the
party's national
chairperson, ahead of the speech where Mugabe is expected
to be re-endorsed
as its candidate for national polls in 2011.
"I
would like to urge this conference to build on that momentum as we go
towards the next general election scheduled for next year."
Moyo also
hit out at the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, who for almost two years has shared power with
long-time
foe Mugabe after an inconclusive presidential election in 2008.
"We want
to bury, once and for all, this Western project called the MDC,"
Moyo said.
"We must bury forever this combined British and American
non-governmental
organisation. For that is what the MDC is," he added.
The coalition has
been on the brink of collapse for months with Mugabe and
Tsvangirai at
loggerheads over how to handle the country's massive debt and
food
shortages, and internal haggling over who gets key jobs.
Power sharing
must end
On Friday, Mugabe told more than 4 000 delegates attending the
conference
that the power-sharing agreement between Zanu-PF and the MDC was
not working
and it must end.
He also threatened to nationalise
British and American companies operating
in Zimbabwe if the international
community failed to drop restrictions
placed on him and his inner
circle.
The Zimbabwe leader wants presidential and Parliamentary polls on
the same
day next year, but the MDC has said key reforms must be put in
place first
to ensure a free and fair vote.
Rights groups say
hundreds of political activists were killed during the
last presidential
election in 2008. The MDC has said fair elections are not
possible until
2012 at the earliest and possibly as late as 2013.
However, Lovemore
Madhuku, chairman of pro-democracy group the National
Constitutional
Assembly of Zimbabwe, told Agence France-Presse that the
MDC's concerns
would be ignored. "Zanu-PF will push for those elections no
matter what," he
said.
In March 2008, Tsvangirai won the presidential election defeating
Mugabe,
but he fell short of the required majority resulting in a run-off
ballot
months later which the MDC leader refused to take part in and Mugabe
won
unopposed.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed the compromise
administration in February the
following year. -- Sapa-AFP
http://www.radiovop.com
18/12/2010 14:18:00
HARARE, December
17 , 2010-The leader of the smaller formation of the
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) Arthur Mutambara says he will not be
standing for re-election
at the party,s next congress set for January next
year to allow his
secretary-general Welshman Ncube to take over the
leadership.
Mutambara’s decision comes in the wake of a decision by
the party,s Bulawayo
province which chose to field Ncube for the post of
president at the
congress.
“I am not running for re-election at the next
congress. I have done my part
and I would like to give an opportunity to
others to assume leadership
positions. My time was productive and it’s time
for another leader,”
Mutambara told a local, privately-owned daily
newspaper.
Mutambara admitted that the congress had caused divisions in
his party but
hoped his withdrawal from the race would unite the party.Ncube
is believed
to have masterminded the split of the MDC in 2005 following
bitter behind
the scenes war with Morgan Tsvangirai.
“By not
participating, I hope there will be unity in the party. I’m not
standing for
any nomination in the provincial councils or leadership
positions but I will
remain a member of the party. I don’t have to be a
leader to be politically
involved,” Mutambara said.
MDC-M Harare province has joined others which
have openly decided to back
Ncube for the leadership of the party which only
enjoys popular support in
Matabeleland South province..Ncube angered his
supporters in Matabeleland
when he invited Mutambara to lead the party soon
after the split.
He however, did not contest the 2008 presidential elections
after the party
decided to back Mavambo Kusile leader, Simba Makoni who came
third behind
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Zanu PF leader Robert
Mugabe.
After the formation of the coalition government in 2008, Mutambara
was
appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
http://www.radiovop.com
18/12/2010
14:16:00
NYAZVIDZI, December 18, 2010 – Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC-T)
activists from Nyazvidzi area in Gutu North constituency are
fleeing to
neigbouring urban settlements after armed soldiers, police, Zanu
(PF) youths
and war veterans started victimizing them as campaign for next
year,s
anticipated elections begin.
Activists who spoke to Radio Vop
on Friday said they were afraid to stay in
their villages after fellow
villagers were severely beaten during previous
elections.Legislator for the
area Admore Maramwidze Hamandishe confirmed the
development saying at least
two people are dying in his constituency every
month due to injuries
sustained from politically motivated assaults.
“There are no more MDC-T
youths here.All of them are fleeing after Zanu PF
youth, war veterans and
armed soldiers who patrol the area openly announced
that they are prepared
to ‘slaughter our supporters like goats before
pouring acid on them’ as
soon as we start campaigning.
“The threats are not taken lightly since we
bury our comrades every two
weeks,” said Hamandishe.
The latest
victims of violence in Gutu North are Crispen Gurajena and his
wife Raina
who died in Gutu Mission Hospital last week. The two left young
children who
are afraid to stay at home alone.
“Since the death of our parents, we are
afraid to stay at home alone. We
meet the people who killed our parents
everyday and we are not sure of what
they might do to us. The same people
who killed our parents came here and
took all things including the plough,
maize seed and other property, leaving
us with nothing,” said Tafadzwa
Gurajena, 16, their son who wept bitterly
during the interview.
The
deceased were ordered to eat their faeces on the day they fell victim
for
their support for the MDC-T.Ward three chairman Phillip Mahachi said his
wife Mavis, 38 , is admitted in a hospital in Harare as she failed to
recover since the day she was beaten.
“All our children are no longer
staying with us. They fled and they are now
living in safer areas. My wife
is critically ill and I am afraid that she
might be the next victim of this
violence ,” said Mahachi.War veterans led
by retired colonel identified as
Masanganise are moving around Gutu
threatening to crush the MDC-T supporters
like flies if they did not support
President Mugabe.
Hamandishe said the
government must make sure that the issue of national
healing was addressed
as a matter of urgent.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
18 December,
2010 10:22:00 Staff Reporter
Robert Mugabe's Secret Service head
retired Major General Happyton Bonyongwe
is demanding US$10 million from
Africa Consolidated Resources boss Mr Andrew
Cranswick as damages for
defamation over the information he reportedly
supplied to WikiLeaks, a
whistle-blowing website.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono
is also claiming US$12,5
million from The Standard News-paper over alleged
defamation from the same
source.
The two claims were made barely two
days after the First Lady Amai Grace
Mugabe filed a US$15 million lawsuit
against the same paper over the
information sourced from
WikiLeaks.
The three say reports published on the whistle-blowing website
listing them
among high-ranking and well-connected people benefiting from
illegal diamond
sales were false and damaging to their
reputations.
Through his lawyer, Mr Joseph Mafusire of Scanlen and
Holderness, Rtd Maj
Gen Bonyongwe yesterday wrote to Mr Cranswick demanding
the money while Dr
Gono filed a US$12,5 million suit against the paper at
the High Court.
Dr Gono’s lawyer Mr George Chikumbirike of Chikumbi-rike
and Associates
argues that the story published by The Standard on December
12 headlined
“First Lady, Gono in diamond scandal — WikiLeaks” was false and
highly
defamatory of the Governor.
According to a letter from Rtd Maj
Gen Bonyogwe’s lawyers, if the ACR boss
failed to pay the money in five
days, summons will be issued out at the High
Court.
The report the
CIO boss complained about was headlined “REGIME ELITES
LOOTING DEADLY
DIAMOND FIELD” and it was dispatched on December 8, 2009.
The letter of
demand reads: “It is reported in that dispatch that according
to you (Mr
Cranswick) certain high-ranking Zimbabwean Government officials
and
well-connected elite were generating millions of dollars in personal
income
by engaging in illicit trade in diamonds from Chiadzwa mine in
eastern
Zimbabwe.
“Among other officials or personnel or officers in the
Zimbabwean Government
named by you was our client.”
The letter quoted
a portion of the WikiLeaks report that reads: “Cranswick
said that RBZ
Governor Gideon Gono, Grace Mugabe, wife of President Robert
Mugabe, Vice
President Joice Mujuru, (the then) Mines and Mining Development
Minister
Amos Midzi, General Constantine Chiwenga and wife Jocelyn, CIO
director
Happyton Bonyongwe, Manicaland Governor Chris Mushohwe and several
white
Zimbabweans including Ken Sharpe, Greg Scott and Hendrick O’Neill, are
involved in the Marange diamond trade”.
It is Rtd Maj Gen Bonyongwe’s
contention that the report was false and he
was never involved in any
illegal trade of diamonds from Chiadzwa.
He feels the report that reached
millions worldwide seriously defamed him
and that he should be paid
damages.
“Our client was never involved in any trade in diamonds from
Chiadzwa or
anywhere else. He has not been involved in any mineral of
whatever kind in
Zimbabwe or elsewhere,”
Mr Mafusire said.
Mr
Cranswick’s conduct, the lawyer argues, has severely damaged Rtd Maj Gen
Bonyongwe’s fame and reputation.
It has impugned his dignity and
character, the lawyer said.
“As a result of your conduct, our client has
suffered damages. He intends to
clear his name. That is done by claiming
damages for defamation. In the
premises, we are instructed to demand, as we
hereby do, payment of the sum
of $10 million as damages for
defamation.
“We regret to advise that unless we receive a tender of
payment within five
working days of the date of this letter, we shall issue
summons without any
further reference to you,” said Mr
Mafusire.
Harare lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange who usually represents ACR
and Mr
Cranswick said he had not seen the letter neither had he been
instructed to
handle the case.
“I have not received the said letter
and if Mr Cranswick was surely served
with that letter, I will simply wait
for instructions from him,” said Mr
Samukange. (Herald)
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Irene Moyo
Saturday, 18 December 2010
10:31
HARARE – Chinese poachers have been accused of killing six rhinos
at a game
sanctuary near Harare as incidents linking the spreading Chinese
footprint
in Africa to both rhino and elephant killings escalated.
The
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said at least six rhinos were poached
at
the Nyamaneche Game Sanctuary this month, forcing the owners to move the
three remaining rhinos to a safer location. ZCTF chairman Johnny Rodrigues
suspects that a Chinese firm mining chrome in the area was behind the
attack.
"There were nine rhinos at the sanctuary, six have been poached
and they
can't find the other three," Rodrigues told The Zimbabwean On
Sunday. “We
believe it is the Chinese ...they have some concessions here to
build hotels
and for hunting,” he said. The Zimbabwean on Sunday was unable
to get
comment on the matter from either the Chinese embassy in Harare of
the firm
accused of poaching rhinos.
Zimbabwe’s population of black and
white rhinos was put at 3 000 in the
1980s but it has since been revised to
about 700.
Decades of rhino conservation are at serious risk of being
undermined by
crime syndicates funded by the demand for illegal rhino horn,
which is still
used in traditional Chinese medicines. Last year the wildlife
trade
monitoring network TRAFFIC found that Zimbabwe lost over 25 percent of
its
rhino population between 2006 and 2009 to illegal killing. This
troubling
figure includes 89 percent of all black rhinos killed on the
continent.
Incidents linking the spreading Chinese footprint in Africa to
both rhino
and elephant killings have been escalating in recent years. Last
week, a
critically endangered black rhino was killed in the world-famous
Serengeti
National Park amid growing concerns that Tanzania’s warm
relationship with
China could lead to further problems with its precious
pachyderms. In
Southern Africa, there are increased reports of rhino
killings in areas
where Chinese newcomers are working and settling.
The
rhino killings appear to be concentrated along the Mozambique-South
Africa
border, the eastern border of South Africa’s Kruger National Park,
down to
KwaZulu-Natal, and into Zimbabwe.
Illegal rhino horn is in highly sought
after for use in traditional
medicines in China and Vietnam, despite the
fact rhino horn has been
extensively analyzed and contains no medicinal
properties.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) The price of fuel has
risen by about 10 percent since
the beginning of December amid reports of
rampant colluding among suppliers
that has led to acute shortages of the
commodity in some towns, APA learns
here Saturday.
The price of
petrol has risen from US$1.20 a litre at the beginning of the
month to an
average US$1.31 per litre at most fuel stations in the capital
Harare.
Diesel prices are now pegged at US$1.20 a litre, from about
US$1 a litre at
the end of November.
Suppliers have blamed the sharp
hike in fuel prices to logistical problems
at Mozambique’s Beira port from
where Zimbabwe gets most of its supplies.
They said rising water levels
at the Mozambican port are making it difficult
for ships to dock, resulting
in delays in fuel delivery.
Residents of Masvingo, about 300km south of
the capital Harare, are however
blaming the shortages on collusion by
suppliers who want to create a crisis
ahead of the Christmas break in order
to justify further price increases.
Long queues have resurfaced in the
town which has been without fuel for the
past two
days.
JN/ad/APA
2010-12-18
http://www.radiovop.com/
18/12/2010 09:49:00
Masvingo, December 18, 2010 -
Most fuel filling stations in Masvingo had ran
out of both petrol and diesel
by Friday amid fears that this is a deliberate
move by fuel suppliers who
want price hikes.
Motorists who spoke to Radio VOP said there were very
few supplies, forcing
them to resort to the diminishing black market where
the commodity is more
expensive.
"I have searched for fuel the whole
town. I have been referred to informal
traders at the black market.
Initially, I did not want to go there as the
prices are high and there is
the risk of the fuel being mixed with water,
but it looks like I have no
option," said Edwin Kamanda.
Only BP garage had fuel but the queue was
long.
A worker at the garage said the shortage may be artificial as
suppliers
wanted a price hike in line with the global market.
"Our
bosses temporarily halted the importation of the precious liquid as
they
want to adjust to increased prices. Fuel has reached a record high at
the
international market, so we expect the next supplies to have higher
prices,
said a petrol attendant.
The rise in fuel will cause a subsequent
increase in the prices of almost
all goods and services ahead of the Xmas
and New Year holidays, making
travelling expensive at a time when many
people want to travel to their
rural areas to see their families.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Irene Moyo
Friday, 17
December 2010 17:43
HARARE – The MDC-T led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai (Pictured) has
upped the stakes in its power-sharing wrangle with
President Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu (PF), this time demanding the reconvening of
an aborted Southern
African Development Community (SADC) emergency summit to
break Harare’s
political deadlock.
Speaking after a meeting of the MDC-T
national executive and national
council in Harare last Thursday, Tsvangirai
said SADC should urgently
reconvene the meeting of its security troika which
failed to take place in
Botswana last month. “Pursuant to the aborted
extra-ordinary meeting of the
SADC Organ Troika of the 20th of November
2010, council calls on SADC to
immediately reconvene the aborted meeting,”
Tsvangirai told reporters in
Harare.
The former opposition leader, who is
one-third of a shaky coalition
government with Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara
of a smaller MDC faction, said
the SADC summit should discuss an election
roadmap to elections as well as
“toxic issues including the issue of
violence, deployment, of security
agents in the countryside and a corrosive
media”. The initial meeting was
cancelled after two key members of the SADC
security troika – Zambia’s
President Rupiah Banda and President
Armando
Guebuza – mysteriously failed to turn up for the summit.
Tsvangirai said the
MDC-T council was concerned about the failure by the
coalition government to
implement the 24 outstanding issues agreed by the
global political agreement
(GPA) principals. “Council...now calls on the
principals of the parties to
take measures to implement and execute the
agreed positions as reflected in
the negotiators report dated the 3rd of
April 2010 and more importantly, to
enforce and uphold the implementation
matrix as agreed by the principals on
the 8th of June 2010,” he said.
On elections, the Prime Minister said his
party’s position was that
Zimbabweans should only go for elections to choose
a new president next year
while parliamentary polls should be held in 2013.
“For the avoidance of
doubt, council resolves that the next election should
be solely for the
disputed presidential election of 2008 with a harmonised
election to be held
in 2013 as prescribed in the Constitution,” he
said.
The MDC-T council also said neither Mugabe nor Zanu (PF) have the right
to
unilaterally call for the presidential election, insisting that Article
23.1.b of the GPA and the 8th Schedule of the Constitution stipulated that
the President has to consult his coalition partners. The SADC elections
roadmap should deal with the creation of adequate conditions for a free and
fair election, guarantees against violence and security of people, proper
monitoring and policing of the election – including the question of SADC
presence six months before and six months after the election – and
guarantees with respect to the honouring of the people’s will.
http://www.radiovop.com
17/12/2010
22:12:00
Masvingo, December 16, 2010 -The massive army recruitment
exercise being
carried countrywide has been rocked by allegations of
corruption and abuse
of young girls and boys intending to join the
military.
Some aspiring recruits who responded to press adverts from the
Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA) and went to the recruitment exercise held
Wednesday at
army headquarters Four Brigade here told Radio VOP that some
officers were
asking for bribes from boys, while soliciting for sex from
girls as a
prerequisite to gain entry.
“We passed everything and
completed the ten kilometre running distance well
in time. But some officers
started asking for $5 bribes during the vetting
exercise.
“But we had
no money; we did not know that there could be a need for money.
The officers
were demanding sex from the girls. It is so shocking,” one
participant
said.
He said relatives of war veterans were making it into the army even
without
completing the ten-kilometre running distance within the recommended
time.
Another girl said she went back home without getting the job after
she
refused to have sex with a senior officer who had demanded
sex.
“They demanded sex afterwards...but I refused. And I did not make
it, but it
is better that way,” said the girl.
But Four Brigade
public relations officer, Warrant Officer Class two,
Kingston Chivave,
refuted the allegations.
“I am not aware of that. As far as we are
concerned, there is transparency
in the manner in which we rope in soldiers.
That is why there were so many
officers,” he said.
Chivave undertook
to look into the matter.
http://www.radiovop.com/
18/12/2010
14:08:00
JOHANNESBURG, December 18, 2010-The Senator for Tsholotsho
Believe Gaule has
made a passionate appeal to young men in his constituency
to stop smuggling
weapons from South Africa saying their actions could give
police and army an
excuse to crackdown on the entire Matabeleland
province.
Speaking to Radio Vop from Tsholotsho, the senator said the
smuggling of
guns into the district has become a serious cause for concern
and should be
stopped.Tsholotsho district has a history of violent crime
dating back to
the colonial era.
“ Please stop bringing in weapons
from South Africa because you will put the
lives of your parents and other
villagers at risk.Zimbabwe is not like South
Africa.If you commit crimes
here, you will get arrested and punished, ”
Gaule told Radio Vop.
The
senator,s appeal comes in the wake of recent discovery of weapons in
some
homesteads near the business centre.The weapons were found during
surprise
raids by police and security agents in homesteads belonging to
Zimbabweans
working in South Africa, affectionately known in Matabeleland as
Injiva.
Gaule also confirmed the deaths of three youths who were
allegedly beaten
to death by suspected agents of the central government.The
youths were
buried in their villages two weeks ago.
“ As a leader I
don’t condone crime no matter who is committing it.If the
youths in the
district commit crimes they must be arrested and tried in our
courts but
unfortunately I am told there are some youths who were arrested
and never
taken to court for trial, ” said Gaule who is also a senior
provincial
leader of the MDC formation led by Arthur Mutambara.
He said the
information he got later was that the suspects were
dead.According to
villagers who spoke to Radio Vop by phone, the deceased
were abducted from
their shack in Diepsloot township north of
Johannesburg.The kidnappers were
suspected to be agents of the Zimbabwe
government.The abduction was carried
out with the help of another youth from
Tsholotsho who was a friend of the
deceased.
Radio Vop also spoke to neighbours in Diepsloot who confirmed the
abduction
but the matter was not reported to the South African police.The
deceased
lived together in their shack until the day they were abducted.The
abduction, according to friends was carried out just before midnight when
most of the residents in the township had gone to bed.
“ What I know
is that the people who abducted the youths were driving two
Mercedes Benz
vehicles.No one saw the number plates, said a neighbour in
Diepsloot who
only gave his name as Hadebe.
The youths were active members of the South
African based Matabeleland
Freedom Party (MFP).
“I can confirm that
three of our youth league members were abducted here in
Johannesburg by
suspected Zimbabwean agents and we have received information
from home that
they are all dead, ” said David Magagula, a senior official
of the
party.
The party is advocating for autonomy for Matabeleland but it is
meeting
resistance from many people in the region who are in favour
devolution of
power than autonomy.Radio Vop was not able to get a comment
from the police
in Tsholotsho or Bulawayo about the three youth robbery
suspects who were
abducted from Johannesburg, driven back to Zimbabwe and
allegedly beaten to
death.A police officer who answered the phone in
Tsholotsho refused to talk
referring all enquiries to Bulawayo police
spokesman.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Gift Phiri
Saturday, 18 December 2010
10:35
HARARE – Zimbabwean parliamentarians have arm-twisted Finance
Minister
Tendai Biti (Pictured) to hike their salaries two-fold, making them
the best
paid government workers.
After threatening to sink Biti’s 2011
national budget, the Members of
Parliament managed to squeeze up to US$1 200
in basic monthly pay each from
the cash-strapped Treasury. Under the new pay
scales, which become effective
from January 2011, the legislators will take
home between US$900 and US$1
200, in addition to getting new single-cab
vehicles for their personal use.
The under-siege Biti also agreed to write
off the MPs’ debts arising from a
vehicle loan scheme entered into last
year.
Make you smile
It is estimated that Treasury would need an
additional US$4 million to
purchase new cars for about 270 legislators
depending on the make. "I want
to thank honourable members who have
contributed and I want to say to
chairpersons of committees, we have
discussed with your whips, they will
give you an update on what we have
discussed, which I am
quite sure will make you smile," Biti told the House of
Assembly last week.
Apparently what will make the legislators smile is the
hefty salary increase
and the new vehicles. Last year legislators got new
Mazda BT50 vehicles,
which cost government US$6 milllion. Despite the
rumblings of discontent,
there was no backbench revolt after Biti sweetened
the pay checks for the
legislators.
The previously contested Estimates of
Expenditure for 2011, the Finance Bill
and Appropriation (2011) Bill were
passed without further debate, together
with the Revised Estimates for 2010
and the related Appropriation (2010)
Amendment (No. 2)
Bill.
Austerity approach
Analysts however questioned Biti’s wisdom for
departing from his prudent
austerity approach by agreeing to meet the MPs’
salary demands at a time the
economy is not generating that much. Since his
appointment last year, the
minister has always insisted that the
cash-strapped Zimbabwean government
would operate on the basis of “we eat
what we kill” philosophy.
In the 2011 budget statement presented last month,
he even told the
parliamentarians that the government wage bill was chewing
up as much as 60
percent of the US$1 billion-plus revenue collected annually
and that there
was need to continue with the currently system of cash
budgeting.
“The unfortunate part of it all is that by agreeing to pay the MPs
so much,
the minister has effectively signalled civil servants to come in
with
demands for more pay. How will he refuse to also pay market rates for
civil
servants when he has already acceded to the demands of his peers in
parliament?” said an economist with a Harare-based financial
institution.
Average monthly income in the Zimbabwe government is about
US$200, while
most of the population earns less than US$1 a day. An MDC-T MP
who spoke on
condition of anonymity said the increase would go a long way in
restoring
the "dignity and honour" of legislators which he said had become
the
laughing stock.
Run for office
Zanu (PF) MP Kudakwashe
Bhasikiti, who tabled the motion to increase MPs’
salaries, said while the
figure remains low as compared to other legislative
jurisdictions around
Southern African Development Community (SADC), the new
salary scale would
"compensate" for the heavy responsibility they shoulder
in the economic,
political and social development of the country.
Several legislators
rubbished criticism of the increase, saying those
complaining should run for
office and join the legislature. Fortunately,
most Zimbabweans are not
convinced, and conveyed their outrage over the
increase in a vox pop with
The Zimbabwean. Since most of the population
earns less than $1 per day, it
is easy to understand the widespread anger
towards this decision, as
Zimbabwean MPs will now make, but certainly not
earn, upwards of $16,000 per
year.
A middle-aged woman, Mai Chido from Glen Norah said Zimbabweans might
be
able to stomach the huge numbers involved if it meant the selfless
delivery
of services and an end to corruption.
"If taxpayers are now
paying them that much, then they must deliver and end
huori or corruption,"
she said. Political commentator Ronald Shumba said
what makes the decision
even more appalling is the record of Zanu PF MPs,
some of them fingered in
the 2008 post-election violence.
Greed
Many lamented the legislators'
greed, and demanded that they must now
declare their assets, a move
vigorously opposed by corrupt parliamentarians.
"Their order of business has
not been to produce legislation that would
improve the lives of Zimbabwe's
poor, but to quadruple their salaries, well
beyond the base inflation rate,"
Shumba said.
In defence of the increase, MPs decried the difficulties of
travelling to
their constituencies, complaining specifically that
the
deteriorating roads were damaging their luxury vehicles. So once again
the
question was posed by many, how could MPs complain about having to
replace
the tyres of their Mazda BT50 vehicles when thousands of people in
their own
constituencies are starving?
"Are they saying their cars are
more important than Zimbabweans' lives?"
Ruvimbo Mutero, a civil servant at
Mukwati Building asked. Another civil
servant said: "They must fix the
roads not buy cars, so that we all
benefit."
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by FUNGI
KWARAMBA AND JEFFREY MOYO
Friday, 17 December 2010 10:22
2HARARE -
Jeffrey Moyo completed a mass communication diploma at the once
revered
Harare Polytechnic four years ago. His hope was to get a job and
become a
respected journalist. With a shrunken media market his hopes dimmed
and he
opted to be a freelance reporter. (Pictured: Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists
Secretary General Foster Dongozi - "We would like to have our
own press
card.”)
Recently Jeffrey and another freelance journalist, Melody Hamutyinei,
were
arrested during the course of their duties.
“There are some crooks
and a myriad of imposters capitalizing on the
oppression of independent
journalists by some errant politicians and are
therefore intimidating them
(reporters) at will, denying them access to
information as a cover-up for
their bogus activities,” said Moyo.
On the 8th of December, in the company of
a colleague, Melody Hamutyinei, a
fellow journalist, the two crossed over to
Hatfield, tracking down a
self-styled bogus doctor and Chief Executive
Officer for Community Health
Options, Dr Raymond Chamba, who had allegedly
fleeced scores of desperate
job seekers of thousands of dollars in
unjustified and therefore suspicious
employment fees.
“We found him
comfortably hibernating at number 54 George Road, Hatfield
after he sneaked
away from his former Karigamombe Centre offices following
reports that his
victims continued to nag his bogus premises, demanding
their dues as they
realized that they had been duped,” said Moyo.
“At the entrance, we were
greeted by some three ladies who posed as
secretaries, apparently standing
like bodyguards as there were no chairs,
not even an office phone to
complement Chamba’s professionalism.” The two
journalists were allowed in
the doctor’s office after one of the secretaries
dashed into the office to
inform the boss about their arrival although they
did not have an
appointment.
Initially, the two journalists had tried to call Chamba on his
number to
place an appointment, but the voice mail informed us that the
number was no
longer in use until one of his victims who declined to be
named gave the two
directions to his new venue of scams in Hatfield. “There
were three
professional looking guys who greeted us when we gained entry to
the office,
but at first impression they were not at all comfortable with
our presence.
“On introducing our aim of coming to the place, the guy who
identified
himself as Dr Raymond Chamba threatened to hand us over to one of
his
Central Intelligence operative friend, whom he claimed was nearby,” said
Moyo. “He said he was not comfortable to speak to us as he did not know us
and immediately jolted for the exit, banged the door shut after him and
apparently locked us inside.
“Two guys remained with us, questioned us,
asked us about what we were doing
for the American Embassy, asked us about
the whereabouts of The Zimbabwean
Editor, Wilf Mbanga. “They fired a
barrage of questions whose answers we
could not give because we were
completely petrified with fear. They demanded
our press cards, which
unfortunately we did not have on us.
“We could have been wrong by forgetting
to carry our press cards, but
detaining us was utterly not within the bounds
of their prerogative. For
close to two hours, the guys whose names we could
not get grilled us over
and over again.
“Later, I sought permission to
make a call and it was surprisingly granted
and I made a call to Dumisani
Mleya, Assistant Editor of The Zimbabwe
Independent, whose conversation I
still think cooled the flaring tempers in
the office of detention as our
interrogators became a bit friendly with us
probably after following my talk
with Dumisani, which to them indicated
indeed we were journalists.
“Later
on, Dr Chamba stormed the office with three fierce-looking guys, who
identified themselves as police officers although they did not produce their
identity cards. Their arrival aggravated our fears. “We were immediately
whisked away in an unmarked blue Peugeot 306 vehicle, which drove round and
round with us, driven by a very hostile woman who kept asking us why we came
without our press cards. “We were bundles of shivers as we did not know what
lied ahead of us. “The vehicle dumped us at Hatfield Police Station, where
we were further detained for over three hours in the Intelligence unity,
awaiting Chamba to come and launch an official police report.
The police
kept calling Chamba on his phone, but he also kept terminating
their calls
with the intentions best known to him. Police had to find no
other option
except to release us and let us go after strongly warning us
against
neglecting our press cards when carrying out our journalistic
duties. But
still questions lingered in my head: Did the police know that
some
imposters, crooks and scammers were using them to stop newsmen from
probing
them (scammers)? Did the police bother to investigate people like
Chamba?
“This rot will perpetuate into catastrophic proportions if police
will work
with blinkers and undermine operations of journalists in trying to
bring
crooks to book. “I will never forget the incident. It may sound very
minor
to the journalism giants around me for it was not handled as news
then, but
it was such a nasty experience. “ For a young journalist to be
detained and
interrogated for the first time in his or her carrier spells
out serious
terror, especially in a country where journalists are deemed
enemies of the
state and agents of neo-imperialism by forces that have
perpetually sought
to maintain their unjustified tenacity to power,” said
Moyo.
In light of the increasing harassment of media practitioners, the
Zimbabwe
Union of Journalists said it intended to introduce a press card
that would
be issued by the Union. "We would like to have our own press card
that
identifies journalists in the country. We want to do that so as to weed
out
people who masquerade as journalists, because it is easy for the state
to
give its agents the ZMC (Zimbabwe Media Commission) accreditation card,"
said the union's Secretary General Foster Dongozi.
Since the mid 90s
colleges that offer journalism have been sprouting up.
Today there are more
than six institutions of higher learning that offer
journalism courses
despite that the media market is not expanding. An
estimated 100 journalism
graduates are released into the media market each
year and fail to get jobs.
Although the ZMC gave licenses to five newspapers
midyear, only one paper
has been able to start operating and it cannot
absorb all college graduates.
Other papers that were issued with licences
are still to start due to the
economic challenges.
"I have gone to all the papers in the country and I have
not been any lucky.
All the papers want experienced writers. But I have
never been in the field
long enough to gain experience. I hope that I would
get a job one day.
Meanwhile I write for The Zimbabwean and I am happy that
I am gaining
experience. However, my passion is to be a broadcaster," said
Moyo.
The broadcasting sector if it was open would have perhaps created
opportunities for scores of journalists. However, the government has been
reluctant to grant licenses to new players despite that it is one of the
requirements of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by President
Robert Mugabe of Zanu (PF) and the two Movement for Democratic (MDC) faction
leaders Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy premier Arthur
Mutambara.
After the detention the two journalists headed for the offices
of ZMC
seeking to be registered. They were given forms in which they have to
give
away their home addresses, phone numbers and ID numbers. The two were
denied
accreditation because The Zimbabwean which is based in London, but is
distributed in Zimbabwe, is not registered. This means the two risk being
arrested again if they continue to report for The Zimbabwean.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by OTTILIA ANNA MAUNGANIDZE
Thursday, 16
December 2010 12:37
At Pretoria-based Tshwane Home of Hope, the jubilant
young faces of the
girls who live there hide the truth of the horrors they
have encountered. On
the premises is a trauma centre – aptly dubbed by one
of the residents as
“the hope sanctuary” – here the girls meet with a
resident social worker and
psychologist to share their stories, stories that
will never leave the four
walls of the room.
The Home receives new girls
often – most are walk-ins, while the police
bring others in from the street
corners on which they would have been
working. The youngest girl is seven
and the oldest is 21; they hail from
South Africa, as well as places further
afield like Zimbabwe, Burundi, and
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their
reasons for coming to the centre are
as diverse as their backgrounds.
However, they all have one thing in
common – they want to be safe. While not
all these girls have been
trafficked or once worked in the sex industry,
they are all at the Home
because they have run away from
violence.
Protection
Tendai Joe, director of the centre and also a
former street child, works
tirelessly to ensure the girls receive adequate
protection, go to school and
live a life they deserve. Human trafficking and
modern-day slavery continues
to gnaw at the moral fabric of our society.
Globally, according to research
conducted by the United States State
Department, more than one million
people are trafficked annually. How many
of those are in Southern Africa is
not known.
Human trafficking by its
very nature is a form of gender-based violence, not
least because the
majority of those trafficked are female, but also because
physical and
sexual violence are its bedfellows. While there are many forms
of human
trafficking, the most common is sex trafficking of women and
children.
Though some of the women trafficked willingly participate in sex
work to
escape poverty, a 2005 International Organisation for Migration
(IOM) study
found that most are led into sex work because they are lied to,
told they
will be able to pursue an education, get married or get the job
that will
help them out of poverty.
In the sub-region, South Africa is the main
destination for trafficking
victims, with women and children coming from
neighbouring countries and
conflict zones further afield. Poverty and
desperation coupled with a
culture of patriarchy means that women are doubly
vulnerable not only to
trafficking, but to the violence that comes with
it.
Xenophobia
Most disconcerting are the findings of a 2008/9 Wits
University Law Clinic
study on access to gender-based violence services in
South Africa by migrant
women. It found that two thirds of South African
organisations that provide
services to gender-based violence survivors offer
their services exclusively
to South African citizens. Therefore the plight
of immigrants is compounded
by the institutionalised xenophobia they face.
Yet, reports abound of rapes
and other forms of gender-based violence,
especially at the country’s
borders.
The South African 1 in 9 campaign
advocates for women to speak out if they
are raped, this is based on the
fact that only 1 out of every 9 South
African women who has been raped
reports the crime. When it comes to victims
of trafficking, it is difficult
to collect data because of the underground
nature of sex trafficking and the
fear on the part of most sex workers that
if they speak out they will be
arrested, deported or abused or raped by
police.
Organisations like the
Sex Worker Education and Advisory Taskforce (SWEAT),
which advocate for the
decriminalisation of sex work, contend that until sex
work is decriminalised
it is unlikely that efforts to counter human
trafficking will yield results.
The victimisation of sex workers stems
primarily from the fact that their
profession is not afforded any
protection.
“Moral” arguments against sex
work notwithstanding, if human trafficking is
to be curbed, the inherent
contradictions that exist between attempting to
counter human trafficking
and the continued criminalisation of sex work need
to be
resolved.
Meeting
In February this year, sex workers from ten African
countries assembled in
Hillbrow, Johannesburg to share their experiences and
discuss their needs.
This was the first ever meeting of this kind on the
African continent. At
the conference a Ugandan sex worker voiced her concern
over the way in which
sex workers are treated “like dogs” by the
police.
Many indicated that the abuse did not only come from police, but also
from
health service providers, clients and the pimps they work for. The
irony of
the criminalisation of sex work in Africa is that it is the woman
who offers
the service who is stigmatised and abused, while those who pay
for her
illegal services go scot-free. It is one of society’s entrenched
patriarchal
paradoxes.
According to Cape Town based NGO Anex-CDW, which
works closely with the IOM
in its human trafficking project, most of the
cases are reported by third
parties and often the victims deny the
allegation or refuse to talk about
it. The wall of silence is almost
impenetrable.
While the girls of Tshwane Home of Hope did not share the
horrors of their
lives, their presence at the Home speaks of an untold story
of violence and
fear. The Home is one of several sanctuaries for girls
scattered across
South Africa. In an ideal world homes such as this would
not have to exist,
everyone would be free from fear and want; everyone would
be safe. The
reality is we are not.
Ottilia Anna Maunganidze is a
consultant for the International Crime in
Africa Programme at the Institute
for Security Studies. This article is part
of a special series on the 16
Days of Activism for the Gender Links Opinion
and Commentary Service.
By Clifford
Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London 18/12/10
Jonathan Moyo’s
reaction to calls by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that
only presidential
elections be held next year was shocking to say the least.
“Zimbabwe can
have parliamentary elections or local authority elections only
in terms of
the Constitution. The only people who do not know that are the
Americans and
their puppets.” Moyo said on Thursday night (Zimeye,
17/12/10). He used the
word puppets several times and how the Americans got
involved, is not
clear.
I am not the only one noticing how hard Jonathan Moyo is fighting
for a
Zanu-pf Politburo seat. The Africa Confidential (05/11/10 Vol.51
No.22) has
an interesting article entitled ‘Lying Big, often’ and
controversially
observes:
“Zanu-pf approaches its annual congress ‘in
better shape than a year ago and
owing much to Jonathan Moyo’s tactical
thinking. He will probably be
rewarded with a coveted seat in the
Politburo.”
Of course, I disagree with Africa Confidential’s statement
that ‘Zanu-pf is
in a better shape’. I wonder how Africa Confidential
arrived at that
conclusion when even diehard Zanu-pf veterans believe
otherwise.
Although, Jonathan Moyo denies that he is a political
turncoat, we have
concrete evidence in his own words and not from Wikileaks
but an opinion
article he wrote himself entitled “There is a sinister agenda
at work” and
was published by the Zimbabwe Independent on Friday 22
September 2006 at
02:00 hrs and reproduced in full below for everyone make
up their own minds:
Open quote:
There is a sinister agenda at
work,
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/17681.pdf
Friday,
22 September 2006 02:00
By Jonathan Moyo
TWO things happened two
weeks ago that initially seemed unrelated but later
proved to be connected
in the broader scheme of things. Firstly, the ruling
Zanu PF officially
opened its annual conference on December 9 at Esigodini,
the same day that
my name was brought up in Trevor Ncube’s passport seizure
saga. The Zanu PF
conference was later to pass a strange resolution to undo
changes effected
at the government-controlled media when I was still the
Minister of State
for Information and Publicity in the Office of President
and Cabinet. Linked
to that issue, Zanu PF MP Leo Mugabe appeared in the
state media after his
party’s conference making unprovoked attacks against
me on all
sorts of
pretexts, including our work in the transport and communications
parliamentary portfolio committee.
Stories were run about me in the
newspapers where Zanu PF mandarins
virtually declared war against
journalists working in the state media who
stand falsely accused of being my
underlings. The authors of those stories
did not seek comment from me about
the Zanu PF allegations and others
fabricated claims which on face value
appear isolated but are part of a
coordinated campaign of disinformation and
scapegoating. The context of
these issues was President Robert Mugabe’s
address at the conference where,
predictably, he pontificated about events
that preceded the Zanu PF congress
last year, the so-called Tsholotsho
Declaration.
Rather blandly, Mugabe repeated his claims about a
Tsholotsho plot that
never existed except in the bankrupt imaginations of
his hangers-on who went
on to grab positions in the party
unconstitutionally, crudely using phony
allegations of a palace coup plot
that was non-existent beyond a democratic
and healthy competition for power.
On the same day of Mugabe’s address,
Ncube was told that his name was part
of a list of 17 people which was
compiled by me. Of course, when the
Zimbabwe Independent telephoned me
to enquire about this issue, I dismissed
it as not only false but also
preposterous. There has been a chain of lies
told about me when I was in and
out of government. These range from laws
which were allegedly crafted or
engineered by me, such as Posa and the NGO
Bill, the deportation of the
Ugandan fugitive Nyekorach Matsanga, bombing of
the Daily News, and a
blatantly false story in December last year in the
Financial Gazette about
my purported resignation from government.
It
has now come to my realisation that working in Zanu PF and its government
invites such kind of scapegoating which on the surface appears coincidental
when in fact it is a systematic campaign to allow the real agents of
dictatorship off the hook at the expense of others who might err in the
process of trying to deal with genuine national issues as opposed to those
who are in the government for personal aggrandisement. When I looked at the
recent seemingly isolated — but clearly connected — events, I was able to
situate the scene and plot of this issue where it rightly belongs: in the
Zanu PF and state propaganda departments now hostage to
securocrats.
If there’s one very dangerous development in Zimbabwe’s body
politic today
it is that ill-advised policymaking in government and wicked
Zanu PF
political decisions are being engineered by unaccountable state
security
agents whose role and influence have now gone beyond their
competence and
constitutional mandate. While the roots of this rot are to be
found in the
notorious 1965 Rhodesian state of emergency which was extended
by the Zanu
PF regime and continued in force between 1980 and 1990, these
episodes
follow a new two-pronged strategy hatched by securocrats to deal
with the
collapse of Zanu PF structures in the 1990s and the rise of the MDC
in 2000
underlined by
government’s policy failures that have led to the
current economic meltdown
in the country.
The new strategy calls
for:
* state security to purge and take over the running and control of Zanu
PF
structures, especially in the wake of the so-called Tsholotsho
Declaration;
* state security to infiltrate the opposition in order to
destroy it from
within. The core purpose of this strategy is to enable state
security to
determine Mugabe’s successor and the manner or process of his
succession on
behalf of factional interests in Zanu PF.
What is
terrifying about this development is that while these security
agents
invariably act on behalf of factional interests in Zanu PF, neither
they nor
their faction has been willing to take responsibility for the evil
they do.
Consequently, Zimbabweans — including many in Zanu PF itself — are
now
hostages whose human and constitutional rights are open to abuse. The
fact
that the CIO told Ncube that they were impounding his passport on the
strength of a list that they alleged I prepared when I was minister clearly
demonstrates that those involved in this case knew only too well that it was
wrong and illegal for them to seize the passport. It shows the CIO lacks the
courage of its convictions. But still the CIO wants to become involved in
the whole spectrum of national life, both public and private.
As a
result, Zimbabweans must brace up for all manner of illegalities to be
visited upon them by the CIO. But as citizens we must defend our rights to
the end. While having the CIO using an individual like myself as a scapegoat
might appear to be of no national significance, allowing them to get used to
such conduct can have disastrous consequences on the conduct of state
affairs as our recent history shows. In May the same security agents
conjured up a self-indulgent claim that some Ukrainian-style “Orange
Revolution” was under way in Zimbabwe and connived with Mugabe to justify
the reprehensible demolition blitz, Operation Murambatsvina, which destroyed
the homes and livelihoods of 18% of our population.
When I was in
government it was routine for these CIO agents and their
factional
counterparts in government and Zanu PF politicians to abuse me as
a
scapegoat for anything they were unable to explain or defend. That’s why
for
example, even though the fact is that John Nkomo steered Posa through
parliament, the propaganda to this day is that it was my brainchild.The same
goes for the NGO Bill drafted and steered through parliament by Paul
Mangwana. The talk is that I came up with that ill-fated Bill.
Also
conveniently ignored is the fact that the version of Aippa that was
passed
by parliament without any opposition from the MDC was drafted by
Patrick
Chinamasa in consultation with Welshman Ncube after the
Parliamentary Legal
Committee threw out the original version. The list is
very long and includes
absurd claims, conveniently fuelled and peddled by
the same securocrats that
I bombed the Daily News as if I was in any way in
charge of the CIO, ZRP or
the army who should know better.
One particularly annoying case where I
was abused as a convenient scapegoat
when Nicholas Goche, then Minister for
State Security, played a major role
was the Matsanga deportation story.
Apart from abusing me as a scapegoat to
justify their illegal actions, the
CIO agents and Zanu PF politicians have
also invented ludicrous stories
about me. In one case, they invented a son
for me from Kadoma and gave him
money to regularly visit CIO offices over a
long period before finally
giving him money to go and look for me in
Tsholotsho. Another invention was
made last December in the aftermath of the
so-called Tsholotsho Declaration
when I was on holiday with my family in
Kenya.
The CIO, working with
George Charamba, planted a deliberately false story in
the Financial Gazette
claiming that I had resigned from government after
tendering my resignation
letter to Joice Mujuru who was acting president at
the time. But I confirmed
earlier this year that Charamba had directly given
the false story of my
alleged resignation to the Fingaz after the newspaper’s
editor, Sunsleey
Chamunorwa, told a high-ranking public figure over his
speaker phone in my
presence (without Chamunorwa’s knowledge) that indeed
Mugabe’s spokesman was
the source of the story.
At the time, the Mujuru faction in Zanu PF was
desperate to force me out of
cabinet and Charamba — eager to pander to the
whims of that camp — was also
desperate to prove he had nothing to do with
the Tsholotsho saga. Yet it is
common cause among those who know what
happened that Charamba, Mugabe’s
press secretary, actually drafted Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s speech that was
delivered by Chinamasa at Dinyane School on
November 18, 2004. I still have
the original copy of Charamba’s draft speech
with his handwritten cover note
attached!
Scapegoating and blaming
everybody else but themselves is Zanu PF’s
stock-in-trade and no wonder they
take no responsibility for their current
failures. After me, Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono is next in line!
* Professor Jonathan Moyo is MP for
Tsholotsho.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/opinion/17681.pdf
Close
quote:
It is quite amazing how Jonathan Moyo inadvertently created his
own
‘Jomoleaks’ over the years, well before he knew there would be Wikileaks
which he is trying to use to bring down political opponents in an effort to
appease Zanu-pf. Time will tell.
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political
Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
Dear Family and Friends,
As Zimbabwe
arrives at Christmas 2010 it is opportune to record what
some of our leaders
have been saying recently. Their words give
insight into their thoughts and
warnings as to where we may be heading
in the 2011.
Speaking to
delegates at the Zanu PF annual congress in Mutare, Mr
Mugabe said it was
time for revenge:
"Why should we continue having companies and organisations
that are
supported by Britain and America without hitting back? Time has
come
for us to revenge. ..We can read the riot act and say this is
51
percent we are taking and if the sanctions persist we are taking
over
100 percent."
Speaking to the Zanu PF central committee Mr Mugabe
said:
“ It is grossly disturbing to learn of the extent to which some
of
our people have gone towards literally giving back the land to
white
farmers, all for a pittance of the farm profits at the end of
the
season."
Speaking on International Human Rights Day, MDC Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said:
“We all know that soldiers, members of
the police and CIO are being
deployed in the rural areas to harass our
parents. The army is not
there to beat up and abuse people. It is there to
protect them. …
These are national security institutions which must not be
abused.
This must stop. When we go to elections it is not a declaration
of
war.”
Speaking about her powerlessness and frustration in
tackling
corruption, the MDC’s Co Home Affairs Minister, Theresa Makone
said:
“There is a sense of impunity that pervades the whole
government,
because the people that ruled this country for the past three
decades
have not been able to arrest public officials, or to try to
address
the problem or bring justice to perpetrators of
corruption”
And then came this little gem from the Zanu (PF)Bulawayo
governor,
Cain Mathema, who is apparently pushing for the exhumation of
Cecil
John Rhodes who was buried in the Matopos over a century ago in
1902.
Mr Mathema said:
“I wonder why years after independence of Zimbabwe
his grave is
still found there. We are going exhume it and send it to Britain
where
it belongs. Right now we are failing to get rains because of
Rhodes’
bones buried at Matopo Hills”
The last pertinent quote, and a
suitable place to end another year of
letters from Zimbabwe, comes from
across the world. Released after 7
years of house arrest, the Burmese
opposition leader, Aung San Suu
Kyi, may as well have been talking about
Zimbabwe when she said: I
don’t believe in one person’s influence and
authority to move a
country forward. One person alone cannot do something as
important as
bringing democracy to a country.”
I am taking a short
break from this letter and wish all Zimbabweans,
wherever you are in the
world, a peaceful and happy Christmas filled
with love and laughter and hope
for real change for our beleaguered
Zimbabwe in 2011. Until Mid January, I
leave you with sincere thanks
for your support of my writing and with the
sight of Flame Lilies, the
sound of Paradise Flycatchers, the smell of rain
and the feel of a
million gossamer wings in your fingers as you catch flying
ants
pouring from the depths of the Zimbabwean soil. Love Cathy 18
December
2010. Copyright � Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com
Friday December 17th 2010
“What sort of grip does the old man hold over his
country…they just cannot
conceive of life without him.” My attention was
immediately caught; how
often we have asked that question about our own Old
Man but it was not
Robert Mugabe who was the subject of this article in the
UK Independent but
Sylvio Berlusconi, the 74 year old Prime Minister of
Italy. Despite the many
scandals surrounding him, Berlusconi had just
narrowly won a vote of
confidence in the lower house of the Italian
parliament.
The comparison between Robert Mugabe and the flamboyant Sylvio
Berlusconi
seems on the face of it totally inappropriate. It is the comment
that “they
just cannot conceive of life without him” that got me thinking.
Having known
no other ruler for over thirty years, it could be argued that,
despite all
the suffering he has imposed on Zimbabweans, Robert Mugabe is
‘the devil we
know’ and, as such, is preferable to ‘the devil we don’t
know’. Zimbabweans
are by nature conservative; Mugabe knows that very well
and he has cleverly
exploited it to his advantage. By constantly repeating
the mantra that Zanu
PF won the Liberation struggle and as such are the only
party fit to rule
the country and profit from its huge natural resources, he
has enabled his
supporters, including the traditional chiefs, to acquire
wealth beyond their
wildest dreams and now there are diamonds.
It was
diamonds that were the subject of the latest WikiLeak as reported in
the
Standard. WikiLeaks reported that Grace Mugabe and Gideon Gono had
‘reaped
tremendous profits from Chiadzwa diamonds.’ Grace Mugabe is now
suing the
Standard for $15 million for defamation. She is claiming that the
story has
“lowered the respect in which she is held as the mother of the
nation” – a
claim which might cause a few wry smiles in Zimbabwe! No doubt
her husband
had more than a little to do with her decision to sue. He is, or
so he told
the South African President, a lawyer, though he has never
practised law.
Possession of a law degree does not make one a lawyer and it
will not be
easy as any lawyer would know to fight a charge of defamation
based on an
unsubstantiated ‘leak’ which was after all no more than the
cabled opinion
of the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe back in 2008. Threats to
prosecute Morgan
Tsvangirai for treason on the basis of a WikiLeak are on
similarly doubtful
legal grounds, much as Jonathan Moyo may rant and rave.
Perhaps what the
WikiLeaks issue has revealed above all is that whatever
opinions governments
may express in public, their interactions with other
states are often in
direct contrast. Vociferous condemnation of a country’s
human rights record,
for example, is not necessarily accompanied by cutting
off trade relations
with that country; commercial self-interest is the real
determinant of
morality when it comes to international relations. One
example proves the
point: on the very day Oslo was awarding the Nobel Prize
to the Chinese
dissident Liu Xiaobo, leading the Chinese authorities to
describe the Nobel
Committee as ‘clowns’, Norway was awarding the Chinese a
contract to drill
for oil in the North Sea. The message here is very clear:
nothing should be
taken at face value and that includes even the wild
utterances of Zanu PF
ministers. While they take every opportunity to hurl
abuse at the British
and the Americans, who knows what’s going on behind the
scenes and who is
talking to who? The truth is that governments the world
over are unwilling
to let the general public to know what’s really going on;
that’s why the
British, possibly under pressure from the US, locked Julian
Assange up for
nine days in solitary confinement. But the Leaks went on! The
likes of Grace
Mugabe may sue for all she’s worth but the truth will out and
she won’t be a
First Lady forever! Even if Robert Mugabe succeeds- as he
certainly will
having ensured that only his supporters are allowed to attend
the Congress –
and all the delegates back him to stand again as the party’s
candidate, he
will still be 92 when his term expires in 2016. Who knows
where information
technology will be by then!
This is my last Letter for 2010. I will be away
for the next three weeks. If
you need something to read over the long break,
may I recommend my latest
book, Sami’s Story available on www.lulu.com. It’s the story of one young
boy caught up in Murambatsvina, hardly a cheerful Christmas story but one
that all Zimbabweans will recognise.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle
PH.aka Pauline Henson.